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DATE  DUE 


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UNIVERSITV   OF  CALIFORNIA    SAN   DIEGO  B 


3   1822  01053  3156 


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HISTORY  or  MCDICINI: 


A  BRIEF  OUTI^INE  OF 


Medical  History  from  the  Earliest  Historic  Period 

with  an  Extended  Account  of  the  Various 

Sects  of  Physicians  and  New  Schools 

of  Medicine  in  later  Centuries 


BY  ALEXANDER   WILDER,  M.  D. 


1  Honorary  member  of  the  Authropological  Society  of  Liverpool,  (Eng.) 
Vice-President  of  the  American  A kad^in^,  late  Professor  of  Philosophy 
and  Psychological  Science,  Member  of  the  Medico-I,egal  Society,  Presi- 
dent of  the  "School  of  Philosophy,"  Member  of  other  Philosophic,  Refor- 
matory and  Scientific  Societies,  Etc.,  Etc. 


II  There  are  one-story  men,  two-story  men,  and  three-story 
men.  Fact-collectors  are  one-story  men.  Two-story  men 
reason  about  facts.  Three-story  men  are  those  who  are 
described  as  inspired  men  " 

—OLIVER  WENDELL  HOLMES.  M-   D- 


LATEST   EDITION 


AUGUSTA,    MAINE 

Maine  Farmer  Pubuishing  Company 

1904 


Copyright,  1809 
BY  S.  ]'..  Mrxx 


FOREWORDS. 

A  history  as  a  record  of  events  should  be  faithful, 
impartial  and,  so  far  as  may  be,  unimpassioned. 
There  should  be  neither  inordinate  praise  of  individ- 
uals, nor  any  unwarrantable  degree  of  blame.  The 
writer  is  the  servant  of  the  reader,  and  discharges 
the  obligation  by  candid  utterance  and  a  tenacious 
adherence  to  actual  fact.  It  is  no  person's  prerogative 
to  judge  the  motives  of  another,  but  the  attention 
belongs  strictly  to  acts  and  their  tendencies.  Indeed, 
it  is  generally,  and  perhaps  always  true,  that  if  we 
knew  others  well,  we  would  find  less  occasion  for 
blaming  them. 

Such  has  been  the  sentiment  of  the  compiler  in 
preparing  this  work.  While  his  convictions  are  posi- 
tive and  without  disguise  in  relation  to  specific  acts 
and  measures  when  these  were  directed  against  per- 
sonal rights  and  public  welfare,  he  has  been  desirous 
even  to  eagerness  to  conform  to  the  law  of  charity 
and  to  recognize  whatever  was  worthy  and  laudable 
in  individuals.  If  he  is  in  any  just  sense  to  be  con- 
sidered as  partisan,  it  has  been  in  respect  to  policies 
and  particular  propositions,  rather  than  toward  the 
persons  bringing  them  forward,  or  supporting  them. 

It  had  never  been  a  project  contemplated  by  him 
to  undertake  a  work  of  this  character.  Though  from 
early  manhood  familiar  with  the  Reform  Schools  of 
Medicine  and  indoctrinated  into  their  leading  princi- 
ples, he  had  always  regarded  other  individuals  whom 
it  would  be  easy  to  name,  as  fitter  for  the  undertaking. 
There  had  been  propagandism,  conflict  and  contro- 
versies in  which  he  had  taken  no  part,  and  from  which 


IV  FOREWORDS. 

he  had  carefully  held  aloof.  Besides,  it  might  have 
been  better  that  such  a  work  had  been  performed 
while  the  men  were  living  who  could  have  enriched  it 
with  their  remembrances  of  what  they  had  witnessed, 
and  in  which  they  had  taken  part.  It  would  thus 
have  been  completer,  and  more  interesting  to  the 
reader.  But  he  was  summoned  to  the  undertaking 
unexpectedly  by  an  official  request  from  the  medical 
organization  to  which  he  belonged.  On  the  nineteenth 
day  of  June,  1S90,  at  its  annual  meeting  at  Niagara 
Falls,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  : 

"  Resolved,  That  Dr.  Alexander  Wilder  be  and  is  hereby 
requested  to  prepare  a  History  of  Medical  Reform  during  the 
earlier  periods,  under  the  authority  and  with  the  sanction  of  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association." 

The  endeavor  has  been  diligently  made  to  comply 
with  the  tenor  of  the  instructions  herein  given. 
There  has  been  no  labor  spared  nor  proper  expendi- 
ture avoided  in  order  to  procure  information.  We 
had  no  personal  interest  to  subserve,  nor  selfish 
motive  to  gratify,  other  than  the  rendering  of  faithful 
service  to  a  cause.  The  evolution  of  the  American 
School  of  Medicine  required  patient  study  and  con- 
templation, as  well  as  careful  narration  of  occurences. 
It  must  be  traced  to  its  origins  and  identified  in  its 
affiliations.  Critical  judgment  was  necessary  to  deter- 
mine what  to  include  as  essential,  and  to  sift  out 
what  was  superfluous.  It  was  an  obligation  likewise, 
that  the  men  who  gave  the  cause  its  inception,  whose 
efforts  and  sacrifices  had  effected  its  achievements  and 
successes,  and  prepared  the  field  for  those  coming 
after  them  to  reap  the  harvest,  should  receive  the 
meed  of  honor  which  they  richly  deserve.  "They 
are  swine,"  says  the  Turkish  proverb,  "who  look  not 
up  to  him  who  beateth  down  the  acorns.'' 


FOREWORDS.  "V 

U  may  not  be  amiss  to  remark  here  that  we  foiin  I 
at  the  outset  curious  misapprehensions  of  the  scope 
and  object  of  this  work.  Several  correspondents 
furnished  descriptions  of  individual  misconduct,  and 
others  seemed  to  suppose  that  personal  biographies 
were  to  constitute  the  principal  subject-matter.  It 
would  certainly  have  been  gratifying  to  give  sketches 
of  individuals  showing  that  they  and  their  achieve- 
ments were  appreciated  ;  but  this  would  be  a  stepping 
aside  from  the  general  purpose  of  a  history  as  outlined 
in  the  resolution  which  has  been  quoted.  As  for  the 
reciting  of  individual  wrong-doing,  especially  when 
it  was  connected  with  matters  having  little  connection 
with  the  direct  object,  the  impropriety  is  manifest. 
A  historian  should  have  no  personal  griefs  to  display, 
or  injuries  to  punish.  He  may  properly  do  no  more 
than  is  suggested  m  these  words  of  Othello  in  the 
tragedy  : 

"  When  you  shall  these  unlucky  deeds  relate, 
Speak  of  me  as  I  am  :  nothing  extenuate 
Nor  set  down  aught  in  malice." 

It  Was  considered  advisable  to  give  an  outline  of 
Medical  History  of  earlier  periods.  We  can  not 
possess  an  intelligent  view  of  the  Healing  Art,  beyond 
the  mercenary  aims  of  the  craftsman,  except  we  have 
a  fair  conception  of  its  career  and  achievements  in  the 
Past.  Ignorance  and  want  of  appreciation  in  such 
respects  would  be  a  barbarism.  We  would  that  no  one 
of  those  with  whom  we  have  been  affiliated  should 
speak  or  write  concerning  those  that  have  lived  in 
former  periods  after  a  manner  that  exhibits  a  lack  of 
accurate  knowing  ;  and  it  will  be  gratifying  if  we 
fihall  have  contributed  somewhat  toward  the  remedy- 
;.ng  of  the  infirmity.  I 

It  is  sometimes  objected  that  a  new  School    of  Mec* 


V.  FOREWORDS. 

icine  is  an  unnecessary  innovation,  that  it  is  the  intro- 
ducing of  a  sect  or  faction  where  there  ought  to  be 
harmony,  and  that  it  must  necessarily  be  of  ephem- 
eral duration.  Whether  this  judgment  is  correct  the 
reader  and  a  candid  public  must  decide.  Men  do  not 
put  new  wine  into  old  wine-skins,  lest  it  perish.  The 
history  of  medicine  from  Hippokrates  and  Galen  till 
the  present  time  has  been  replete  with  innovations, 
new  teachers,  new  schools,  new  procedures.  There 
has  been  no  one  school,  no  single  medical  profession, 
outside  of  the  priesthoods,  extending  in  an  unbroken 
chain  from  the  indefinite  Past  to  our  own  Twentieth 
Century.  New  phases  have  manifested  themselves  as 
regularly  almost  as  those  of  the  moon  in  the  sky.  We 
may  not  be  astonished  at  Paracelsus  for  burning  the 
writings  of  Galen  as  no  longer  suitable  for  the  student 
of  the  Healing  Art.  A  distinguished  physician  of 
Edinburg  upon  taking  charge  of  the  Library  of  the 
University,  commanded  all  books  of  reference  that 
were  ten  years  old  to  be  removed  as  obsolete.  If  any 
would  conjure  with  old  names,  like  Galen,  Rhasis, 
Ibn  Sina,  or  later  ones  that  have  been  distinguished, 
the  fact  is  nevertheless  unquestionable,  that  they  have 
had  their  time.  We  may  profit  by  their  counsel  and 
examples,  but  we  can  not  be  bound  to  employ  their 
formulas  and  procedures. 

Even  now,  with  all  the  boasted  learning  of  our 
Modern  Time,  the  diversities  of  opinion  in  medical 
circles  are  innumerable.  There  are  sects  and  schools 
of  practice,  even  where  there  exists  arbitrary  author- 
ity and  sentiment  to  prevent  organizing  into  distinct 
forms.  A  one  Catholic  science  of  ^Medicine,  of  inerrant 
ortnodoxy  and  faultlessly  classified,  cannot  be  intel- 
ligently affirmed  to  exist.  The  medical  vista  is  like  a 
kaleidoscope  in  which  the  several  dominant  opinions 


KoKE  Words.  vii 

ai-pear  conspicuous  according  as  the  instrument  hap- 
pens to  be  turned.  "  I  have  seen  them,"  says  the  lace 
President  Jefferson,  "  the  disciples  of  Hoffmann,  Boer- 
haave,  Stahl,  Cullen  and  Brown,  succeed  one  another 
like  the  shifting  figures  of  a  magic  lantern;  and  their 
fancies,  like  the  dresses  of  the  annual  doll-babies 
from  Paris,  becoming  from  their  novelty,  the  vogue  of 
the  day,  and  yielding  to  the  next  novelty,  their 
ephemeral  favors."  Sentiments  that  are  often  scouted 
as  vagary  and  of  revolutionary  character,  have  the 
sanction  of  men  standing  high  in  the  medical  pro- 
fession. Yet  the  conservatism  of  established  bodies 
of  men  is  so  great  as  to  induce  resistance,  even  to 
ferocious  violence,  to  changes  deserving  of  a  welcome. 
New  views  are  generally  first  denounced  as  false, 
afterward  derided  as  of  little  importance,  and  event- 
ually accepted  with  the  assertion  that  they  had 
always  been  the  property  of  the  profession.  The 
first  promulgators,  however,  are  seldom  included  in 
such  favorable  reception. 

Yet  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  professional 
instruction  which  has  been  systematically  imparted 
in  the  various  institutions  of  medical  learning  has 
not  satisfied  the  prevalent  unrest  in  public  sentiment. 
Able  practitioners  have  often  commented  upon  its 
insufficiency.  One  physician  whom  we  knew  coun- 
selled his  student  to  attend  the  medical  college  where 
the  degree  would  be  easiest  to  obtain  ;  declaring  that 
this  was  perfunctory,  and  that  the  real  professional 
knowledge  would  remain  to  be  acquired  afterward. 
Sir  Thomas  Watson  was  more  outspoken,  averring- 
that  the  physician  must  begin  by  unlearning  what  he 
had  learned  in  the  laboratory.  With  such  convictions 
i  the  part  of  teachers  themselves,  it  may  be  exp-iJi,".ea 
;.nat  intelligent  persons  will  look  beyond  for  a  knowi- 


Vlll  FOREWORDS. 

edge  that  is  genuine  and  trustworthy.  The  state- 
ment of  a  medical  journal  may  not  surprise  us  that  at 
the  present  time  there  are  twice  as  many  students 
taking  lessons  in  mind-cure  and  kindred  theories, 
than  are  to  be  found  in  all  the  medical  colleges.  We 
do  not  care  to  join  in  aspersing  them  as  visionaries, 
when  accepted  religious  authority  appears  to  sustain 
them,  and  especially  when  eminent  members  of  the 
medical  profession  give  sanction  to  their  assumptions. 
Hufeland  says  unreservedly  :  "  There  is  a  region  of 
the  man  that  is  never  sick  ;  and  to  call  out  the  reign 
of  that  region  makes  the  sick  man  well." 

Mr.  Jefferson,  looking  into  the  future,  himself  fore- 
shadowed a  new  Practice  of  Medicine  which  should 
come  into  existence  in  our  Western  Hemisphere.  "I 
hope  and  believe,"  said  he,  "that  it  is  from  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic  that  Europe,  which  has  taught  so  many 
other  things,  will  be  led  into  sound  principles  in 
this  branch  of  Science,  the  most  important  of  all, 
being  that  to  which  we  commit  the  care  of  health 
and    life." 

It  was  necessary  likewise,  that  political  independ- 
ence should  be  accompanied  by  medical  as  well  as 
religious  enfranchisement.  Enlightenment  comes 
with  freedom,  and  Benjamin  Rush,  himself  a  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  insisted  that  the 
provisions  of  that  instrument  should  be  extended  to 
the  medical  calling.  He  declared  his  hostility  without 
equivocation,  to  an  exclusive  and  privileged  body  of 
practitioners,  and  affirmed  without  any  mental  reser- 
vation that  physicians,  in  order  to  be  successful  must 
emancipate  themselves  from  the  tyranny  of  the  exist- 
ing Schools  of  Medicine.  Sir  John  Forbes,  physician 
to  the  late  Prince  Consort  specified  the  direction  r^ 
the  coming  movement,  "In  the  present  state  of  our 


FOREWORDS.  IX 

knowledg^e,"  says  he,  "  the  Hygienic — Eclectic — 
Hippocratic — Rational  System  of  curing  diseases  is 
the  only  one  that  can  be  justified  or  safely  followed." 

The  new  movement  of  which  the  present  American 
Eclectic  School  of  Medicine  is  the  outcome,  it  will 
be  seen,  was  called  into  existence  by  the  exigency. 
Its  aim  was  to  realize  the  wants  of  the  times  and  to 
employ  intelligently  the  means  for  satisfying  them. 
It  encountered  much  opposition  like  preceding 
attempts  at  reformation  in  different  spheres  of 
activity.  There  was  a  conflict  as  is  related,  which 
lasted  for  years,  and  there  were  gained  by  it  the 
constitutional  rights  to  which  the  citizens  are  con- 
sidered to  be  entitled.  Yet  there  remain  further 
advances  to  be  made  that  are  of  vital  importance. 
Equal  opportunity  and  impartial  justice  are  uncon- 
ditional where  real  freedom  exists.  There  has  existed 
a  purpose  to  smother  the  Eclectic  School  by  strict 
silence  in  relation  to  its  practitioners,  and  by  a 
studied  ignoring  of  its  existence.  Even  the  compilers 
of  the  Encyclopaedias,  with  one  honorable  exception, 
have  pandered  to  this  object,  by  excluding  any  full  or 
even  just  account  of  the  School,  its  essential  doctrines 
and  literature.  These  things  indicate  what  is  essen- 
tial to  its  future  career.  A  foothold  should  be  gained 
in  the  open  arena  among  the  scientists  and  master 
spirits  of  the  time.  The  principles  upon  which  it 
was  founded,  should  be  tenaciously  and  strenuously 
maintained,  while  a  generous  hospitality  should  be 
extended  to  every  new  thought  or  discovery  that  may 
serve  to  extend  our  knowledge  or  to  be  of  actual 
utility. 

Only  great  and  worthy  things  have  any  permanent 
and  absolute  existence.  A  School  of  Medicine  will 
•exist  as  long  as  it  really  deserves  to  exist.     In  Medi- 


X  FOREWORDS. 

cine  as  in  the  higher  ethics  he  only  is  great  who 
serves  :  the  greatest  among  us  all  is  the  servant  of 
all.  As  physicians  we  are  not  craftsmen  and  me- 
chanicals following  a  calling  for  the  mere  pecuniary 
emolument,  nor  are  we  a  combination  of  medical 
practitioners  with  personal  ends  to  advance  at  the 
hazard  of  every  pledge  to  the  public  and  of  honest 
principle.  It  was  a  criticism  of  Francis  Bacon  that 
"Medicine  was  a  science  more  professed  than  labored, 
and  yet  more  labored  than  advanced — the  labor 
having  been  more  in  a  circle  than    in   progression." 

It  devolves  upon  us  to  redeem  it  from  that  imputa- 
tation.  Every  man  is  a  debtor  to  his  profession,  and 
may  redeem  the  obligation  by  adding  to  its  acquire- 
ments, and  by  exalting  its  character  and  reputation. 

It  is  in  the  province  of  every  one,  it  is  accordant 
with  the  genius  of  Eclecticism  in  Medicine,  and  it 
has  been  repeatedly  avowed  and  pledged,  to  make 
every  effort  to  carry  forward  the  medical  art  to 
greater  acciiracy  and  perfection.  The  taint  of 
selfishness  enfeebles  noble  exertion,  and  dishonors 
every  motive.  It  causes  the  individual  to  lag  behind, 
whenever  he  aims  only  or  chiefly  to  secure  personal 
profit.  Nor  is  it  innocent  to  place  obstructions  in 
the  way  of  others.  Our  course  is  obvious:  to  cherish 
an  invincible  faith  in  the  good  and  the  true,  to  seek 
for  knowledge  as  the  most  precious  of  treasures,  to 
maintain    our    purpose    resolutely    and    persistently. 

In  this  way  can  be  established  the  right  to  the 
front  rank  in  the  profession  of  healing,  as  well  as  to 
realize  the  highest  ideal  of  the  physician,  a  priest  of 
Nature  and  interpreter  of  her  holiest  Mysteries. 

ALEXANDER   WILDER. 

Newark,  N.  J.,  September  19,  1900. 


POSTSCRIPT. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  is  rendered  to  the  per- 
sons who  have,  by  courtesy  and  good  offices,  given 
assistance  in  the  preparing  of  this  work.  Some  supplied 
books  and  periodicals  abounding  with  valuable  facts, 
and  others  took  additional  pains  in  preparing  state- 
ments. Among  them  may  be  enumerated,  Messrs. 
Law  and  Boyd,  of  New  York,  Doctors  James  Anton, 
John  R.  Borland,  Harvey  E.  Bowles,  John  C.  Butcher, 
Marshall  Calkins,  Joseph  R.  Duncan,  William  M. 
Durham,  Robert  A.  Gunn,  Wm.  Collins  Hatch,  William 
Hargreaves,  Wmi.  H.  Hawley,  Henry  Hollembaek, 
William  Jones,  John  King,  Richard  E.  Kunze,  William 
S.  Latta,  John  Uri  Lloyd,  Noah  R.  Martin,  Albert 
Merrell,  C.  Edwin  Miles,  S.  B.  Munn,  William  Paine, 
Henry  B.  Piper,  George  E.  Potter,  John  vS.  Prettyman, 
John  W.  Pruitt,  John  K.  Scudder,  John  Simmons, 
Thomas  Simmons,  Herbert  T.  Webster,  J.  Milton 
Welch,  A.  B.  Whitney,  A.  B.  Woodward.  Their  kind 
services  did  much  to  lighten  a  task  which  was 
truly  formidable,  and  will  always  be  remembered 
accordingly. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.     Archaic   Medicine Pages  1-45. 

The  Human  Healer — Knowledge  of  the  Healing  Art  a 
Measure  of  Civilization — History  of  the  Art  as  Old  as  the 
History  of  the  Human  Race— No  "Father  of  Medicine"— 
The  Serpent  the  Characteristic  Symbol — Medical  Learning  in 
Egypt — Temple-Universities — Priest-Physicians— Procedures 
— Surgical  Skill— Mr.  Sayce's  Statement — Specialties — Egyp- 
tian Physicians  in  Persia,  Babylon  and  Assyria — The  God  of 
Healing — University-Towns — Assyrian  Pharmacy — India  and 
Persia — Divine  Patrons  of  the  Healing  Art — The  Vendidad 
Gives  Directions  to  Beginners — The  Yajur- Veda— Indian 
Physicians  Always  of  the  Brahman  Caste — Sushruta — Char- 
aka — Indian  Materia  Medica — Restrictions  of  Illegal  Practi- 
tioners— Result — China  and  Outer  Asia — Kathay  or  Kuita — 
King  Ching-Nun — China  in  Later  Years — Taii  Sect — Medical 
Skill  and  Freedom—  Skythic  Autochthones — Their  Notions — 
Shamanism  -Prehistoric  Greece — Media — Mokh — Agamede 
— Apollo  the  Physician  of  the  Gods — Kheiron  the  Kentaur — 
Asklepios  or  ^sculapius — The  Asklepiads. 

CHAPTER  II.  Medicine  in  Ancient  Historic  Periods.  46-106. 
When  the  Historic  Period  Began — Superior  Knowledge  of 
the  Phoenicians — ^sculapius,  his  Temples  and  Symbols — The 
Asklepia  or  Hospitals — Revolution  in  Religion  and  Medicine — 
Demokedes — CuringaCancer- Eminent  Teachers  of  Medicine 
— Empedokles— Akron — Anaxagoras—  Demokritos  —  Medical 
Practice  at  Athens — Dispensaries  and  Public  Physicians — 
Plato's  Criticism — Slave-doctors — Hippokrates — Dogmatic  or 
Philosophic  School  —  His  Doctrines —Ktesias  —  Aristotle  — 
Theophrastos — Praxagoras  —  Chrysippos  —  Erasistratos  and 
the  New  Methods— General  Change  of  Sentiment — The  Alex- 
andrian School — The  Parties  of  Erasistratos  and  Herophilos — 
Zeuxis  the  Philalethes — The  Empiric  School  -Philinos — Per- 
gamos,  its  School  and  Library — Hebrew  Medicine — Essenes 
— Buddhistic    India — Chandragupta  — Asoka — His    Hospitals 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

— Physicians  in  Ancient  Rome— Embassy  to  Epidauros  for 
its  Serpent — Archagathos — Cato  the  Censor — The  Methodists 
— Asklepiades — Laier  Methodists — Julius  Caesar — Octavianus 
— Celsus — Pneumaticists  or  SpirituaHsts  —  Athenaeos  —  The 
Eclectics — Agathinos — Aretaeos — Medicine  in  Rome  Under 
the  Empire — Military  Hospitals — The  Public  Dispensaries — 
Low  Grade  of  Roman  Physicians — Crinas — Thessalos — Dios- 
korides — Galen--  His  Career  and  Doctrines — Last  Years  of 
Ancient  Medicine — Decadence  of  Learning — Nestorians — 
Their  Schools — Actios  -  Alexander  of  Tralles — Paul  of  ^giua 
— Fall  of  Alexandria  and  Oblivion  of  Learning. 

CHAPTER  HL     Medicine  in  the  Middle  Ages 107-16L 

When  Modern  History  Began — Healing  Art  a  Function  of 
Religion — Its  Exercise  Permitted  and  Forbidden — Rise  of 
Islam — Persian  Schools — Arabian  Learning — The  Khalifs — 
Al  Mamun — Medical  Authors — Yahia — Honein  — Geber  the 
Alchemist  —  Razes  —  Ali  the  Magus— Avicenna — Learning 
Promoted  in  the  Moslem  Countries — Abulkasim — Avenzoar 
— Philosophic  Physicians  in  Spain — Ibn  Tophail— Ibn-Badja 
— Averroes  and  Maimonides — Revulsion  of  Feeling  Toward 
Scholars  and  Dark  Ages — Tribute  to  Arabian  Medicine — 
Arnold  of  Villa  Nova — Pedro  Juliani — Bernard  de  Gordon — 
Valesco  de  Taranta — Chauliac — Healing  Art  of  Earlier  Chris- 
tendom— The  Royal  Touch — Relics  for  the  Cure  of  Small- Pox 
— Religious  Revolutions  and  General  Disorder — Gerbert  or 
Sylvester  II. — Hildebrand  or  Gregory  VII. — Medicine  Made  a 
Distinct  Vocation  —  Medical  School  at  Salerno— Emperor 
Frederick  II. — Universities  Founded — University  of  Paris — 
Evolution  of  the  Theatre — The  University  and  the  Clergy — 
The  College  of  Surgeons  at  Paris — Famous  Italian  Teachers 
— Anatomy  First  Taught  by  Dissections  —  Mondino  —  The 
Other  Departments — Low  State  of  Surgical  Skill  —  The 
Renaissance — Greek  Scholars  in  Italy — Lorenzo  di  Medici — 
The  Vatican  Library  Founded — Massilio  Ficino  and  His 
Circle — Establishes  Neo-Platonic  Akademy  in  Florence. 

CHAPTER  IV.     Medicine  IN  Renascence 162-192 

Learning  Denominated  Magic — Medical  Literature  Discarded 
— Death-Penalty  Inflicted  on  Learned  Men — Restoration  of 
the  Hippokratic  Dogma — "Solidism" — Botal — Mercurialis — 
"Gymnastics  of  the  Ancients" — "Medical  Art  Among  the 


CONTENTS.  XV 

Egyptians"— The  "New  Learning " in  England— Henry  Vlf I- 
— Thomas  Lynaker — Authority  to  License  Physicians  Vesved 
in  College  of  Physicians— "  Doctor  Caius" — The  Sweating 
Disease — Berenger  de  Carpi. 

Paracelsus — A  Reformer  and  Apostle  of  Modern  Medicine 
— Denouncing  Poisoning  by  Mercury  and  Bleeding  of  Patients 
— Teaching  in  the  Vernacular — A  Pioneer  of  Direct  or 
Specific  Medication— First  to  Treat  Medicine  as  a  Philosophy 
— His  Peculiar  Views  of  Astronomy,  Alchemy,  and  Medical 
Practice — Magnetism — Doctrine  of  Signatures. 

Faust — Anatomy  in  Renascence — Sylvius — Vesalius — He  is 
Denounced  to  the  Inquisition — Eustachi — Columbo  and  Fal- 
lopi — Discovery  of  the  Circulation  of  the  Blood— Miguel 
Serveto— Andrea  Cesalpino — Harvey  —  Ambroise  Pare  — 
General  Condition  of  the  Surgical  Art— Chaumette— William 
Clowes — Innovations  in  Medicine  and  Science — The  Chemi- 
atric  School — Clinical  Instruction— Giordano  Bruno. 

CHAPTER  V.    Medicine  in  the  17th  Century 193-220. 

Advance  in  Inquiry  and  Adventure — Thousands  Emigrate  to 
the  New  World— Scientific  Advancement— Johann  Keppler— 
A  Philosopher  and  Enthusiast — His  Books  Placed  on  the 
Index— Galileo — His  Career— Van  Helmont — Profound  In- 
vestigator into  Causes — His  Peculiar  Doctrines. 

The  Rosicrucians— Christian  Rosenkreutz— The  Fraternity 
—The  Temple — "Lingua  Magica"  and  "Lingua  Angelorum" 
—Robert  Fludd— Thomas  Vaughan— "  Chaos  "—Sympathetic 
Powder — Harvey  and  His  Discovery — Jean  Riolan — Italians 
Claim  Merit  for  Cesalpino — Microscopic  Anatomy — Malpighi 
— Vivisection — Further  Discovery  —  Leeuwenhoek  —  Meibo- 
mius — Peyer — Men  First  Employed  as  Midwives — Chamber- 
lain— Drelincourt — De  Graaf. 

Neurology  —  Duverney  — V  ieussens  —  Willis  —  Surgeons  — 
Transfusion  of  Blood — Richard  Wiseman — The  Trephine— 
Flap-Amputations. 

Later  Schools  of  Medicine  —  Borelli — Bellini— German 
Eclectics — The  Chemiatric  School—  Francis  de  la  Boe— The 
"Humoral  Pathology" — Thomas  Willis — Sydenham— He  is 
Stigmatised  as  a  Sectary — Advocates  use  of  Peruvian  Bark- 
Marks  Epoch  of  Medical  Progress — Despises  Medical  Book 
Learning  and  Complex  Prescriptions — His  Monument. 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI.  Medicine  in  the  18th  Century...  221-278  B. 
Materialism  Pitted  Against  Supersensualism — John  Radcliffe 
— Richard  Mead — Advocacy  of  "  Mathemathical  Learning" 
— Boerhaave — Styled  "  an  Eclectic"  and  a  "  Modern  Galen" 
— Van  Swieten — Haller — Epigenesis  and  Metamorphosis — 
Stahl  and  Hoffman — Theory  of  Animism — Barthez — Hoffman, 
a  Disciple  of  Leibnitz — Morgagni — His  Great  Work— Patho- 
logic Anatomy. 

The  Edinburgh  School — Pitcairn  -  A  Champion  of  the 
Scientific  or  Empiric  Method — Alexander  Monroe — William 
Cullen — His  Theories— The  Vis  Medicatrix  Naturae — The 
Gregories  —  The  Brunonian  System  —  John  Brown  —  His 
Theory  of  Sthenic  and  Asthenic  Disease — His  Disciples — 
Broussais — Blood-Letting  a  Conspicuous  Feature. 

Erasmus  Darwin — His  "  Zoonomia  or  Index  of  Organic 
Life  " — Swedenborg — The  First  Suggestion  of  a  Rational 
Pathology — Rise  of  Modern  Surgery — Surgeons  Formerly 
Barbers  —  Medico-Chirurgic  College  of  Berlin  —  Heister — 
Haller  Teaches  Surgery  at  (jottingen — Petit  and  the  Academic 
de  Chirurgie  at  Paris — Ecole  Pratique  de  Chirurgie  Founded 
at  Paris — Royal  College  of  Surgeons  Established  at  Edinburgh 
— Barbers  and  Surgeons  Distinguished  Under  Henry  VIII. — 
William  Hunter — Receives  Degree  on  Reputation — Medical 
Commentaries — Establishes  Museum  of  Pathologic  Anatomy, 
Etc.  —  Lectures  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island  —  Returns  to 
England. 

John  Hunter — A  Philosopher  as  Well  as  a  Scientist — 
Disgusted  with  Oxford — Teaches  Anatomy  and  Operative 
Surgery — Lays  Foundation  of  Modern  Practice — Regarded 
Surgical  Operations  as  Acknowledgment  of  Imperfect  Skill 
in  Art  of  Healing — His  Labors  not  Appreciated — Manu- 
scripts Destroyed — Exalted  Surgery  from  a  Craft  to  a  Pro- 
fession— His  Views  of  Biology — The  Epigastric  Region 
Identified  as  the  Seat  of  Affections. 

Jenner  and  Vaccination — Small-Pox  Following  the  Plague 
and  Asiatic  Cholera — Becoming  Periodical — Lady  Mary 
Wortley  Montagu  Persuades  the  Introduction  of  Inoculation 
— Failure  as  a  Preventive — Jesty  Vaccinates  his  Children — 
Jenner  Adopts  the  Theory  of  Vaccination — H.  Woodvillo 
Follows — Compulsory  Vaccination  Now  Practiced — Nowhere 
Popular — Arbitrary  Power  at  Expense  of  Virtue. 


CONTENTS.  XVll 

Mesmer  and  Mesmerism — "  Magic  Sleep  "  in  Ancient  Tem- 
ples— Gassner — "Animal  Magnetism" — Royal  Commission 
at  Paris  in  1784 — Its  Unsatisfactory  Report — The  New 
Science  Not  Adopted. 

Hahnemann  and  Homoeopathy — Doctrine  of  Similars  Sug- 
gested by  Hippokrates  and  Others — Proposed  by  Paracelsus 
— History  of  Hahnemann — His  Experimentation — His  Theory 
of  Disease — New  Pharmacy — Persecution. 

Evolution  of  Modern  Chemistry — De  la  Boe — Robert  Boyle 
— He  Believed  in  the  Transmutation  of  Metals — Becher  and 
Stahl — Their  Four  Primal  Elements,  Water,  Acid,  Earth  and 
Phlogiston — Sir  Isaac  Newton — Joseph  Black — Priestley — His 
Unpopular  Beliefs — His  Manifold  Literary  Attainments — 
Rejected  as  a  Scientist  to  Accompany  Banks  and  Captain 
Cook — Discovers  Oxygen — House  and  Manuscripts  Burned 
by  a  Mob — Emigrates  to  Pennsylvania  —  Cavendish  the. 
"  Father  of  Pneumatic  Chemistry " — His  Discovery  that 
Water  is  a  Compound  Generally  Discredited — Accepts  the 
Theory  of  Phlogiston — Lavoisier — Discredits  Phlogiston — 
Develops  a  New  Terminology  and  System  of  Classification — 
Burned  in  Effigy — Beheaded — Closing  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century — Columbus  and  James  Cook — New  Impulsion  to  the 
Sciences— Changes  in  the  Medical  Art — Mear — Stahl — Haller 
— Bichat  —  Morgagni  —  Fothergill  —  Abenbruzzer  —  Cullen — 
Brown — Van  Swieten — Culpepper — Botanic  Gardens — Botany 
Taught  in  Private  Schools— The  French  Revolution  the  Crisis 
of  the  Century. 

CHAPTER  VII.  Former  Years  oe  the  19th  Century..  279-;ri2. 
Influence  of  the  French  Revolution — Sweeping  Utterances 
of  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  and  Others — Mcdern  Empiric  or  Posi- 
tive Medicine  in  France— Broussais — Corvisart — Laennec — 
Bayle — Louis  —  Trousseau  —  English  Physicians  —  Marshall 
Hall — John  Hughes  Bennett — Remarks  of  Bennett  on  Mer- 
cury, Antimony  and  Arsenic — Positive  Medicine  in  Ger- 
many— Rokitansky — Schonlein . 

Researches  in  Physiology — Bichat — Solly— Grant — Ander- 
son— Franz  Joseph  Gall — Spurzheim  and  George  Combe — 
Phrenology— Other  Disciples — Herbert  Spencer — Sir  Charles 
Bell— Marshall  Hall  —  Embryology— Wolff— Virchow— Cell- 
Theory — J.  Hughes  Bennett  and  the  Molecular  Theory — 
Surgery  and  Surgical  Pathology — Artificial  Anaesthesia, 


XVIU  CONTENTS. 

Gynaecology — Recamier — J.  Hughes  Bennett— Velpeau — 
J .  Marion  Sims  and  His  New  Procedures— Women's  Hospital 
in  NewYork — Extirpation  of  the  Ovaries — Ephraim  McDowell 
— Walter  Burnham — Operators  in  England — Hysterectomy. 
"Natural  Bone-Setters" — Sweet  Family — Treatment  of 
the  Insane — Pinel — Tuke— Homoeopathy  and  its  Progress — 
Medical  Schools — Hahnemann  and  the  Organon — Hahne- 
mann and  Later  Homoeopathists — Attenuations — Further 
Refinements  of  Homoeopathic  Doctrine — J.  J.  Garth  Wilkin- 
son— School  of  Specific  Medicine — Dr.  Rau — His  Doctrine — 
Medico-Botanical  Society  in  London — Union  of  Liberal 
Physicians  Proposed — Sir  John  Forbes — Queen  Victoria  and 
the  Royal  Family — Hempel  and  Specific  Homoeopathy — 
Dissenting  Views  of  Homoeopathists — Dr.  Wyld — Honig- 
berger  and  the  "  Medium  System  " — Burial  and  Resuscita- 
tion  of  the  Fakir  at  Lahore. 

CHAPTER   VIII.     The  19th  Century  Continued 353-401. 

Rademacher  the  German  Eclectic — His  Views — The  Chrono- 
Thermal  System — Samuel  Dickson — Dosimeteric  Medica- 
tion— Dr.  Burggrave — The  Biochemic  System — Dr.  Schuess- 
ler  and  the  "Tissue  Remedies" — Hydro-Therapeutics  or 
"Water  Cure" — Priessnitz — The  Swedish  Movement  Cure 
— Chromo-Therapy  or  Light  Cure — General  Pleasonton — 
Seth  Pancoast — E.  D.  Babbitt — Metaphysical  Medicine, 
"Christian  Science" — Phineas  Parkhurst  Quimby — W.  F. 
Evans — Mrs.  Eddy — Microbiogenesis  and  the  Germ  Theory — 
Pasteur — Paracelsus  and  Elemental  Spirits — Helmholtz — 
Bastian — Maudesley — Therapeutic  Sarcognomy — Dr.  Joseph 
Rodes  Buchanan — Medicine  in  the  Outer  World — India — 
Burma — China — Japan — Korea — The  Couvade. 

CHAPTER    IX.      Evolution    of    the    American   Prac- 
tice OK  Medicine 402-447. 

New  Impulse — The  Healing  Art  in  the  Colonial  Period — 
Nicholas  Culpepper — Dr.  Sleigt — Desire  to  Resuscitate  Blood- 
Letting — John  Wesley's  Criticism — Thomas  Jefferson — The 
Early  Botanic  Practice — Remedies  Learned  from  the  Indians — 
Botanic  Physicians  Becoming  a  Distinct  Class — Early  Teach- 
ers of  Medical  Botany — Rafinesque — His  Merits  Recognized 
by  Agassiz — His  Work  on  "  Medical  Flora  of  North  America  " 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

— Precursive  Work  of  Medical  Reform — Rafinesque's  Theory 
of  Pharmacy — Rafinesque  and  Wooster  Beach — Sketch  of 
Dr.  Beach — His  Success  with  Asiatic  Cholera  in  1832 — "The 
American  Practice  of  Medicine  " — Elisha  Smith — Instinct  of 
Liberty  Suppressed  or  Blunted  by  War — Legislation  Against 
Reform  Physicians — New  York  Association  of  Botanic  Physi- 
c.ans — Medical  College. 

CHAPTER    X.      The    Great    Conflict    for  Medical 

Freedom 448-511. 

Samuel  Thomson — His  New  Procedures — Medicinal  Plants 
Enumerated — Professor  Waterhouse  of  Harvard— Testimony 
of  E.  M.  Hale— Thomson  Indicted  for  Wilful  Murder— The 
Thomson  Patents — Visit  to  Doctors  Rush  and  Barton — 
"Friendly  Botanic  Societies" — Women  Accepted  as  Practi- 
tioners— Prescriptive  Medical  Legislation — A  Medical  Church 
Virtually  Created — The  Last  Straw  and  the  Result — Thom- 
sonian  Physicians  Outlawed — Medical  Societies  Organized. 

John  Thomson — Taking  the  Lead  for  Repeal  of  Statutes — 
Law  of  1830 — Efforts  in  Other  States — Conflict  Renewed  in 
New  York — Forms  of  Law  Used  to  Destroy  the  Substance  of 
Liberty — John  Thomson  Fined  for  Visiting  a  Patient — Ala- 
bama and  her  Watchword — Convention  of  Medical  Protest- 
ants— Tables  Turned  Again  in  New  York — Penalties  Re- 
pealed— Thanks  to  Assemblyman  Haskell — Organization  of 
Medical  Societies  in  Western  New  York — The  First  National 
Association — Worthington  and  its  College — John  Cook  Ben- 
nett and  His  Charters  in  Indiana — Thomsonian  National  Asso- 
ciation— Infirmaries. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Thompson  in  Boston  and  Concord — Division 
of  the  Thomsonian  School — The  "  Independent  Thomsonian 
Society" — Morris  Mattson — Marshpee  Indians  and  Thomson- 
ism — The  United  States  Thomsonian  Society—  Legal  Re- 
strictions on  Medicine  Repealed — Dr.  Geo.  McClellan  Ap- 
proves the  Thomsonian  Medicines — The  Victory  in  Maine — 
Georgia  and  the  Reformers — How  Connecticut  Reformers 
Obtained  Their  Rights — Medical  Conflict  and  Medical  Big- 
otry in  New  York — Horatio  Seymour  an  Advocate  of  Free- 
dom of  Medical  Practice — Proposed  New  Political  Party 
Against  Medical  Monopoly — Horace  Greeley  a  Zealous  Sup- 
porter of  Medical  Freedom — The  Great  Petition  Presented 
in  the  Legislature — The  Law  of  Enfranchisement  passed  in 


XX  CONTENTS. 

1844— The  Only  Medical  Legislation  Ever  Asked  by  the 
People  of  the  State — Rejoicing  in  Ohio — Speech  of  Thomas 
V.  Morrow — Medical  Liberty  Now  Opening  the  Way  for 
More  Thorough  Study  and  Investigation. 

CHAPTER  XL  Medical  Colleges  and  Organizations,  512-571. 
Medical  Colleges  Generally  Defective  in  Instruction  and 
Discipline — Reformed  Medical  Academy — Worthington  Medi- 
cal College — Botanic  Medical  Colleges — Proposed  College  in 
Maine — Attempt  to  Establish  a  Botanic  College  in  New 
York — College  Contemplated  in  New  England  in  1841  The 
Botanico-Medical  Institute  of  Ohio — American  Medical  Insti- 
tute— The  Physiopathic  College  of  Ohio — The  Physio-Medical 
Institute — The  Southern  Botanico-Medical  College — South- 
ern Botanico-Medical  Society — Reform  Medical  College  of 
Georgia — The  College  of  American  Medicine  and  Surgery — 
The  Georgia  College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  and  Surgery — 
Partisan  Jealousy  Outlived — The  Botanico-Medical  College 
of  Memphis — Dr.  Michael  Gabbett— "  The  Southwestern 
Medical  Reformer  " — Alabama  Medical  Institute  —  Other 
Botanico-Medical  Colleges. 

Early  Eclectic  Organizations — Pennsylvania  Associate  Medi- 
cal Society  of  Botanic  Physicians — John  B.  Howell — Thomas 
Cooke — He  Declares  that  "we  are  Eclectics" — The  Eclectic 
Botanic  Medical  Association  of  Pennsylvania — Proposed 
National  Institution  for  Instruction  in  Reformed  Medical 
Practice — Overture  Rejected — The  Reformed  Medical  School 
of  Cincinnati — The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  Incorporated — 
Testimonial  to  Colonel  Kilbourne — Dr.  Morrow's  Address — 
Efforts  to  Advance  the  Cause — Eclecticism  in  Medicine  De- 
fined— The  American  Medical  Association  Organized  on  Pur- 
pose to  Procure  Restrictive  Legislation — Its  Code  of  Ethics 
— The  Scientific  and  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  Virginia 
Incorporated — John  Thomas. 

Calvin  Newton — The  Medical  School  at  Worcester — Its 
Union  with  the  Southern  Botanico-Medical  College — Attempt 
of  Dr.  Alva  Curtis  to  Establish  a  Rival  College  at  Boston— 
The  Botanico-Medical  Society  of  Connecticut  Incorporated 
with  Power  to  Establish  a  School  for  Instruction — The  Wor- 
cester Medical  Institution  Incorporated — It  is  Sustained  by 
the  Medical  Societies — The  Name  "  Physio-Medical  "  Adopted 
in  Place  of  "  Thomsonian  " — Controversery  in  the  Worcester 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

Medical  Institution — Medical  School  Opened  in  New  York — 
Softening  of  Sentiment  Toward  Eclectic  Practitioners — New 
Platform  Adopted  at  Baltimore — Metropolitan  Medical  Col- 
lege Incorporated — Proposed  Union  with  the  Worcester  Insti- 
tution— Failure — Charter  of  College  Repealed — First  Medical 
College  for  Women — Female  Medical  Education  Society — 
New  England  Female  Medical  College  —  Merged  into 
Boston  University  School  of  Medicine — Women's  Medical 
College  of  Pennsylvania — Its  Graduates  Not  Recognized  in 
Professional  Circles. 

CHAPTER  XII.     Medical  Colleges  and  Organizations. 

Continued 572-597. 

First  Reformed  Medical  Societies — The  American  Medical 
Association  Formed  to  Undo  Legislation — Call  for  Conven- 
tion of  Reformed  Practitioners — The  National  Eclectic  Medi- 
cal Association  Organized  in  184S — Its  Protest  Against  Medi- 
cal Enactments — Death  of  Dr.  Morrow — Eclectic  Medical 
Schools  in  New  York — General  Law  for  Incorporation  of 
Benevolent,  Charitable,  etc.,  and  Scientific  Societies — The 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  New  York — Medical  School  at 
Randolph,  N.Y. — Central  Medical  College — Women  Admitted 
— Removed  to  Rochester — The  Syracuse  Medical  College — 
Union  of  the  Two  Colleges. 

Societies  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn — New  York  Eclectic 
Medical  Society — American  Medical  Association  in  the  City 
— Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  Brooklyn — New  York  Medical 
and  Pathological  Society— Proposed  "  National  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons" — The  "Reform"  Movement — 
Convention  in  New  York  and  Adoption  of  the  New  Name — 
Platform  Adopted  at  Baltimore — It  is  Accepted  by  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association — Southern  Reform 
Medical  Association — Dr.  Jerome  Cochrane  Assails  the  Plat- 
form— A  "  National  "  Reform  Association  Deemed  Imprac- 
ticable— The  Civil  War  Extinguishes  Rivalships. 

Middle  States  Reformed  Medical  Association — The  Eclec- 
tic Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  Incorporated — Dissen- 
sions— The  American  College  of  Medicine — Death  of  Dr. 
Thomas  Cooke — Dr.  William  Paine  in  Philadelphia — The 
American  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Philadelphia — The 
Penn  Medical  College — Dr.  Joseph  Longshore. 


XXU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII.  Medical  Colleges  and  Controversies,  59S-654. 
The  Memphis  Institute — Dr.  William  Byrd  Powell — Troubles 
at  Cincinnati — The  "  American  Reform  Medical  Institute  '" — 
Free  Lectures  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute — The  American 
Medical  College  of  Ohio — National  Eclectic  Medical  Asso- 
ciation at  Pittsburg  in  1851 — Dr.  J.  R.  Buchanan  Recom- 
mends its  Abandonment — Meeting  at  Rochester — Platform 
Adopted — Meeting  at  Philadelphia — President  Newton  Sub- 
mits Plan  of  Organization  as  a  Representative  Body — Ad- 
dress on  Medical  Education  and  Action  Taken — Fifth  Annual 
Meeting  at  Worcester — Eulogy  of  Dr.  Newton  by  Dr. 
Reuben — Sixth  Annual  Meeting  in  New  York— Dr.  Beach 
Elected  President — Baltimore  Platform  of  "  Reform  "  Medi- 
cine Adopted — Resolution  in  Favor  of  Receiving  Women  as 
Students  in  Medical  Colleges — Seventh  Annual  Meeting  in 
New  York — Platform  of  1849  Adopted — Renewal  of  Objec- 
tionable Legislation  Foreshadowed — Eighth  Annual  Meeting 
at  Cincinnati— Lack  of  Esprit  de  Corps. 

Worcester  Medical  Institution,  Continued — Attempt  to  Co- 
operate with  the  Syracuse  Medical  College — Removal  to  Bos- 
ton— Proposed  Union  with  the  Metropolitan  Medical  College 
— Lectures  Suspended — Trouble  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute— Opposition  to  the  National  Association — Divisions — 
Two  Boards  and  Classes — The  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine 
Established — Final  Adjustment  of  the  Controversy. 

Colleges  at  Philadelphia — Jefferson  Medical  College — 
Medical  Department  of  the  Pennsylvania  Medical  College, 
Incorporated  -Franklin  Medical  College — Dr.  McClintock 
Obtains  a  Charter  for  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Medicine 
— Medical  Intolerance  in  Philadelphia — Dr.  McClintock 
Becomes  a  Professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College — A 
Rupture — The  "  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia" — 
Resolution  of  the  New  York  Eclectic  Medical  Society 
Adverse  to  the  Latter  College — General  Suspension  of  the 
Reform  Colleges — "American  University  of  Philadelphia  ' 
Incorporated — Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  New  York  Re- 
fusing to  Recognize  Diplomas  from  the  Eclectic  Medical 
College  of  Pennsylvania — Dr.  Paine  Effects  a  Union  of 
Several  Medical  Colleges — Philadelphia  University  of  Medi- 
cine and  Surgery — Dr.  Paine  Lays  Aside  the  Name  of 
*  Eclectic." 


CONTENTS.  XXIU 

CHAPTER  XIV.     Important  Events  in  the  Eclectic 

School 655-724. 

Rafinesque's  Definition  of  Eclectic  Physicians — The  New 
Pharmacy — Dr.  Isaac  Jacobs— B.  Keith  and  "Concentrated 
Remedies" — William  S.  Merrell,  the  Father  of  American 
Eclectic  Pharmacy — Discovery  of  Resins  and  Resinoids — 
"  Essential'  Tinctures  " — Proposed  National  Eclectic  Phar- 
macopoeia. 

Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  its  Changes — Adverse  Action 
of  Examining  Boards  in  the  Civil  War  — Insufficiency  of 
Army  Surgeons — Dr.  William  A.  Hammond  Becomes  Sur- 
geon-General— Medical  Partisanship  Overruled  —  Famous 
Order  Against  Mercury  and  Antimony — Excitement  in  Con- 
sequence— Dr.  Hammond  Dismissed  and  Order  Revoked. 

Eclectic  Medical  Organizations  Starting  Anew — A  Society 
in  Canada  West — Eclectic  Medical  College  of  the  City  of 
New  York  —  Bennett  College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  —  Dr. 
Scudder  and  Specific  Medication — The  Medical  Conflict  Re- 
newed— Statute  in  North  Carolina — Dr.  John  Buchanan 
Declares  in  Favor  of  Medical  Enactments — Eclectics  Crushed 
in  Canada — Homoeopathic  Department  in  the  University  of 
Michigan — American  Medical  Association  Asks  that  No  More 
Charters  be  Granted  to  Medical  Colleges  Except  by  its 
Approval. 

Demand  of  Eclectic  Medical  Societies  for  a  National  Asso- 
ciation— Rival  Movement  at  Philadelphia — Call  of  Societies 
and  Colleges  for  a  Convention  at  Chicago — The  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association  Organized  Anew — Committee 
to  Prepare  a  Pharmacopoeia— First  Annual  Meeting  in  New 
York — The  Second  at  Indianapolis — The  Third  in  Columbus, 
Ohio— The  Fourth  in  Boston— The  Fifth  in  Springfield, 
Illinois— The  Sixth  at  Washington,  D.  C— The  Seventh  at 
Pittsburg — New  Constitution  Adopted,  Making  it  a  Repre- 
sentative Body — Eighth  Annual  Meeting  at  Detroit — Ninth 
at  Cleveland,  Ohio — Important  Resolutions — Tenth  Annual 
Meeting  at  Chicago — Eleventh  at  St.  Louis — Important 
Decision  in  Regard  to  Medical  Colleges — Appleton's  Cyclo- 
pcedia  and  its  Misstatements — Twelfth  Annual  Meeting  at 
New  Haven  —  Thirteenth  at  Topeka,  Kansas  —  Merrell's 
Medical  Digest  and  Pharviacopa^ia  Approved — Fourteenth 
Annual  Meeting  at  Cincinnati — Dr.  John  King's  Address  on 


Xxiv  CONTENTS. 

Medical  Legislation — Fifteenth  Annual  Meeting  at  Altoona 
— The  Sixteenth  at  Atlanta,  Georgia — The  Seventeenth  at 
Waukesha — The  Eighteenth  at  Detroit — Standing  Committee 
on  Medical  Legislation  Authorized — It  Recommends  Vigi- 
lance Committees  in  the  Several  States — Nineteenth  Annual 
Meeting  at  Nashville,  Tennessee — Pennsylvania  Resolutions 
— Twentieth  Annual  Meeting  at  Niagara  Falls — Dr.  Wilder 
Requested  to  Prepare  a  History  of  Medical  Reform  in  the 
Early  Period — Twenty-First  Annual  Meeting  at  Hot  Springs, 
Arkansas  —  Protests  of  State  Eclectic  Medical  Societies 
Against  the  Creating  of  a  Medical  Cabinet  Officer — Committee 
Appointed  in  Relation  to  an  Eclectic  Medical  Department  at 
the  Columbian  Exposition — Twenty-Second  Annual  Meeting 
at  St.  Louis — Vote  to  Take  Part  in  the  World's  Congress  at 
Chicago — Twenty-Third  Annual  Meeting  at  Chicago  in 
1S93 — The  World's  Eclectic  Medical  Congress  Auxiliary — 
Address  of  the  Hon.  C.  C.  Bonney — Classification  of  Business 
— Twenty-Fourth  Annual  Meeting  at  Niagara  Falls — Asso- 
ciation of  Eclectic  Medical  Colleges  Formed — Twenty-Fifth 
Annual  Meeting  at  Waukesha  —  Resolution  Concerning 
Medical  Examining  Boards  Defeated — Twenty-Sixth  Annual 
Meeting  at  Portland,  Oregon — Twenty-Seventh  at  Lake 
Minnetonka — Twenty-Eighth  at  Omaha — Twenty-Ninth  at 
Detroit — Thirtieth  at  Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey. 

CHAPTER  XV.     Eclectic  Medical  Colleges  and  Med- 
ical Societies * 725-762. 

The  Attempt  at  National  Organization  in  Philadelphia — 
The  Organization  Formed  at  Cleveland  in  1879 — Its  Meeting 
at  St.  Louis — Eclectic  Societies  in  Existence — The  New  Eng- 
land Eclectic  Medical  Association — The  Eclectic  Medical 
Colleges — The  American  Medical  College  at  St.  Louis — The 
American  Medical  University— The  St.  Louis  Medical  Col- 
lege— The  United  States  Medical  College— The  Court  of 
Appeals  of  New  York  Decides  a  Medical  College  Neither 
Scientific  nor  Literary  but  Simply  Eleemosynary— The  Cali- 
fornia Medical  College— The  Georgia  Eclectic  Medical  College 
—Its  Experience  with  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tion—The Reform  Medical  College  at  Macon— The  Georgia 
College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  and  Surgery — The  Indiana 
Eclectic  Medical  College— The  Beach  Medical  College— The 


CONTENTS.  XXV 

Indiana  College  of  Medicine  and  Midwifery — The  "American 
Medical  College  of  Indianapolis" — "The  Indiana  College  of 
Eclectic  Physicians  and  Surgeons" — The  Iowa  Eclectic  Med- 
ical College — The  King  Medical  College — Troubles  in  the 
Iowa  Eclectic  Medical  Association — The  Iowa  Eclectic 
Medical  College  Recognized  and  Again  Discarded — Eclectic 
Departments  in  the  University  of  Nebraska — The  Lincoln 
Medical  College  of  Cotner  University — Michigan  Eclectic 
Medical  College — The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Maine — 
Attempt  to  Wrest  the  Charter  from  the  Holders — The 
"Druidic  University" — The  University  of  Florida — Proposed 
Medical  College  at  Topeka — The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of 
New  Jersey — The  Colleges  at  Cincinnati — The  Physio-Med- 
ical College  Merges  into  the  American  Medical  College  of 
Cincinnati — The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania 
Disowned — Futile  Legislation  to  Repeal  the  Charter — Act  of 
Legislature  to  Repeal  the  Charter  of  the  Philadelphia  Uni- 
versity Set  Aside — The  Two  Institutions  Go  Out  of  Existence 
— The  Proposed  Burton  Medical  College — Proposed  College  in 
Connecticut — The  Wisconsin  Eclectic  Medical  College — The 
Eclectic  Medical  College  Association  Formed — Its  Powers. 

New  Auxiliary  Societies — The  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
ol  Kansas — It  Gains  Entire  Power  of  Licensing  Physicians — 
J.  H.  Bundy — The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  California 
Formed — Attempts  to  Procure  Legislation— The  Michigan 
Eclectic  Medical  and  Surgical  Society — The  Eclectic  Move- 
ment in  Missouri — The  Missouri  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
— The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  Missouri — Action  of  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association — The  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  of  Nebraska — The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of 
New  Jersey— The  Eclectic  Medical  Practice  in  Western 
Pennsylvania — District  Societies — The  Eclectic  Medical  Asso- 
ciation of  Pennsylvania  Organized — The  Georgia  Eclectic 
Medical  Association — The  Union  of  the  Medical  Colleges 
of  the  State — Dr.  Bankston  Approves — Confl  cts  in  Alabama. 
—Dr.  Jerome  Cochrane  a  State  Health  Officer  and  Bitter  Foe 
— The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Alabama— Statute 
Modified— Court  Decides  that  Violation  is  not  a  Criminal 
Offense — Two  Eclectic  Medical  Associations  in  Arkansas — 
Their  Union— State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners— "  The 
Southwestern  Medical  Journal" — Th  ?  Eclectic  Medical  Asso- 


XXVI  CONTENTS. 

elation  of  Texas — Eclectic  Medicine  in  Tennessee — Attempt 
in  the  General  Assembly  to  Suppress  Eclectics  and  Homceo 
pathists  by  Statute — The  Tennessee  Eclectic  Medical  Society 
— The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Kentucky — The  West 
Kentucky  Eclectic  Medical  Society — Organizations  in  West 
Virginia — The  Oregon  Eclectic  Medical  Society — The  Eclec- 
tic Medical  Association  of  the  State  of  Washington — The 
Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Colorado — The  Eclectic 
Medical  Society  of  Utah — The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of 
South  Dakota — The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  City  of 
Washington — Regions  Without  Eclectic  Organizations — 
Proposed  Societies  Embracing  Several  States — The  New 
England  Eclectic  Medical  Association — General  Survey  of 
the  Field. 

CHAPTER    XVI.     Botanic    and    Eclectic    Medicine    in    En- 
gland    762-835. 

Nicholas  Culpepper,  the  Propounder  of  Herbal  Medication — 
The  English  Physician — Astrology  Taught  as  Medical  Knowl- 
edge— Culpepper's  Works — Dr.  Woodward — "The  State  of 
Physics  and  of  Diseases  " — Botanic  Gardens — Dr.  Thornton 
— Dr.  John  B.  Howell — The  Medico-Botanical  Society  in 
London — Queen  Victoria  and  Sir  James  Clark — A.  J.  Coffin — 
A  Pioneer — Dr.  John  Skelton — His  Treatise — Dr.  Beach  in 
England — Dr.  Thomas  Simmons— Beach's  Work  Republished 
in  England — British  Medical  Reform  Association  Organized 
— "The  Eclectic  Medical  Board" — "The  New  Era  of  Eclecti- 
cism"— Proposed  Eclectic  Medical  College  in  London — Dr. 
Hitchman  Withdraws — The  National  Association  of  Medical 
Herbalists— Dr.  Joseph  R.  Hughes  at  the  World's  Congress 
Auxiliary. 

Eclectic  Medicine  in  the  British  Possessions — Dr.  John 
Broadbent  in  Australia — "The  Botanic  Practitioner" — Med- 
ical Class  in  India. 

Proscription  of  Herbal  and  Eclectic  Physicians — De- 
nounced by  Scientists — Thomas  H.  Huxley — Francis  W. 
Newman — Mr.  Gladstone — Parliamentary  Legislation  Inqui- 
sitional— The  New  Remedies  Popular. 

Medical  Legislation  in  England  and  America. 

Petition  of  Physicians  to  King  Henry  V. — Burning  Heretics 
Alive — Wretched  Condition  of  the  English  People — Mr)nks 


CONTENTS.  XXVii 

and  Priests  the  Legal  Physicians — Bishops  Authorized  to 
Grant  Licenses — Henry  VIIL — Medical  Art  Made  a  Secular 
Pursuit — Lynaker  a  Priest — College  of  Physicians  Made  the 
Licensing  Power — The  Boycott. 

Medical  Legislation  in  North  American  Colonies — Medical 
Statutes  Repealed — Plans  for  their  Reenacting — The  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association — Herbert  Spencer  on  Loss  of  the 
Instinct  of  Liberty. 

Proposition  Regarding  New  Medical  Colleges — Efforts  to 
Procure  Partisan  Statutes — Sentiment  in  the  Homoeopathic 
School — The  Eclectic  School. 

Synopsis  of  Medical  Statutes. 
Alabama — Arizona — Arkansas— California — Three  Boards 
of  Medical  Examiners — Colorado — Electropathists — Connecti- 
cut— Three  Boards — Private  Charters  not  Affected  by  Statutes 
— Massagists,  Mind-Cure  Practitioners  and  Others  Exempt 
— Delaware — Two  State  Boards — District  of  Columbia — Three 
Boards  of  Examiners— Florida— Georgia — Three  Boards  of 
Examiners — Idaho— Illinois — The  State  Board  of  Health  a 
Licensing  Board — Indiana — Indian  Territory — Iowa — Kansas 

Kentucky — Louisiana — Three  State  Boards  of  Examiners 

Maine — Clairvoyants,  Etc. ,  Exempt — Maryland — Two  State 
Boards  of  Examiners — Massachusetts — Clairvoyants,  Etc. 
Exempted — Michigan— Physio-Medical  School  Represented 
— Osteopathy  Recognized  as  Legitimate — Minnesota — "Any 
Other  Agency  "  Included  under  the  Requirements — Missis- 
sippi— Medicines  Exempted — Missouri — The  State  Board  of 
Health  Predominant— Osteopathic  College— Decision  of  Su- 
preme Court  on  the  "  Good  Standing  " — Montana — Agencies 

"  Material  or  Immaterial  "  Included  by  Statute — Nebraska 

State  Board  of  Health  the  Licensing  Authority — "Otherwise" 

Treating  the    Sick    Included— Nevada — New    Hampshire 

Dentists  to  be  Licensed — New  Jersey — Faith-Cure  Mind- 
Cure,  Etc.,  Included  by  Requirements— New  Mexico New 

York— Three  Boards  of  Examiners— North  Carolina— North 
Dakota — Dentists  Exempted — Ohio — "Other  Agency"  In- 
cluded —  Dentistry  Excepted  —  Oklahoma  —  Oregon  —  Any 
"  Agency  "  Included— Dentists  Excepted— Pennsylvania— 
Three  State  Boards  of  Medical  Examiners — Dentists,  Sales 
of  Medicines  and  Manufacturers  of  Artificial  Eyes,  Etc. 
Exempted— Rhode  Island— Midwives  Excepted — South  Caro- 


XXviii  CONTENTS. 

Una — South  Dakota — Tennessee — Itinerant  Venders  of  Drugs, 
and  Other  Healers  to  be  Punished— Texas— District  Boards 
of  Examiners  —  Vermont  —  Virginia  —  Washington  —  Any 
"Agency"  Included  —  Dentists  Exempted — West  Virginia 
— The  State  Board  of  Health  a  Licensmg  Body — Midwives 
Exempted — Wisconsin — Midwives  and  Veterinary  Physicians 
Exempted — Wyoming. 

CHAPTER  XVII.     Publications  of  the  American  Reformers 

IN  Medicine 836-871. 

Every  Great  Reform  Owes  its  Success  to  its  Literature — 
Every  Faith  Established  by  its  Books — The  Future  Depends 
on  the  Character  and  Sufficiency  of  Our  Literature — Sir 
Francis  Bacon's  Criticism — Thomas  Jefferson's  Predictions — 
Pioneers  and  Teachers  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  Not  Re- 
miss— As  a  Rule  Disseminate  Only  Their  Own  Observations 
and  Opinions — The  Lloyd  Library — Its  Collection  an  Impor- 
tant and  Necessary  Work — Invaluable  to  the  Future  Student 
of  Our  Medical  History — Catalogue  of  Periodicals  on  Reform 
Medicine  in  the  Lloyd  Collection — Books  and  Pamphlets  of 
the  Medical  Reformers  in  the  Lloyd  Library — Periodicals 
and  Books  of  the  Reformers  Not  Included  in  the  Foregoing 
Lists — Periodicals  by  Eclectic  Physicians  —  Periodicals, 
Books  and  Pamphlets  by  Thomsonian,  Botanic  and  Herbal 
Physicans,  Collectively  Forming  the  Most  Complete  Cata- 
logue of  the  Literature  on  Liberal  Medicine  Ever  Com- 
piled. 

CHAPTER  XVIII.     Later    Developments  in  Surgery  and 

Medicine 872-886. 

Predictions  of  Sir  James  Y.  Simpson — Surgical  Art  More 
Conservative  Than  of  Yore — Advancement  in  Brain  Surgery 
— Thoracic  and  Abdominal  Surgery — Success  Rather  Than 
Brilliancy  Demanded  in  Surgical  Operations — Highest  Ideal 
of  Surgery — Dentistry.  Surgical  and  Mechanical — Dental  Sur- 
gery formerly  Practiced  by^  Barbers — Dentistry  Among  the 
Ancients — At  One  Time  a  Part  of  the  Physician's  Calling — 
Art  of  Replacing  Lost  Teeth  ot  Great  Antiquity — Artificial 
Dentures  Found  in  the  Mouths  of  Mummied  Human  Beings 
— Julius  Caesar  and  Mark  Antony  Said  to  Have  Worn  Arti- 
ficial Teeth — Ivory  Employed  for  Making  Teeth — Missing 
Teeth  Supplied  from  Other  Mouths — First  Dentist  in  Amer- 


CONTENTS.  XXIX 

ica — Dr.  Joseph  Le  Maine — Isaac  Greenwood — His  Son  Con- 
structs a  Full  Set  of  Teeth  for  General  Washington — Early- 
Decay  of  Teeth  Attributed  to  Medication  with  Mercury — 
Fame  of  American  Dentists  Unrivaled — Dental  Licensing 
Boards. 

Unrecognized  Forms  of  Therapy — Several  Have  Claims  to 
Popular  Favor — The  Physio-Medicalists — National  Physio- 
Medical  Association — Hygienic  Colleges —  American  Col- 
lege of  Osteopathy'' — Dr.  Andrew  V.  Still — His  Theory  of 
Disease  and  Method  of  Cure — EndoTherapy — "  Drugless 
Science  " — The  American  Association  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons— Concluding  Remarks. 


HISTORY  OF  MEDICINE. 


CHAPTER    I. 
ARCHAIC    MEDICINE. 

Carlyle  has  said  :  "  The  profession  of  the  human 
healer  is  radically  a  sacred  one,  and  connected  with 
the  higher  priesthood  ;  or  rather,  is  itself  the  outcome 
and  acme  of  all  priesthoods,  and  divinest  conquests  of 
the  human  intellect  here  below — as  will  appear  one 
day." 

We  may  not  wonder,  then,  that  the  earlier  Faiths  of 
the  world  which  ascribed  the  origin  of  mankind  to 
Divinity,  also  associated  the  technique  of  medicine 
with  the  offices  of  religious  worship.  They  named 
gods  as  the  first  physicians;  these  famous  hero-chief- 
tains, gifted  men  who  were  instinct  with  enthusiastic 
fervor,  the  Rephaim  and  giant-minds  among  the  tribes 
and  peoples  of  the  earth.  The  temples  were  often 
hospitals  to  which  the  sick  resorted  for  counsel  and 
healing  medicines,  believing  that  the  means  of  cure 
had  been  revealed  there  by  the  guardian  divinity  of 
the  shrine.  The  priests  were  regarded  as  physicians 
for  disorders  of  the  body  ;  prophets  and  diviners  were 
consulted  for  those  who  suffered  from  disease,  and  the 
wisdom  of  the  philosophers  included  the  knowledge  of 


2  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

treating  physical  maladies.  Even  in  later  periods, 
every  supposed  advance  in  spiritual  ken  has  been 
accompanied  by  the  persuasion  of  superior  acumen  in 
regard  to  the  ailments  of  the  body.  Pythagoras, 
Aristotle,  Athenaeos,  the  early  Christian  teachers,  the 
mystics  of  later  centuries,  down  to  our  own  times,  not 
only  gave  instructions  to  their  disciples  in  arcane, 
metaphysical  and  other  learning,  but  also  treated  the 
sick  and  ministered  to  their  bodily  injuries. 

Indeed,  we  may  regard  it  as  an  axiom,  that  the 
knowledge  which  is  anywhere  possessed  of  the  art  of 
healing,  is  the  measure  of  the  refinement  and  civiliza- 
tion to  which  the  people  have  attained.  Man  is  civil- 
ized by  virtue  of  social  relations  ;  and  refinement  is  the 
becoming  divested  from  grossness,  vulgarity,  and  the 
evil  manners  which  are  characteristic  and  incident  to 
a  living  for  one's  self  alone.  Selfishness  is  savagery  ; 
and  a  state  of  society  in  which  self-interest  is  the  rul- 
ing element  is  hardly  yet  reclaimed  from  the  state  of 
barbarism.  It  is  of  little  avail  to  appeal  to  skill  in 
mechanics,  engineering,  and  other  attainments  in  the 
plane  of  material  evolution.  These  are  not  adequate 
proof  of  spiritual  advancement.  Kindly  sentiment 
toward  others,  sincere  regard  for  their  welfare,  charity 
in  will  and  act,  make  the  only  real  culture  and  civiliza- 
tion. The  art  and  technique  of  healing  proceed  from 
these  qualities,  and  cannot  flourish  apart  from  them. 

It  is  the  province  of  intelligence,  as  distinguished 
from  scientific  knowledge  and  artistic  skill,  to  investi- 
gate causes  and  origins.  Our  thought  is  thus  set  free 
from  the  narrow  limits  between  the  cradle  and  the 
grave.  We  become  broader,  wiser,  purer  and  better 
for  having  learned  of  what  has  been.  There  is  like- 
wise a  firmer  basis  for  faith  and  ambition  in  regard  to 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE,  3 

the  future,  a  more  accurate  knowing  ;  and  the  indi- 
vidual is  thereby  liberalized,  refined  and  ennobled. 
By  such  eating  of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge,  the  eyes 
become  open,  and  the  man  is  as  a  god.  He  makes 
"the  divinest  conquest  of  the  human  intellect." 

The  History  of  the  Healing  Art  is  as  old  as  the  his- 
tory of  the  human  race.  The  amber  of  antiquity  has 
not  preserved  the  name  or  any  monument  of  the  bene- 
factor who  first  ventured  upon  the  attempt  to  relieve 
the  maladies  of  his  fellow-beings.  To  know  so  much 
would  be  equivalent  to  knowing  the  origins  of  civiliza- 
tion, when  perhaps  they  were  only  germs  of  which  the 
future  could  not  be  readily  foreshadowed.  What  is 
regarded  as  learning,  erudition,  or  wisdom,  is  a  treas- 
ure which  others  have  won  and  possessed  before  us. 
Every  great  thought  has  had  a  precursor,  every  great 
man  a  predecessor.  "  What  has  been  is  what  again 
will  be,"  says  the  Hebrew  sage  ;  "  what  has  been  done 
is  the  same  as  what  will  be  done  ;  there  is  nothing  new 
under  the  sun."  We  have  no  Father  of  Medicine,  no 
Founder  of  the  Healing  Art,  except  in  eponym. 

Indeed,  upon  all  questions  involving  this  matter, 
men  of  learning  in  modern  times  are  widely  divided. 
One  school  inculcates  the  hypothesis  that  the  human 
race  from  the  first  was  capable,  by  virtue  of  direct  en- 
dowment from  Divinity,  of  all  manner  of  intellectual 
and  artistic  achievement  ;  another  party  maintains 
the  contrary  sentiment,  that  all  culture  has  been  a 
matter  of  slow  and  gradual  development — man  having 
an  origin  in  a  low  and  bestial  condition,  and  begin- 
ning as  in  the  case  of  each  individual,  with  a  long 
infancy,  childhood  and  adolescence,  which  for  untold 
periods  gave  little  promise  of  the  eventful  maturing 
of  a  being  "  a  little  less  than  gods,  crowned  with  glory 


4  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  honor,  and  having  dominion  over  all  created 
things."  We  have  no  occasion  to  give  an  opinion  in 
the  matter.  So  far  as  we  know,  the  world  has  never 
been  wholly  civilized  or  wholly  savage,  but  every 
region  in  its  turn  has  enjoyed  a  higher  cultivation, 
preceded  and  often  followed  by  a  period  of  barbarism. 
There  is  good  reason,  therefore,  for  the  supposition 
that  such  cycles  of  alternate  savagery  and  civilization 
will  continue  till  the  earth  shall  become  unfit,  if  such 
a  crisis  can  ever  arise,  for  the  sustaining  of  human 
inhabitants.  The  germs  of  such  changes  are  found 
in  every  country  and  social  condition. 

Every  country  having  a  literature  of  ancient  periods 
of  its  history  possesses  some  account  of  a  healing  art. 
Egypt,  India  and  China,  perhaps  the  most  venerable 
for  antiquity,  each  had  a  caste  of  physicians  included 
in  the  sacerdotal  order.  The  Skythic  peoples,  likewise, 
who  probably  were  older  than  these,  abounded  with 
traditions  of  an  ancient  lore  which  embraced  the  art  of 
divining,  the  treating  of  disease,  and  religious  worship. 
We  have  no  alternative,  therefore,  except  to  take  such 
relics  and  statements  as  remains,  leaving  the  question 
of  origin  with  other  problems  of  archaic  time. 

By  a  significant  unanimity,  the  serpent  upon  the 
staff  has  been  generally  accepted  as  the  S)"mbol  of 
the  medical  art.  Egyptians,  Greeks,  Germans,  South 
American  Indians  and  North  Americans,  employed  it 
alike.  The  asp  on  the  crown  of  Queen  Isis,  the  Fire- 
Serpent  on  the  sign-post  of  Assyrian  physicians,  the 
rattlesnake  hieroglyphic  of  Mexico  and  Brazil,  and  the 
ophidian  upon  the  Magic  Staff  of  Apollo,  -^sculapius 
and  Hippokrates,  all  meant  the  same  thing.  The  ser- 
pent was  the  signifier  of  the  occult  life  principle,  and 
of  that  knowledge  of  it  which  rendered  the  possessor 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  5 

as  a  divine  or  preternaturally  endowed  being.  Even 
the  brazen  seraph  coiled  upon  a  pole  or  staff  and  set 
up  by  Moses  in  the  wilderness,  we  are  told,  possessed 
such  power,  that  anyone  abovit  to  die,  when  he  beheld 
it,  recovered  from  his  extreme  peril. 

While  the  serpent  was  thus  arcanely  symbolic,  the 
staff  was  also  part  of  the  ancient  physician's  arma- 
mentarium. The  direction  of  the  Israelitish  prophet- 
abbot  to  his  servant  was  a  meaning  one:  "Take  my 
staff  in  thine  hand  and  go  thy  way  ;  if  thou  meet  any 
man,  salute  him  not,  and  if  any  salute  thee,  answer 
him  not  again  ;  and  lay  my  staff  upon  the  face  of  the 
child."  (A7«^^  II.  or  IV.,  iv.,  29.)  Klearkhos  relates  the 
account  of  a  mantis,  who,  in  the  presence  of  Aristotle, 
by  the  means  of  a  wand,  produced  a  cataleptic  condi- 
tion, and  afterward  restored  the  patient  to  normal 
consciousness.  Examples  are  abundant  of  similar  no- 
tions ;  the  sceptre  of  the  king  was  believed  to  possess 
magic  virtue  ;  the  baton  of  the  magistrate,  the  rod  of 
the  prophet,  and  the  barsom  or  thyrsus  of  the  divinity, 
pertain  alike  to  the  same  category.  A  physician  with- 
out his  staff  would  have  been  regarded  in  ancient  time 
like  his  fellow,  the  enchanter,  without  his  wand.  The 
fatness  of  the  symbol  of  health  or  "  sign  of  salvation," 
is  therefore  abundantly  shown.  The  serpent  upon  the 
rod  as  significative  of  healing  virtue,  very  justly  has 
been  accepted  by  the  medical  profession  of  both  hemi- 
spheres. The  story  of  the  book  of  Genesis  was  by  no 
means  out  of  place  when  it  described  the  animal  as 
ministrant  at  the  Tree  in  the  Garden. 

EGYPT. 

According  to  Pliny  the  origin  of  Medicine  as  an  art 
and  pursuit,  was  Egyptian.    Others,  however,  have  pro- 


6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

fessed  to  trace  it  to  Arabia,  crediting  it,  after  the  myth- 
ologic  form  of  personification,  to  Arabos,  the  son  of  Bel 
and  Babylonia.  This  was  a  figurative  way  of  declaring 
the  Chaldaeans  the  inventors  of  the  Art  of  Healing. 
So  long,  however,  as  the  relative  antiquity  of  the  sev- 
eral countries  has  not  been  conclusively  determined, 
we  have  no  occasion  to  give  preference  to  any  of  them. 
The  preiiminence  of  the  physicians  of  Egypt  justifies 
us  in  noticing  them  first.  That  there  was  a  literature 
in  the  archaic  land  of  Ham  is  unequivocal.  The  "  old- 
est scripture,"  the  Papyrus  Prisse,  was  written  upon  the 
erased  pages  of  an  earlier  work.  We  are  told  that 
before  Mena  or  Menes,  who  indeed  seems  to  have  been 
a  military  and  probably  a  foreign  conqueror,  the  gods 
ruled  in  Egypt.  In  other  words,  the  sheiks  or  priestly 
heads  of  the  tribes  and  families  were  supreme.  At 
that  early  time  there  had  begun  a  Bardic  period  ;  and 
proverbs,  legends  and  songs  were  common  in  all  the 
country  of  the  Nile,  Whether  the  reputed  founder  of 
the  first  Monarchy  was  an  actual  person  is  by  no  means 
certain.  His  name  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Sacred 
Bull  at  the  city  of  On,  and  he  is  recorded  as  having 
been  slain  by  a  crocodile  or  hippopotamus — the  Ty- 
phon  or  Satan  of  Egypt.  He  was  succeeded,  it  is  said, 
by  his  son  Athoth,  or  Atuti,  who  is  described  as  a  cul- 
tured monarch.  "  Men  have  books  written  by  him  on 
Anatomy,"  says  Manetho ;  "  for  he  was  a  physician." 
In  the  Third  Dynasty  was  a  king  named  Ser,  or  Tosor- 
thros,  whom  Sir  J.  Gardner  Wilkinson  considers  as  the 
same  personage.  He  was  also  called  Emeph,  or  Imho- 
tep,  the  Egyptian  ^sculapius,  Manetho  declares,  "  be- 
cause of  his  medical  knowledge  ;"  adding,  "  he  was  the 
first  who  built  with  hewn  stone,  and  he  was  also  a  great 
patron  of  learning."     All  these  arts  had  been  exercised 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  7 

under  his  predecessors,  but  probably  his  age  was 
marked  by  their  higher  development.  Foreign  ele- 
ments were  now  infused  into  the  national  character  ; 
a  new  religion,  a  new  public  policy,  and  a  new  litera- 
ture introduced. 

The  pantheon  was  remodelled,  and  the  divinities 
known  in  the  later  Egypt  were  now  worshipped.  Isis, 
the  Great  Mother  and  Madonna,  was  the  goddess  of  the 
secret  shrine,  and  bore  the  Semitic  name  of  Hakhamoth 
or  Wisdom,  as  being  the  tutelar  genius  of  the  Superior 
Knowledge  and  patroness  of  the  art  of  healing.  Ptah, 
the  oldest  divinity  known  in  Egypt,  was  the  personi- 
fied setherial  fire  that  imparts  life  to  everything. 
Serapis  in  the  later  centuries  was  also  a  god  of  life  and 
healing,  and  the  famous  Museum  at  Alexandria  was 
his  sanctuary.  On  the  walls  of  the  ruined  temples  of 
Amen  at  Thebes  were  basso-relievos  displaying  surgi- 
cal operations  and  instruments  not  very  unlike  some 
in  use  in  modern  times. 

The  god  Thoth  or  Hermes,  (the  "  very  great  one  ") 
was  the  tutelary  of  all  sacred  and  sacerdotal  learning. 
Six  of  the  "  Books  "  inscribed  to  him  were  devoted  to 
medicine  and  surgery,  and  contained  some  hundred 
and  fifty  prescriptions  and  modes  of  treatment.  One 
chapter  of  eight  pages  was  devoted  to  the  optic  nerve 
and  diseases  of  the  eyes,  which  are  still  very  common 
in  Egypt.  The  various  treatises  were  set  forth  as 
special  revelations  from  the  divinity,  and  the  prescrip- 
tions are  accompanied  by  sentences  and  invocations 
for  the  physician  to  repeat  while  making  up  the  medi- 
cine, and  when  about  to  administer  it  to  the  patient. 
The  remedies  are  given  for  the  various  external  and 
internal  diseases  of  the  body,  and  the  numbers  regard- 
ing the  weights  and  measures  are  prescribed  for  each 


8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

drug.  While  the  favor  of  the  god  was  duly  invoked, 
the  learned  writers  were  careful  to  guard  against  any- 
evil  result  from  reckless  or  improper  dosing. 

During  the  reign  of  Kheops  or  Sufi,  who  likewise 
was  a  patron  of  learning,  there  was  found  in  a  sacred 
niche  of  the  goddess  Mut,  a  formula  for  the  treatment 
of  wounds.  It  was  perceived  in  the  moonlight  by  a 
ministrant  of  the  shrine  and  brought  to  the  king  as  a 
precious  discovery.  In  another  papyrus  now  preserved 
in  the  Museum  at  Berlin  is  a  recipe  for  the  use  of  the 
drug  uchedu.  It  had  been  found  at  Letopolis  in  the 
reign  of  the  king  Hesep  or  Husapati  (Joseph)  of  the 
First  Dynasty,  and  brought  after  his  death  to  king 
Senada  of  the  dynasty  next  succeeding. 

In  course  of  time  experience  taught  them  the  use 
of  many  new  remedies,  and  we  learn  from  some  of  the 
mummies  found  in  the  necropolis  of  Thebes  that  they 
had  the  art  of  plugging  teeth  with  gold.  "  The  boun- 
teous land  produces  very  many  drugs,"  says  Homer  ; 
''many  of  them  are  excellent  when  combined,  and 
many  are  deadly  ;  and  each  physician  possesses  knowl- 
edge above  all  men,  for  indeed,  they  are  of  the  race  of 
Paieon."  They  were  carefully  instructed.  The  servile 
and  subject  classes  were  regarded  as  earth-born  and 
inferior,  but  the  youth  of  superior  rank  were  consid- 
ered as  of  diviner  mould.  The  temples  were  schools 
of  learning  in  which  they  were  taught  in  the  various 
branches  of  knowledge.  At  On  and  Memphis  were 
universities  surpassing  all  the  others. 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  Shepherds  the  monarchs 
of  the  New  Empire  restored  the  temples  to  their  former 
importance.  Upon  the  establishment  of  the  Nine- 
teenth D3'nasty,  Seti,  the  conqueror,  resolved  to  estab- 
lish an  Akadrmeia  at  Thebes  which  should  equal  the 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  9 

priestly  seminaries  of  Lower  Egypt,  The  new  sanc- 
tuary of  learning  was  placed  in  the  Necropolis,  on  the 
western  side  of  the  River  Nile.  Such  a  site  was  re- 
garded as  perfectly  suitable  for  the  schools  and  dwell- 
ings of  religious  teachers,  and  instructors  in  science. 
The  cheerful  theosophy  of  the  Egyptians  allowed  no 
gloomy  conceptions  to  cast  a  shadow  over  life  in  the 
city  of  the  dead.  The  "  House  of  Seti "  was  the  larg- 
est of  all  the  sanctuaries  except  the  one  which  the  great 
Thothmes  had  built  ;  and  in  it  were  celebrated  both 
the  services  for  the  dead  of  the  royal  household,  and 
the  arcane  and  initiatory  rites  of  the  gods  of  the  mys- 
terious West.  Great  sums  were  expended  for  its  estab- 
lishment, for  the  maintenance  of  its  priests  and  inmates, 
and  for  the  support  of  the  several  institutions  which 
it  comprised.  One  of  these  was  a  department  for 
instruction.  Here  priests,  physicians,  astronomers 
and  students  in  other  branches  of  learning  were  taught 
by  professors  excelling  in  ervidition  ;  and  when  they 
had  attained  their  senior  degree  they  were  admitted  to 
the  dignity  of  "scribes  of  the  temple,"  or  hierogramvia- 
tcis  and  entitled  henceforth  to  maintenance  from  the 
royal  treasury.  They  were  thus  enabled  to  prosecute 
their  studies  and  researches  free  of  care,  and  with 
every  necessary  facility.  There  was  also  an  extensive 
library  to  which  they  had  free  access  ;  and  a  paper 
factory  connected  with  the  temple  furnished  the  papy- 
rus necessary  for  adding  to  the  immense  collection. 
Every  thing  that  would  afford  encouragement  to  learn- 
ing seems  to  have  been  abundantly  supplied. 

The  sons  of  the  other  classes  were  by  no  means  ex- 
cluded from  participation  in  these  advantages.  They 
might  obtain  admission  to  the  schools  of  learning,  and 
were  even  permitted  to  enter  the  sacerdotal  body. 


lO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  physicians  of  Egypt  belonged  to  the  sacerdotal 
order,  to  the  class  denomina.ted  j>as/i/>/ic>ri,  or  carriers  of 
the  sacred  shrine  and  emblems.  Their  canons  required 
them  to  follow  prescribed  courses  of  treatment,  but 
they  were  permitted,  under  certain  regulations,  to 
adopt  different  methods  and  remedies,  taking  the  re- 
sponsibility for  consequences.  Deriving  their  support 
from  the  lands  of  the  priests,  and  payments  from  the 
royal  treasury,  they  received  no  fee  or  honorarium 
from  patients.  Whatever  payment  was  made  in  ac- 
knowledgment or  recompense  for  their  services,  be- 
longed to  the  temple  with  which  they  were  connected. 
They  were  obliged  to  attend  the  poor,  and  to  go  on 
foreign  journeys  as  well  as  military  service,  without 
remuneration.  Every  temple  had  its  staff  of  medical 
practitioners,  and  whoever  required  the  services  of 
a  physician  sent  thither  for  him,  with  a  statement  of 
the  complaint  from  which  the  sick  man  was  suffering. 
The  principal  of  the  medical  staff  selected  the  one 
whom  he  supposed  to  be  best  suited  for  the  case. 

Superior  as  the  knowledge  of  these  priest-physicians 
was  regarded,  and  arbitrary  as  was  the  kingly  authority 
of  those  times,  there  is  no  evidence  that  any  restriction 
was  placed  upon  practitioners  who  had  not  conformed 
to  the  prescribed  regulations.  Indeed,  the  imposing  of 
such  disability  and  curtailing  of  the  rights  and  liberties 
of  others,  is  always  indubitable  evidence  of  a  low 
moral  and  social  condition.  Knowledge  is  iDOwer,as  we 
have  all  been  assured,  and  the  person  possessing  it  is 
therefore  better  equipped  than  others  for  the  conflicts 
and  experiences  of  life.  A  prohibition  to  compete  in  a 
profession  for  its  honors  and  emoluments,  on  the  jDre- 
text  of  inferior  instruction,  or  the  employment  of  the 
boycott  to  crush  an  honornble  rival,  is  equivalent  to 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  II 

the  taking  for  granted  that  knowledge  produces  mental 
and  moral  feebleness — or  rather,  it  is  a  confession  that 
that  for  which  protection  is  sought  is  something  else 
than  knowledge.  There  can  hardly  be  any  profound 
conviction  of  right  in  the  matter. 

Hence,  although  in  ancient  Egypt  the  physicians  of 
the  privileged  class  were  carefully  instructed,  and  pro- 
vision was  made  for  the  bestowing  of  their  services 
iipon  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  there  was  little  im- 
pediment to  the  employing  of  other  practitioners.  In- 
deed, empirics  and  pretenders  were  as  common  as  in 
more  modern  times;  clairvoyants  and  "mediums" 
practiced  as  such  ;  charms  and  amulets  were  employed, 
and  pieces  of  papyrus  have  been  found  with  written 
sentences  upon  them,  which  had  been  used  for  magic 
purposes.  The  belief  has  been  current  in  all  ages  that 
hieroglyphics,  runes,  astronomic,  and  even  alphabetic 
characters  possessed  an  occult  virtue  and  might  be  em- 
ployed with  benefit  for  bodily  ills. 

Without  doubt  the  prophets  of  the  temples  them- 
selves cherished  faith  in  certain  modes  of  obtaining 
superior  knowledge,  which  in  modern  times  would 
hardly  be  acceptable.  Like  the  rest  of  humankind 
they  believed  in  there  being  actual  communication 
with  Divinity,  and  that  most  salutary  physical  results 
might  thereby  be  obtained.  Sculptures  upon  the  walls 
of  the  temples  indicate  them  to  have  been  familiar 
with  the  practice  phenomena  of  Animal  Magnetism, 
particularly  with  the  sacred  hypnotism.  The  hand,  and 
especially  the  forefinger  or  index  medicus,  are  common 
in  symbolic  representation,  and  imply  that  they  were 
employed  to  impart  healing  virtue.  The  words  of  the 
Syrian  general,  Naaman,  show  the  generality  of  the 
practice  among  prophet-physicians.      "Behold,"  says 


12  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

he,  "  I  said  to  myself,  '  He  will  surely  come  out  to  me, 
and  stand,  and  call  upon  the  name  of  his  God,  and 
extend  his  hand  over  the  place,  and  heal  the  plague.'  " 

Indeed,  the  term  surgery  or  kheirourgike  signifies 
manipulation,  and  appears  to  have  been  originally  em- 
ployed in  that  sense.  Yet  the  Egyptian  physicians 
were  not  without  skill  in  surgical  operations.  They 
inserted  artificial  teeth  and  plugged  cavities,  operated 
successfully  for  cataract,  performed  lithotomy  both  by 
the  suprapubic  and  the  perinatal  operations,  and  made 
examinations  of  the  bodies  of  the  dead  in  order  to  as- 
certain their  maladies.  That  they  were  experts  in  the 
art  of  bandaging,  is  plainly  shown  by  the  mummies, 
and  they  had  some  skill  with  fractures,  though  this 
has  been  doubted.  The  Hebrew  prophet  exhibits  their 
method  :  "  Son  of  man,  I  have  broken  the  arm  of  the 
King  of  Egypt ;  and  lo,  it  shall  not  be  bound  up  to  be 
healed,  to  put  a  roller  to  bind  it,  to  make  it  strong  to 
hold  the  sword."     {Ezekiel,  xxx.,  21.) 

Their  extraordinary  practice  of  mummification  gave 
them  a  very  familiar  knowledge  of  anatomy,  at  least 
of  the  internal  organism  of  the  human  body.  Their 
religious  belief,  in  which  their  tenacity  exceeded  that 
of  other  nations,  led  them  to  this  custom.  The  body 
of  the  deceased  person  was  regarded  as  a  form  or  sym- 
bol of  the  god  Asar  or  Osiris,  and  accordingly  it  was 
handled  only  by  priests,  the  Pastiphori,  The  account 
given  of  the  embalming  of  the  Hebrew  patriarch,  Jacob, 
by  "physicians"  or  Rephaim,  who  were  "servants"  of 
Joseph,  seems  in  some  particulars,  not  quite  to  agree 
with  the  practice.  In  the  process  the  abdomen  was 
opened  on  a  line  made  by  a  scribe,  and  its  contents 
carefully  removed  to  be  preserved  by  themselves. 
The   skull  was    also  emptied.      The   body   was  then 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  13 

placed  in  natron  for  forty  days  to  remove  the  adipose 
and  putrescent  matter  ;  after  which  it  was  swathed  in 
linen  bandages  and  deposited  in  the  sarcophagus. 
Spicery,  precious  gums  and  other  articles,  costing  hun- 
dreds and  even  thousands  of  dollars,  were  employed 
for  the  bodies  of  the  rich  and  noble  ;  but  natron,  com- 
mon salt  and  the  process  of  smoking  sufficed  for 
corpses  of  the  poor.  Papyrus-scrolls  were  placed  in 
the  coffin,  and  often  in  addition,  amulets,  the  favorite 
ornaments,  and  even  playthings.  The  funeral  rites 
were  similar  to  these  at  the  processions  of  the  mur- 
dered divinity,  Osiris.  The  body  was  ferried  by  a 
kharun  or  boatman  across  the  Nile  to  the  amenti  or 
western  bank,  borne  to  the  temple  for  the  last  oi^ces, 
bewailed  for  forty  days  and  then  deposited  in  its  re- 
ceptacle. The  mourners  were  professionals,  consist- 
ing chiefly  of  the  almas  or  maids  of  the  temple,  and 
"  boys  "  that  had  been  set  apart  to  the  service  of  the 
divinities.* 

Indeed  the  Egyptian  medical  knowledge  has  been 
both  underrated  and  overrated.  The  methods  em- 
ployed were  the  result  of  long  observation,  and  were 
often  derived  from  the  experience  of  individuals  not 
belonging  to  the  medical  caste  In  the  periods  of  a 
waning  civilization,  it  is  a  common  practice  to  plagi- 
arize from  those  whom  it  is  desired  to  keep  out  of 
sight,  to  contradict  them  silently,  and  to  assume  a 
scientific  knowledge  which  is  not  actually  possessed. 
The  medical  men  of  the  Theban  Empire  seem  to  have 

♦Compare  Ecclesiastes^  xii.  5.—"  For  the  man  is  departing  to  his  house  of 
eternity,  and  the  mourners  are  going  in  the  streets." 

Also,  Gospel  according  to  Mattheiv,  xi.,  16,  17,  (amended  version).  "  h  is  lilse 
the  boys  sitting  in  the  assembly  and  calling  to  their  al  ernates,  saying:  '  AN'o  played 
the  flutes  for  you  and  you  did  not  dance;  we  chanted  the  dirge  and  you  did  not 
beat  your  breasts.'  " 


14  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

done  this  abundantly,  and  at  the  same  time  to  have 
established  a  code  for  practitioners  which  might  not 
be  disregarded.  With  it,  of  course,  progress  in  knowl- 
edge was  arrested,  till  the  Shepherd-rulers  swept  out 
the  rubbish,  and  enabled  the  savants  of  the  later  period 
to  adopt  a  broader  system  of  procedure.  Mr.  Sayce 
insists  that  the  famous  Ebers  manuscript,  which  is 
dated  from  the  earliest  reigns,  has  no  greater  antiquity 
than  this.  Medicine  at  this  period,  he  declares,  was 
in  almost  as  advanced  a  stage  as  in  the  age  of  Galen  ; 
the  various  diseases  were  carefully  distinguished  from 
one  another,  and  their  symptoms  were  minutely  de- 
scribed as  well  as  their  treatment.  The  prescriptions 
recommended  in  each  case  were  made  out  in  precisely 
the  same  way  as  those  of  a  modern  doctor.  One  was 
derived  from  a  fashionable  oculist  of  Byblos  in  Phoe- 
nicia, but  the  greater  part  belonged  to  earlier  Egyptian 
medical  men  of  the  first  dynasties.  They  were  of 
mineral  as  well  as  vegetable  composition,  consisting 
of  draughts,  blisters,  powders  and  clysters.  "  Medicine 
is  practiced  among  them  upon  a  plan  of  specialties," 
Herodotus  declares  ;  "each  physician  treats  a  single 
disorder,  and  no  more.  Thus  the  whole  country  swarms 
with  medical  practitioners;  some  undertaking  to  cure 
diseases  of  the  eye,  others  of  the  head,  others  again, 
of  the  teeth,  others  of  the  intestines,  and  some  those 
complaints  which  are  not  local."  It  was  a  maxim  with 
the  last  of  these:  "  If  but  a  small  portion  of  the  body 
suffers,  the  whole  body  is  ill." 

The  skill  and  learning  of  the  physicians  of  Egypt 
made  them  famous  in  the  neighboring  countries.  The 
prince  of  Bakhtan  (Bashan)  sent  an  embassy  to  Rama- 
ses  XII.  for  medical  aid  for  his  queen's  sister.  A  royal 
scribe,  "  intelligent  in  his  heart   and   skillful  with  his 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  15 

fingers,"  was  sent,  but  to  no  good  purpose.  Some 
years  later  a  second  envoy  came  asking  for  the  ark  or 
sacred  boat  of  Khonsu*  or  Hermes  to  be  carried  to 
Bakhtan.  This  was  done,  a  goodly  company  of  the 
Pastiphori  and  physicians  bearing  the  receptacle  of 
the  divinity.  This  time  the  mission  was  successful  ; 
the  princess  speedily  recovered,  and  the  god  received 
the  glory. 

Other  sovereigns  availed  themselves  of  the  services 
of  physicians  from  Egypt,  and  not  always,  it  would 
seem,  to  their  benefit.  King  Asa  of  Judaea,  it  is 
recorded,  became  diseased  in  his  feet,  and  "sought 
not  unto  the  Lord  ;  "  in  other  words,  he  did  not  con- 
sult the  priests  (see  Deuteronomy  xix.,  17)  who  practiced 
the  healing  art,  but  employed  "physicians,"  or  Rephaim, 
instead.  They  failed,  however,  notwithstanding  their 
superior  attainments,  "and  Asa  slept  with  his  fathers." 

The  kings  of  Persia,  always  ready  to  adopt  foreign 
customs,  also  procured  physicians  from  Egypt.  Kyros 
or  Cyrus  sent  to  King  Amasis  for  "  the  most  skillful 
of  all  the  Egyptian  eye-doctors,"  and  Dareios  Hystaspis 
"had  at  his  court  certain  Egyptians  whom  he  reckoned 
the  best-skilled  physicians  in  the  world."  They  seem, 
however,  to  have  been  very  inexpert  as  bone-setters. 
The  king  had  the  misfortune  to  dislocate  his  ankle, 
and  their  manipulations  only  made  the  mischief 
greater.  He  passed  a  whole  week  sleepless  from  the 
severe  pain.  At  that  time  he  heard  of  Dumokedes  of 
Krotona,  who  excelled  as  a  practitioner  of  surgery, 
and  had  held  employments  as  archiatros  for  several 
cities,  but  was  now  a  slave  at  Susa.  The  Greek  was 
brought  to  the  king,  and  soon  succeeded  in  reducing 

*"  He  was  resorted  to,"  says  Professor  Tiele,  "  for  the  cure  of  all  diseases,  or 
for  the  exorcism  of  the  evil  spirits  that  inflict  them." 


l6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  dislocation.  He  afterward  interceded  successfully 
for  the  Egyptians  who  had  been  sentenced,  for  their 
awkwardness  and  ill  success,  to  be  crucified  or  impaled 
on  the  stauros.  Doubtless,  the  fact  was  that  he  was  a 
disciple  of  Pythagoras,  who  in  turn  had  been  instructed 
by  the  Pastiphori  of  Egypt,  inspired  him  to  this  mag- 
nanimity. The  lives  of  the  physicians  were  spared, 
but  after  that  period  the  Persian  monarchs  obtained 
their  physicians  from  Ionia. 

BABYLON    AND    ASSYRIA. 

Herodotus  makes  the  extraordinary  statement  that 
the  Babylonians  had  no  physicians.  It  was  their  prac- 
tice, he  affirms,  to  place  the  sick  person  in  the  public 
square,  and  everyone  passing  by  was  required  to  ask 
him  respecting  his  malady.  If  the  individual  making 
the  inquiry  had  ever  himself  had  a  similar  complaint, 
or  if  he  knew  of  any  one  else  that  had  suffered  from 
it,  he  must  give  advice  to  the  invalid,  telling  him  of 
such  remedies  as  had  been  found  beneficial. 

This  practice,  however,  was  not  peculiar  to  ancient 
Assyria.  Something  like  it  existed  in  other  countries, 
clear  down  to  the  present  era.  Strabo  declares  that  it 
was  in  vogue  in  Egypt  itself,  where  regular  practi- 
tioners of  the  priest-caste  were  numerous,  as  well  as 
secular  physicians.  But  the  vocation  was  not  then 
exclusive,  and  there  was  neither  code  nor  unwritten 
law  to  prevent  the  simple  pharmacy  and  therapeutics 
known  to  the  people  from  being  employed  beneficially, 
and  even  accepted  by  those  officially  prosecuting  the 
art  of  healing.  Perhaps  the  modifications  that  have 
been  made  upon  the  primitive  methods,  have  not  been 
so  great  an  improvement  as  many  may  insist.  It  is 
very  probable,  however,  that  Herodotus  referred  only 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  17 

to  the  iatroi  (magoi)  or  professional  mediciners,  like 
Demokedes,  and  the  Asklepiads  and  Hippokratians 
who  were,  members  of  an  oath- bound  or  sacerdotal 
order.  Before  his  time,  the  Chaldasan  priests,  includ- 
ing the  Asaphitn,\i2i(S.  been  exiled  by  Dareios  Hystaspis 
and  had  migrated  to  Pergamos.  This  probably 
accounts  for  the  assertion  of  Herodotus. 

The  existence  of  the  practice  of  placing  the  sick  in 
public  thoroughfares,  is  shown  by  other  writers,  "  Is 
it  nothing  to  you,  all  ye  that  pass  by  ?  "  demands  the 
Hebrew  prophet ;  "  Behold  and  see,  whether  there  be 
any  pain  like  mine."  The  synoptic  Gospels  and  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  mention  the  same  custom.  It  is  recorded 
that  wherever  Jesus  went,  the  sick  were  brought  and 
placed  in  his  way  in  the  expectation  that  he  would 
restore  them  to  health. 

To  suppose  that  there  were  not  physicians  in  the 
Euphratean  countries  during  the  archaic  period,  would 
be  preposterous.  The  cuneiform  records  inform  us 
that  the  earlier  Akkadians,  inhabiting  that  region, 
regarded  every  seventh  day  as  sulum,  or  set  apart  ;  and 
that  it  was  forbidden,  even  for  the  king  himself,  to  eat 
cooked  food,  to  change  his  garments,  to  put  on  new 
clothing,  drive  in  a  chariot,  or  "  take  medicine  for  the 
ailments  of  the  body."  The  Assyrian  Tablets  also  con- 
tain the  account  of  Izdu-bar  (/.  e.,  son  of  the  Ethiopian 
or  Indian)  the  legendary  founder  of  the  united  sover- 
eignty of  the  Babylonian  Empire.  "  Disease  had 
filled  his  body,"  and  he  made  his  way  to  Adra-hasis 
or  Hasis-adra,  the  immortal  sage,  to  be  healed.  Like 
Naaman,  the  Syrian,  he  bathed  in  the  water,  and  "cast 
off  his  illness.  Health  covered  his  skin  and  restored 
the  hair  of  his  head,  hanging  down  to  cover  the  cloak 
of  his  body." 


l8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  god  Hea,  both  with  the  primitive  Akkadians 
and  their  Assyrian  successors,  was  the  lord  of  life  and 
Grand  Master  of  "  the  mysterious  Rite,  the  formula, 
the  all-powerful  secret  word,  which  would  thwart  the 
efforts  of  the  formidable  powers  of  the  Abyss."  He 
was  represented  by  such  figures  as  the  triangle  by 
which  the  cuneiform  characters  were  made,  the  fish 
that  was  symbolized  by  the  peculiar  fashion  of  the 
priestly  dress,  and  the  nisrokh^^  or  eagle-headed  man 
bearing  the  fir-conef  in  one  hand  and  the  mystic 
reticule  in  the  other.  "  He  was  emphatically  the  god 
of  healing,  who  had  revealed  medicine  to  mankind." 
(Sayce.)  The  son  of  this  divinity  was  Merodakh,  \ 
the  Bel  of  Babylon,  revered  as  the  Prince  of  Light, 
the  Conqueror  of  the  Dragon,  the  Redeemer  of  man- 
kind and  bestower  of  life.  He  was  likewise  depicted 
as  holding  the  cone  in  one  hand  and  the  reticule  or 
other  characteristic  symbol  in  the  other.  He  was  also 
the  divinity  of  the  planet  Jupiter,  and  hence  the  prac- 
tice arose  of  placing  his  symbol  at  the  beginning  of 
medicine  and  magical  formulas,  as  a  prayer  for  his 
benign  offices. 

"Merciful  one  among  the  gods. 
Generator  who  brought  back  the  dead  to  life, 
Silik-mulu-khi,^  the  king  of  heaven  and  earth,    ^   ^^ 
May  the  invalid  be  deHvered  from  his  disease. 
Cure  the  plague,  the  fever,  the  ulcer." 

♦Probably  the  Rokh  of  the  Persian  tablets,  and  the  Garuda  of  the  Hindus,  as 
well  as  the  eagle  of  national  standards. 

t  The  fir-tree  and  its  kindred  cone-bearers,  all  possess  medicinal  virtue,  and  were 
employed  both  as  remedies  and  as  magic  or  religious  emblems.  The  Akkadians 
probably  brought  it  froii  Media.  The  Tree  of  Life  was  depicted  in  Assyrian 
sculptures,  as  having  cones  like  those  of  the  pine  and  fir,  and  they  were  placed 
upon  the  wand  or  thyrsos  which  was  borne  in  religious  processions. 

t  Originally  in  Akkadian  and  Hittite  dialects,  Amarutu-khi,  the  splendor  of  the 
Sun.     Cyrus  Worshipped  him  as  being  the  same  as  Mithras.     (Xenoph6n.) 

§  Akkadian  name  of  Merodakh,  signifying,  "The  one  who  brings  good  to  human 
beings." 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  I9 

It  was  customary  to  place  the  image,  or  characteris- 
tic symbol,  of  Hea  and  Merodakh,  one  on  each  side  of 
the  door  of  the  invalid's  apartment,  and  to  hang  sacred 
texts  about  his  room  and  head,  in  order  to  exorcise  the 
evil  spirits  that  had  caused  the  disease.  Invocations, 
or  rather  incantations,  were  made  like  the  following  : 

"  Disease  of  the  bowels,  disease  of  the  heart, 
The  palpitation  of  the  heart  ; 
Disease  of  the  vision,  disease  of  the  head, 
Malignant  dysentery  ; 
The  humor  which  swells, 

Ulceration  of  the  veins,  the  micturition  which  wastes, 
Cruel  agony  which  never  ceases, 
Nightmare,    »  *  * 
Spirit  of  the  heavens,*  conjure  it. 
Spirit  of  the  earth, f  conjure  it." 

Religious  incantation,  miraculous  and  mesmeric 
•cases,  however,  by  no  means  comprised  all  the  healing 
knowledge  of  the  hakhamim,  or  "wise  men"  of  Babylon. 
Closely  allied  as  such  knowledge  was  to  astrology  and 
occult  lore,  there  was  likewise  an  herbal  science  which 
related  to  the  treating  of  disease.  The  priests  under- 
stood the  ^sculapian  art,  both  on  the  theurgic  and  the 
medical  side  ;  and  while  employing  the  resourses  at 
their  command,  they  taught  the  convalescing  patients 
to  believe  their  cure  to  have  been  wrought  by  the 
divine  operation  itself. 

The  Assyrians  and  Babylonians,  as  has  been  already 
intimated,  derived  much  of  their  knowledge  and  litera- 
ture from  the  more  ancient  possessors  of  their  country. 
At  a  very  remote  period,  believed  by  many  scholars  to 
have   extended   thousands  of  years  into  the  past,  a 


*  Ana,  the  Most  High,  the  ruler  of  the  universe. 
tHea. 


20  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

people  with  a  language  closely  resembling  that  of  the 
Hetrurians,  Ugrians  and  Mongoloid  Skyths,  emigrated 
from  the  Zagros  mountains  and  the  Highlands  of  Media 
into  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates,  where  they  founded 
numerous  cities.  This  was  the  "  Hamitic  race  of 
Akkad,"  from  which  descended  the  Chaldaeans  of 
Babylonia,  and  the  priest-caste  of  Assyria.  Among 
their  literary  remains  were  astrologic  tablets  made 
when  Sargon  I.  was  king  of  the  country.  This  mon- 
arch, in  his  infancy,  had  been  placed  by  his  mother,  in 
the  faint  hope  of  safety,  in  an  ark  of  rushes,  and  set 
afloat  upon  the  river  Euphrates.  His  reign,  according 
to  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archceology^  was 
about  3,800  years  before  the  present  era. 

There  were  "  university-towns  "  in  those  days,  such 
as  Ur-ukh  (Erech),  Akkad,  Nipur,  Kutha,  Larsa  and 
Borsippa.  At  an  early  period  in  Babylonian  history, 
Mr.  George  Smith  informs  us,  a  great  literary  develop- 
ment had  taken  place,  and  numerous  works  were  pro- 
duced which  embodied  the  prevailing  myths,  religion 
and  science  of  the  day.  The  antiquity  of  this  litera- 
ture does  not  compare  unfavorably  with  that  of  Egypt. 
Indeed,  Baron  Bunsen  does  not  hesitate  to  ascribe  the 
learning  of  the  latter  country  to  Chaldaean  origin.  Of 
course,  there  were  customs  in  Egypt,  such  as  circum- 
cision, that  were  purely  African.  But  the  analogies 
were  sufficiently  numerous  to  afford  good  ground  for 
that  judgment. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  learned 
men  of  the  Orient  were  merely  astrologers,  or  that  the 
healing  art  was  simply  that  of  Siberian  Shamans,  the 
employment  of  charms,  amulets  and  conjurations. 
They  had  also  their  medicaments,  both  internal  and 
external,  which  they  made  use  of  like  practitioners  of 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  21 

later  days.     Mr.  J.  Halevy  has  preserved  the  following 
—Records  of  the  Past,  Vol.  VI.: 

"For  the  Eruptions  and  Humors  which  Afflict  the  Body: — 

Fill  a  vase  which  has  held  drugs  with  water  from  an  inexhaustible 
well; 

Put  it  in  a  sheet  of ,  a reed,  some  date-sugar,  some 

urine,  some  bitter  hydromel; 

Add  to  it  some ; 

Saturate  it  with  pure  water  [and] 

Pour  upon  it  the  water  of  the  [sick]  man. 

Cut  reeds  in  an  elevated  meadow; 
;^  .^'Beat  some  pure  date-sugar  with  some  pure  honey; 
^^■f   7*; Add  some  sweet  oil  which  comes  from  the  mountain; 

Mix  them  together; 

Rub  [with  this  ointment]  the  body  of  the  [sick  man]." 

We  perceive  from  this  that  pharmacy  was  an  art 
among  the  Assyrians,  and  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
O   ..   keeping  medicines  in  jars  and  vases  made  for  that  pur- 
pose.    We  do  well  to  bear  in  mind  that,  in  those  early 
'l*  \^  times,  the  various  branches  of  learning  were  not  differ- 
^"^  '^  entiated,  as  they  have  been  with  us.     IMedical  knowl- 
£j       edge  was  included  with  astronomy,  religious  worship 
Z       and  magic  lore,  which  were  ignorantly  imagined  to  be 
5f        beyond  the  province  of  the  common  understanding. 
O        Hence,   there   has    been    a   direct    tendency,    equally 
Q     ,  credulous  in  another  way,  to  discredit  them  altogether. 

.  ^      '  INDIA    AND    PERSIA. 

Ut  "  The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Parsis  recognize  the  former 
existence  of  the  Aryan  Home-Country  in  which  the 
ancestral  tribes  of  Hindus  and  Persians  dwelt  as  a 
single  nation.  They  reared  cattle,  tilled  the  soil,  em- 
ployed horses  for  riding  and  the  drawing  of  vehicles, 
had  dogs  and  other  domestic  animals,  kept  bees,  made 


22  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ale  and  mead  for  drinking,  raised  grain  and  took  it  to 
mill  in  wagons,  had  iron  tools,  tanned  leather,  navi- 
gated the  water,  and  fabricated  weapons  for  warfare. 
An  examination  of  the  root-words  of  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean languages,  which  proceeded  from  the  archaic 
Aryan  speech,  has  revealed  as  much.  The  primitive 
Aryans,  it  will  be  perceived,  had  a  civilization  well 
advanced,  and  a  religion  with  a  priesthood.  That 
they  employed  healing  plants  and  had  physicians 
among  them,  likewise  appears. 

The  Eranians  cultivated  the  soil  and  followed  the 
arts  of  productive  industry,  while  the  nomadic  Aryans 
kept  flocks,  and  often  encroached  upon  their  fields  of 
grain.  It  was  the  story  ot  Cain  and  Abel — the  agri- 
culturist and  the  shepherd.  As  is  the  case  in  all 
quarrels  of  families,  neighborhoods,  sects  or  parties, 
the  relations  of  these  kindred  peoples  were  charac- 
terized by  intense  animosity.  The  wandering  tribes 
made  their  way  into  India,  and  after  long  centuries 
of  conflict,  established  their  dominion,  and  with  it 
developed  the  Vedic,  Brahmanic,  and  other  religions. 
The  Eranians,  meanwhile,  extended  their  migrations 
southward  and  westward,  and  formed  a  distinct  em- 
pire, in  which  sprang  up  a  worship  proximately 
monotheistic,  and  directly  conflicting  with  that  of 
their  Aryan  congeners. 

In  their  sacred  book,  the  Vendidad,  a  fargard  or 
chapter  is  devoted  to  the  art  of  healing.  Zoroaster 
asks  of  the  deity  Ahur'mazda,  the  all-wise  and  power- 
ful, who  was  the  first  of  men  skilled  in  healing?  who 
was  wise,  successful,  able,  eminent,  brave,  obedient, 
keeping  back  sickness  and  fever  from  bodies  of  men? 
The  Divinity  answers  that  it  was  Thrita.  He  had 
besought  the  Giver  of  all  Good  to  make  known  to  him 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  23 

the  means  to  combat  successfully  with  sickness,  pes- 
tilence, pain,  the  burning  of  fever,  the  malignant 
ulceration  and  foulness  in  human  bodies,  which  the 
Evil  Spirit,  Aramanya  (Angramanyas),  had  engen- 
dered. 

"  Then,"  adds  the  Divinity,  "I,  who  am  Ahur'mazda, 
brought  into  existence  the  healing  plants,  many  and 
many  hundreds,  many  and  many  thousands,  many 
and  many  tens  of  thousands,  and  with  them  the  one 
Gokarene — the  white  homa,  or  tree  of  life — giving 
health  to  the  bodies  of  men.  *  ^t  I  counteract  sick- 
ness ;  I  combat  pestilence  ;  I  resist  pain,  fever,  the 
putrid  ulceration,  the  foulness,  the  malignant  eye 
which  the  Evil  Spirit  inflicts  upon  human  beings — 
every  disorder  and  mortal  ailment,  every  sorcerer  and 
witch,  and  every  malign  influence." 

The  aftgel  or  divinity,  Airyaman  (the  friend),  ap- 
pears to  have  oeen  the  ^sculapius,  or  tutelary  of  the 
healing  art  with  the  Eranians,  their  Persian  succes- 
sors, and  likewise  with  the  Aryans  of  the  farther  East. 
He  is  lauded  in  the  Vendidad  as  the  healer  of  those 
whom  the  Evil  One  had  afflicted,  the  averter  of  evil, 
and  promoter  of  happy  nuptial  alliances  He  applied 
his  art  when  the  Holy  Word  was  insufficient  alone. 
In  the  Vedas  he  is  associated  with  Mitras  and  Varuna, 
the  lords  of  the  sun  and  sky,  exercises  like  functions 
as  among  the  Eranians,  and  is  chief  of  the  piiris,  or 
spirits  of  the  dead. 

In  like  manner,  Thrita,  although  he  is  thus  cele- 
brated as  the  first  who  exercised  the  art  of  medicine, 
and  the  hero  Rustam  as  his  descendant,  is  neverthe- 
less also  described  as  a  benefactor  of  the  Hindu  tribes, 
putting  an  end  to  diseases,  appeasing  evil  agencies, 
and  assuring  long  life. 


24  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  directions  of  the  Vendidad'va  regard  to  physicians 
and  surgical  operations,  plainly  indicate  that  when 
they  were  written,  the  Aryan  peoples  had  not  sepa- 
rated. They  can  not,  however,  have  been  very  accept- 
able to  those  who  worshipped  Indra  and  other  daevas 
as  divinities.  Zoroaster  asks :  "  When  Mazda-wor- 
shippers wish  to  become  physicians,  whom  shall  they 
first  make  trial  upon — the  daeva-worshippers  or  the 
worshippers  of  Mazda  ? "  To  this  Ahur'mazda  replies: 
"  They  shall  make  trial  on  the  daeva-worshippers  first. 
If  a  beginner  cuts  a  daevayasnian  the  first  time  and 
he  dies,  a  second  time  and  he  dies,  a  third  time  and 
he  dies,  then  he  is  incapable  forever.  The  Mazdeans 
shall  not  consult  him,  nor  shall  he  wound  them  by 
cutting.  If  they  do  try  him,  and  he  does  them  injury, 
he  shall  undergo  the  punishment  for  willful  injuries. 
But  when  a  beginner  operates  thrice  upon  dfeva-wor- 
shippers,  and  they  recover,  he  is  capable,  and  may 
heal  Mazdeans  by  cutting  as  he  sees  proper."  His  re- 
muneration was  strictly  provided  according  to  the 
rank  and  quality  of  the  patient.  The  same  fargard 
enumerates  three  classes  of  practitioners:  "physicians 
with  knives,  physicians  with  herbs,  and  physicians 
with  holy  sayings,"  declaring  that  there  is  most  heal- 
ing among  physicians  who  use  the  manthra  spenta,  or 
holy  word.  A  later  scripture,  the  twenty-second  far- 
gard of  the  Avesia,  however,  makes  the  manthra  inef- 
ficacious, compelling  the  resort  to  the  skill  of  the 
angel  Airyaman. 

The  Sacred  Books  of  the  Hindoos  indicate  a  very 
thorough  conception  and  knowledge  of  the  healing 
art.  The  Yajur  Veda  is  itself  a  treatise  upon  medi- 
cine and  surgery,  and  the  commentaries  upon  it  by 
later  writers  r«"veal  the  existence  of  a  code  and  regu- 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  25 

lations  sufficiently  stringent  to  satisfy  the  most  exclu- 
sive champion  of  medical  ethics.  The  whole  authority 
of  the  Brahmanic  hierarchy  was  put  forth  to  uphold 
the  sacerdotal  dignity  of  the  profession,  and  to  exclude 
laymen  and  members  of  the  landed  and  yeoman  castes 
from  ever  becoming  physicians.  What  has  been  at- 
tempted in  European  and  American  countries  under 
the  pretext  of  regularity,  higher  scientific  attainment 
and  governmental  license,  was  imposed  in  ancient 
India  by  caste-rules  and  the  influence  of  the  priest- 
hood. 

The  study  of  medicine  was  forbidden  to  all  except 
men  of  the  Brahmanic  rank.  Before  the  youth  was 
permitted  to  begin  it,  he  was  required  to  pass  an  ex- 
amination in  regard  to  his  previous  instruction  and 
personal  character.  The  final  examinations  are  also 
described  as  very  severe,  enabling  but  a  small  number 
to  pass  them  successfully.  It  would  seem  to  have 
been  the  intention  of  the  Examiners  of  that  period  to 
prevent  as  many  as  possible  from  engaging  in  prac- 
tice. By  this  expedient  the  endowments  of  the  favored 
ones  might  be  made  as  large  as  could  be  extorted. 
They  stooped  to  invoke  the  civil  authority  to  protect 
them  in  this  endeavor,  and  some  rajas  were  found 
pliable  enough  to  issue  decrees  to  regulate  the  practice 
of  medicine,  and  to  punish  those  who  ventured  to 
engage  in  it  without  having  received  authority  from 
the  Brahmans. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  free  lances 
that  first  established  the  Aryan  dominion  in  North- 
western India,  would  patiently  tolerate  such  assump- 
tion of  arbitrary  power.  The  chief  of  every  family 
.  and  clan  refused  to  surrender  his  family  religion  to 
the  umpireship  and  direction    of  the  priests.      Rajas 


26  HISTORY    OK    MEDICINE. 

and  Rajanyas  persisted  in  exercise  of  sacred  functions, 
and  for  many  centuries  disputed  the  pretensions  of 
the  Brahmanic  caste.  This  resistance  to  priestly 
usurpation  is  set  forth  by  the  story  of  Viswamitra,  the 
raja  of  Kanoj,  who  contested  with  the  Brahmanic 
pontiff,  Vasist'ha,  for  the  right  to  officiate  at  public 
worship,  and  to  chant  the  mantras  which  were  believed 
to  assure  victory  and  prosperity  to  the  Aryan  cause. 
He  appears  to  have  been  the  champion  of  learning,  as 
well  as  of  social  equality  and  despite  the  false  state- 
ments of  the  Brahmans  to  have  won  in  the  controversy. 
Hence  he  is  said  to  have  taught  the  act  of  war  and 
mechanical  science,  and  his  son,  Sushruta,  is  cele- 
brated as  the  first  teacher  of  medicine  in  India. 

The  attainments  of  the  medical  practitioner,  as  laid 
down  in  the  writing  of  this  distinguished  author,  were 
very  thorough.  "  A  holy  man  thus  set  apart  should 
dissect,"  says  he,  "in  order  that  he  may  know  the 
internal  structure  of  the  body.  The  minutest  details 
were  accordingly  set  forth  ;  the  principal  viscera  were 
named  and  described  ;  the  joints  enumerated  and 
their  functions  explained,  the  nerves  distinguished 
from  the  other  fibres,  and  the  peculiar  constitution  of 
the  skin  critically  defined.  The  humoral  pathology 
seems  to  have  been  the  accepted  hypothesis,  and  all 
theories  of  temperament  and  disease  were  modelled 
in  accordance  with  that  notion. 

Surgery  evidently  attained  a  high  degree  of  perfec- 
tion. The  Indian  practitioners  were  superior  to  the 
Egyptian.  The  commentary  upon  the  works  of  Sush- 
ruta treats  very  fully  of  this  art.  It  explains  lithotomy, 
abdominal  section,  hysterectomy,  as  well  as  various 
plastic  operations,  giving  very  precise  directions  in 
regard  to  the  proper  modes  of  performing  them. 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  2/ 

THE    INDIAN    MATERIA    MEDICA. 

Sushruta  was  the  first  Indian  author  to  make  a 
classification  of  drug-remedies,  and  to  construct  a 
scientific  terminology.  He  based  his  arrangement 
upon  the  assumption  that  disease  is  either  an  impair- 
ment or  vitiation  of  the  force  which  permeates  the 
fluids  of  the  body,  and  influences  their  circulation, 
absorption  and  secretion,  or  else  an  inordinate  activity 
of  the  natural  appetites  and  emotions.  The  terms 
used  by  him  imply  fixed  ideas  in  regard  to  the  prop- 
erties of  medicinal  substances.  Sushruta  taught, 
however,  that  all  forms  of  vitalized  matter  are  con- 
stant and  never  exchange  their  type  ;  the  heavier 
elements  which  make  up  the  solids,  being  never 
subject  to  transformation  into  fluids,  and  the  lighter 
elements  which  compose  the  fluids,  never  becoming 
changed  into  solids.  The  erroneousness  of  this  doc- 
trine is  abundantly  evident. 

Sushruta's  classification  of  medicinal  plants  has  a 
specific  significance,  and  accords  with  the  more  elabo- 
rate and  precise  experience  of  the  present  day.  He 
is  very  tenacious  of  the  injunction  to  use  fresh  drugs 
only,  as  more  certain  in  their  properties  and  powers 
to  control  disease.  Our  manufacturers  of  botanic 
and  vegetable  medicines  at  the  present  time,  could  do 
well  to  observe  a  like  carefulness.  Organized  matter, 
as  all  intelligent  students  of  chemistry  are  aware, 
evinces  a  greater  energy  of  action  in  a  fresh  state, 
than  after  it  has  been  exposed  to  air  or  moisture,  or 
to  artificial  heat,  or  to  comminution  or  precipitation 
under  the  hands  of  a  manipulator. 

Sushruta  divided   all  vegetable  remedies  into  two 
3arge  classes,    according   to    their   effects    upon    the 


28  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

human  system  during  the  progress  of  disease  ;  the 
first  including  the  evacuants  of  morbid  humors,  and 
the  second  comprising  those  which  regulate  or  mod- 
erate the  excessive  action  of  such  humors.  The  two 
classes  bear  the  Sanskrit  names  of  Sanshod'hana  and 
Sanshamana.  The  former  embraces  a  miscellaneous 
group  of  purgatives,  expectorants,  diaphoretics,  diur- 
etics and  someblood-depurants  or  alteratives,  indicat- 
ing a  belief  in  the  presence  of  active  principles  in 
them  which  operate  through  the  blood  upon  special 
organs  or  glands  in  order  to  relieve  the  body  of  a 
supposed  morbific  agent,  irrespective  of  the  changes 
which  they  may  severally  induce  or  bring  about  in 
restoring  diseased  parts  to  health.  The  second  class 
contains  a  greater  variety  of  operations.  It  includes 
thirty-seven  groups  of  vegetables,  the  sensible  effects 
of  which,  upon  the  various  terms  of  the  body  are 
mostly  remote  or  gradual,  being  indicated  in  sthenic 
diseases,  or  in  the  chronic  stages  of  disease  generally. 
The  writings  of  Sushruta,  however,  have  been  so 
mutilated  as  often  to  leave  us  in  doubt  of  the  modes 
of  preparing  many  of  his  remedies.  Later  experience 
too,  has  shown  that  several  of  the  drugs  which  he 
described,  have  properties  materially  different  from 
those  which  he  has  represented. 

CHARAKA. 

Agnivesha,  a  writer  of  the  same  period,  better 
known  as  Charaka,  was  more  precise  in  his  classifica- 
tion, approximating  to  the  more  modern  European 
method.  He  was  far  broader  than  his  successors  in 
his  entire  views.  He  did  not  aim,  he  declares,  to 
bind  the  more  talented  and  enquiring  physicians  to 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  29 

his  descriptions,  but  rather  to  guide  the  less  capable 
practitioner,  and  those  other  individuals  who  were 
able  to  help  the  suffering  by  the  aid  of  written  treat- 
ises alone.  Nor  did  he  lay  down  his  views  and  meth- 
ods dogmatically  as  finalities  not  to  be  corrected  and 
improved.  Constant  experiment  and  an  experience 
searching  far  and  wide,  he  indicated,  must  be  the 
practitioner's  true  guide  in  determining  the  virtues  of 
drugs  or  their  combinations.  Accordingly,  while  devis- 
ing out  of  some  five  hundred  different  drugs,  fifty 
compound  groups  for  selection,  which  might  satisfy 
all  possible  indications  in  the  practical  treatment  of 
disease,  he  invited  further  investigation  of  the  action 
of  these  compounds,  and  likewise  the  ascertaining  of 
the  virtues  of  new  remedies  which  might  yet  be 
discovered. 

His  usual  mode  of  preparing  medicines  was  by 
steeping  and  decoction;  and  in  his  terms  of  classifica- 
tion he  had  in  view  the  remote  and  specific  action  of 
the  remedies  upon  the  functions  of  the  body,  or  to 
their  efficacy  in  relieving  fixed  symptoms  and  phe- 
nomena which  are  the  precursors  and  actual  indices 
of  grave  disturbances. 

The  endeavor,  at  that  remote  period,  to  fence  about 
the  orthodox  and  legalized  practitioners  with  penal 
statutes,  was  no  more  successful  in  India  than  in  other 
countries.  It  failed  utterly,  as  it  always  must,  to  pre- 
serve a  medical  caste  and  monopoly,  or  even  to  assure 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  healing  art.  A  protected 
vocation  is  very  certain  to  languish,  except  it  is  con- 
stantly cossetted.  There  were  heterodox  practitioners, 
all  through  the  early  times,  in  India.  The  commen- 
tator upon  the  works  of  Sushruta  acknowledged  their 
existence,   and   labored   assiduously   to   vilify   them. 


30  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

"Such  an  one,"  he  remarks,  "may  be  known  by  his  good 
opinion  of  himself,  and  his  ill  will  toward  the  genuine 
physician.  He  flatters  the  friends  of  the  patient,  is 
hesitating  and  doubtful  in  the  performing  of  difficult 
operations,  and  protests  that  his  want  of  success  is 
caused  by  bad  attendants.  Such  men  avoid  the 
company  of  the  instructed  physician  as  they  would  a 
jungle." 

It  will  be  observed  that  Charaka,  himself  the  most 
accomplished  medical  author  and  practitioner  of  his 
time,  cherished  no  unfriendly  sentiment  of  the  kind. 
He  recognized  those  as  worthy  who  were  able  by  the 
aid  of  written  treatises,  without  professional  teachers, 
to  help  those  suffering  from  disease  ;  and  he  sought 
manfully  to  communicate  to  them  the  proper  knowl- 
edge. He  stands  divinely  high  above  those  who 
would  restrict,  limit  and  proscribe.  We  are  forcibly 
reminded  of  the  little  episode  of  the  Gospel:  "And 
John  said  :  '  Master,  we  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in 
thy  name;  and  we  forbade  him,  because  he  follow- 
eth  not  with  us.'  And  Jesus  said  unto  him:  '  Forbid 
him  not.'  " 

The  boasted  superior  excellence  of  the  legalized 
physicians  of  India  did  not  permanently  continue. 
The  writings  of  the  older  savants,  Sushruta,  Atreya, 
Charaka,  Dhanwantari  and  others  were  mutilated  and 
interpolated  by  those  who  came  after  them  in  later 
centuries.  Their  study  gradually  fell  into  neglect 
from  want  of  encouragement.  Their  teachings  were 
misapplied  in  practice,  and  their  theories  misunder- 
stood in  principle.  Under  the  arbitrary  restriction 
of  the  Brahmanic  caste,  observation  was  neglected 
and  the  sources  of  new  thought  were  dried  up.  The 
diagnosis    of    disease    became    in  time  a   matter  of 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  3I 

guess-work  and  uncertainty,  and  the  treatment  empir- 
ical, hap-hazard  and  dangerous. 

In  this  dearth  of  medical  scholarship,  the  practi- 
tioners followed  servilely  after  a  prescribed  routine, 
and  themselves  adopted  the  methods  of  the  charlatan. 
An  eminent  native  physician  thus  forcibly  describes 
the  low  condition  of  the  art :  "  The  nomenclature  of 
diseases,  with  their  classes  arranged  according  to  the 
seat,  origin,  or  nature,  was  transmitted  through  suc- 
cessive generations  of  enfeebled  and  depressed  intel- 
lects ;  and  practitioners  of  the  art  were  compelled  to 
ply  it  on  the  borrowed  and  indirect  testimony  of 
legendary  accounts  of  supposed,  and  often  fanciful 
virtues  of  drugs  and  their  combinations.  Such  un- 
worthy followers  of  Sushruta  and  Charaka  being 
necessarily  dwarfed  in  intellect  and  warped  in  observ- 
ing powers,  were  compelled  to  live  largely  on  the  credulity  of 
their  patients,  or  by  acting  in  a  measure  upon  their 
imagination  and  prejudices  ;  alternately  seeking  to 
kindle  hope  or  to  excite  fear  of  loss  of  health,  of  death; 
they  themselves,  in  their  turn,  trusting  to  the  mercy  of 
chance,  or  to  the  fancied  contrivances  of  an  erring 
imagination.  This  state  of  medical  science  still  pre- 
vails among  the  Hindus  unhappily  to  a  large  extent." 

CHINA    AND    OUTER    ASIA. 

Everything  Chinese,  whether  historic,  scientific  or 
even  political,  seems  archaic.  It  has  been  fashionable 
to  decry  Chinamen,  to  represent  them  as  inferior  in 
race  and  culture,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  adopt  their 
usages  and  various  arts  without  giving  credit  to  the 
source  from  which  they  were  derived.  Yet  when  na- 
tions now  existing  were  unformed,  and  people  classed 
as  ancient  were  in  their  infancy,  China  was  very  old 


32  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  had  a  literature  too  voluminous  to  describe.  Her 
trade  was  world-wide  ;  articles  brought  thence  have 
been  found  in  the  old  monuments  of  Ireland,  and  in 
the  tombs  of  forgotten  Egypt. 

When  Caleb  Gushing  was  sent  by  President  Tyler 
as  ambassador  to  China,  in  1844,  he  took  occasion,  at 
his  first  audience  with  the  Minister  of  State,  to  set 
forth  the  greatness  of  this  country,  and  in  particular 
the  numerous  inventions  to  expedite  and  obviate  the 
necessity  of  human  labor.  The  Mandarin  listened 
with  true  Oriental  politeness  and  simply  replied  : 
"All  these  things  we  once  had  here,  but  our  fathers 
found  it  better  to  lay  them  aside,  and  leave  the  work 
to  be  done  by  men." 

The  Chinese,  like  other  archaic  peoples,  were  emi- 
grants from  Pamir,  or  Meru,  "thereof  the  world." 
They  went  out,  not  as  conquerors,  but  as  cultivators 
of  the  earth,  and  hence  we  find  their  heroes  always  to 
be  peaceful  sons,  fathers,  and  benefactors  of  the  peo- 
ple. To  this  fact  we  attribute  the  monotony  which 
foreigners  describe  as  stagnation,  and  the  lack  of  his- 
tory, such  as  is  made  up  in  other  countries  with  the 
record  ef  the  crimes  and  oppressions  of  rulers,  and  the 
suffering  and  degradation  of  their  subjects,  which 
made  the  earth  antedate,  and  furnish  the  model  for 
Pandemonium. 

The  name  given  the  country  by  Marco  Polo  was 
Kathay,  and  to  this  day  the  Russians  term  the  peo- 
ple Khitans.  This  was  once  the  designation  of  the 
population  of  Asia  east  of  Turkestan,  as  well  as  of 
numerous  peoples  on  the  Upper  Euphrates,  in  Syria, 
Asia  Minor,  and  perhaps  Palestine*  and  Egypt.     They 

*  Hittites:  compare  Genesis  xxiii.,  with  Kings  I.  x.  29  and  II.  vii.  6. 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  33 

were  the  first  historic  coiners  of  money  ;  and  Kroesos, 
the  last  Sardic  king,  was  of  their  race.  In  the  East 
they  were  the  inventors  of  paper,  discoverers  of  mag- 
netism and  gunpowder,  and  manufacturers  of  silk. 
Wherever  they  went,  they  appear  to  have  carried  a 
written  language  and  to  have  promoted  civilization. 
Hence  we  are  not  unprepared  to  learn  that  in  that 
early  antiquity,  China  bore  its  share  in  scientific  ad- 
vancement. Conquerors  of  this  country  sometimes 
mutilated  or  destroyed  their  records,  yet  there  are 
evidences  remaining  of  the  science  of  these  far-off 
periods.  In  the  Book  of  Historic  Documents  it  i^  stated 
that  the  King  Chin  nun,  in  the  "eighth  period,"  in- 
vented the  plough,  and  made  great  discoveries  in 
botany.  In  one  day,  or  season,  we  are  told  that  he  dis- 
covered seventy  species  of  plants  that  were  poisonous, 
and  seventy  other  species  that  were  antidotes  to  them.* 
Making  due  allowance  for  the  exaggeration  which  is 
characteristic  of  all  Asiatic  literature,  we  can  safely 
take  for  granted  that  this  age  was  a  time  when  inven- 
tion and  learning  were  generously  cultivated. 

CHINA    IN    LATER    YEARS. 

About  two  hundred  years  before  the  present  era, 
the  Emperor  had  attempted  a  revolution  in  the  politics 
of  the  country,  and  commanded  the  destruction  of 
all  books  relating  to  its  former  history.  Those  who 
did  not  obey  were  put  to  death.  The  result  was  rebel- 
lion, overthrow  of  the  Thsin  dynasty,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  king  of  Han  in  its  place.  The  second 
monarch  of  the  new  dynasty  caused  a  collection  of 
books  to  be  made  for  the  Imperial  Library.     In  this 

*A11  Chinese  theories  are  based  on  the  hypothesis  of  dualism,  or  light  aad  dark, 
male  and  female,  poison  and  antidote. 


34  JilSTORY    OF    AIEDICIXK. 

he  was  very  successful.  vSome  thirteen  thousand  were 
recovered,  of  which  868  were  upon  medicine.  Since 
that  period,  literature  upon  that  subject  has  wonder- 
fully increased,  with,  however,  the  Chinese  peculiari- 
ties and  little  innovation  on  old  methods. 

It  is  an  article  in  the  Chinaman's  belief  that  all  dis- 
eases and  calamities  are  the  result  of  sin.  If  a  man 
should  be  killed  by  lightning,  all  who  heard  of  the 
catastrophe  would  with  one  voice  "condemn  him.  He 
must  have  poisoned  some  one,  or  intended  to  do  so  ; 
at  any  rate,  he  miist  have  been  guilty  of  some  great 
crime.  Blindness,  leprosy,  or  other  bodily  ailment  is 
thus  ascribed  to  the  operation  of  a  retributory  decree, 
the  execution  of  which  is  superintended  by  the  ruling 
powers  of  the  celestial  world.  The  charge  of  personal 
blame,  however,  is  often  explained  as  relating  to  some 
misdoing  in  a  former  term  of  existence,  which  is  ex- 
piated in  the  present  life.  This  notion  is  essentially 
Buddhistic.  The  Tafi  sect  entertain  views  somewhat 
different.  They  regard  health,  longevity  and  other 
benefits  as  accruing  from  a  virtuous  life.  Their  found- 
er, Laotsi,  taught  that  all  natures,  divine  as  well  as 
human,  were  twofold;  that  there  was  a  Tau,  the  source 
of  all  that  might  not  be  named,  and  also  a  Tau  that 
was  the  maternal  principle  and  producer  of  all  phe- 
nomenal existence.  The  human  soul  in  like  analogy 
had  two  phases — a  divine  essence  from  the  celestial 
world  and  a  grosser  passional  product  from  the  earth. 
It  was  thus  able  to  impart  the  life  of  the  higher  region 
to  this  inferior  nature.  Salvation  was  the  same  as 
healing,  a  relief  from  all  suffering  of  body  or  mind. 
Dr.  Edkins  affirms  that  they  believed  that  the  body 
could  be  made  impregnable  against  disease  or  death, 
and  so  like  the  corporeity  of  a  divine  being.     Similar 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  35 

beliefs  have  been  entertained  in  western  countries, 
and  seem  to  find  countenance  in  the  New  Testament 
itself.  The  fact,  therefore,  only  serves  to  show  that 
the  Chinese,  in  this  respect,  were  like  other  peoples, 
both  ancient  and  modern.  The  large  amount  of  med- 
ical literature  in  the  Imperial  Library  is  evidence  that 
they  were  awake  to  the  necessity  of  applying  efficient 
remedies  to  disordered  bodily  conditions. 

Of  anatomy  they  had  little  knowledge,  and  in  opera- 
tive surgery  they  were  particularly  unskillful.  Acu- 
puncture, which  was  first  introduced  in  this  country 
by  an  Eclectic  physician,  and  discredited  accordingly, 
but  was  afterwards  imported  from  Germany,  was  prac- 
ticed in  China  many  thousands  of  years  ago.  Inocu- 
lation for  small-pox  was  performed  a  thousand  years 
and  more  before  the  present  era.  They  use  few  med- 
icines derived  from  the  mineral  kingdom.  Their  ma- 
teria medica  embraced  almost  four  hundred  different 
remedial  agents  ;  and  the  general  mode  of  extracting 
the  active  principles  was  by  steeping  or  boiling  in  hot 
water.  It  has  been  a  popular  jest  to  enumerate  the 
articles  used ;  but  if  the  drugs  and  foul  materials  should 
be  named,  which  have  been  current  in  Europe  within 
the  last  four  centuries,  the  Chinese  would  suffer  little 
by  the  comparison. 

They  distilled  alcoholic  spirits  four  centuries  or  more 
ago,  but  the  use  of  them  as  beverages  was  denounced. 
They  make  whiskey,  but  employ  it  for  preparing  me- 
dicinal tinctures.  Indeed,  their  reputation  for  skill  in 
medicine  and  the  arts  was  wide-spread,  and  continued 
through  the  Middle  Ages.  William  of  Rubruck  bears 
this  testimony  respecting  them  :  "  These  Kathayans 
are  first-rate  artists,  and  their  physicians  have  a  thor- 
ough   knowledge   of    the   virtues   of   herbs,   and    an 


36  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

admirable  skill  in  diagnosis  by  the  pulse.  During  the 
campaigns  of  Hulakan,  the  grandson  of  Tamerlane,  in 
Persia,  Chinese  engineers  were  employed  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tigris,  the  ancient  Assyria,  and  Chinese  astrol- 
ogers and  physicians  could  be  consulted  at  Tabriz." 

The  Penal  Code  of  the  "Flowery  Kingdom"  has  no 
arbitrary  prohibition,  either  by  caste-law  or  the  man- 
date of  a  privileged  order,  against  anyone  desiring  to 
practice  medicine.  Every  man  is  free  to  choose  his 
own  calling,  and  to  select  his  medical  adviser.  If, 
however,  improper  practice  on  the  part  of  the  physi- 
cian, whether  by  unsuitable  drugging  or  cutting,  shall 
contribute  to  the  death  of  a  patient,  an  inquest  of  med- 
ical men  is  called  to  investigate  the  matter.  The 
penalty  is  the  same  as  for  homicide.  If,  however,  it 
shall  be  shown  that  he  acted  with  no  intention  to  do 
injury,  he  is  let  off  on  payment  of  a  fine  ;  but  he  is  re- 
quired to  quit  the  medical  profession  forever.  Europe 
and  America  have  much  to  learn  from  the  East. 

If,  as  has  been  sententiously  remarked,  "the  knowl- 
edge which  a  people  possesses  of  the  art  of  healing,  is 
the  measure  of  its  refinement  and  civilization,"  the 
Chinese  nation  holds  no  low  rank  in  the  scale.  Those 
who  leave  it  out  as  a  factor  in  the  world's  scientific 
achievements,  reckon  ill. 

THE    SKYTHIC    AUTOCHTHONES. 

The  numerous  tribes  at  the  north  and  west,  the 
Ugrians,  Turanians  (Turkmans),  and  other  Skythic 
hordes,  can  be  dismissed  with  barely  a  mention.  It 
may  have  been  in  very  ancient  periods,  when  a  litera- 
ture was  created  among  them,  that  a  knowledge  of 
healing  methods  was  also  disseminated.  We  have 
reason  to  believe  that  this  was  the  case.     Magic,  as. 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  37 

all  learning  was  formerly  designated,  embraced  the 
various  arts  of  social  life,  the  service  of  mankind,  as 
well  as  communion  with  spiritual  beings.  Herodotos 
has  mentioned,  among  other  customs  of  the  Skyths, 
their  use  of  the  vapor-bath,  a  practice  still  common 
among  their  Russian  descendants.  They  were  familiar 
with  many  plants  now  reckoned  as  medicinal,  includ- 
ing the  narcotics  and  "  witch-herbs,"  such  as  the  poppy, 
henbane,  hemp,  nightshade,  monk's  hood,  stramonium 
and  fox-glove,  which  were  employed  to  produce  ecsta- 
sy, somnambulic  conditions,  and  other  abnormal  phe- 
nomena. They  also  knew  the  art  of  fumigation,  both 
for  magical  and  for  remedial  purposes.  They  com- 
municated their  knowledge  to  the  nationsbetter  known 
in  history.  The  Delphian  oracle,  was  first  established 
by  them  in  the  prehistoric  period,  the  site  having  been 
selected  over  a  fissure  in  the  ground,  which  sent  up  a 
vapor  producing  anaesthesia  in  those  by  whom  it  was 
inhaled.  It  became  famous  also  as  a  resort  for  per- 
sons suffering  from  various  maladies,  and  Apolld  was 
often  designated  as  Paidn,  the  healer. 

Peschel  has  for  all  the  peculiar  arts  and  methods  of 
thaumaturgy  the  single  term,  Shamanism.  He  includes 
everything  mysterious,  occult  or  magical  under  this 
head.  He  finds  it  convenient  to  dismiss  them  with  an 
epithet;  but  whether  this  is  altogether  just  may  be 
doubtful.  The  earlier  peoples  were  religious  beyond 
what  we  of  modern  times  are  able  to  conceive  ;  ?nd 
very  naturally  their  priests  and  patriarchs  had  super- 
vision of  all  matters  beyond  the  common  departments 
of  human  activity,  among  which  they  included  the 
exorcising  of  spirits  and  the  healing  of  diseases.  The 
cognate  peoples  of  Akhad,  Media  and  Assyria  partici- 
pated in  the  same  beliefs.     The   Tablets  deciphered  by 


38  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Mr.  George  Smith  treat  of  seven  spirits  directed  by 
Liibara,  that  placed  illness  upon  the  body  of  the 
people,  and  give  significance  to  the  story  of  the  maga- 
dalen  of  the  Syrian  shrine  from  whom  they  were  ex- 
pelled. Prayer,  sacred  chants,  sacrifice  and  peculiar 
forms  of  abstinence  were  employed  to  propitiate 
them.  The  inhabitants  of  Northern  Asia,  at  the 
present  time,  entertain  similar  notions  ;  and  we,  with 
our  boasted  superior  culture,  are  not  so  far  removed 
from  them  as  to  be  warranted  in  regarding  them  with 
any  supercilious  disdain.  It  is  easy  to  prate  about 
superstition,  but  the  quality  so  called  is  more  deeply 
embedded  in  human  nature  than,  perhaps,  we  are  able 
cheerfully  to  acknowledge.  Much  of  our  dogma,  much 
that  is  called  scientific  in  medicine,  is  an  outgrowth, 
from  that  source.  The  names  have  been  changed,  but 
the  things  remain. 

PREHISTORIC    GREECE. 

From  the  East  and  the  North  the  same  notions,  arts 
and  methods  were  transmitted  to  the  Akhaian  and 
Pelasgic  countries  of  Greece.  The  legend  of  Medeia 
of  Kolkhis  describes  her  as  possessing  magic  powers, 
the  gift  of  Hekate  or  Hakti,  the  Bhavani  of  Occidental 
Asia,  queen  of  night  and  mistress  of  the  realm  of 
death.  Among  the  arts  which  she  is  said  to  have  ex- 
ercised were  the  restoration  to  life,  health  and  youth, 
and  the  rendering  of  the  body  invulnerable.  Mokli 
or  Mokhos,  the  physician,  was  also  reported  as  to  be 
a  sage  deeply  versed  in  natural  and  physiological 
science,  and  as  the  founder  of  the  knowledge  of 
anatomy.  From  his  descendents,  the  "prophets"  of 
Sidon,   it   is  said  that   Pythagoras   received  "sacred 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  39 

instructions."      Homer    has    described    Agamede,    as 
proficient  in  herbal  lore. 

"  The  fair-haired  Agamede,  eldest-born 
Of  King  Augeias'  daughters,  was  his  spouse: 
And  well  to  her  each  healing  herb  was  known. 
That  springs  from  the  great  earth." 

The  poet  Theokritos  declares  her  the  rival  of  Kirk^ 
and  Medeia  in  magic  art;  the  facts  being  that  medical 
knowledge  was  included  under  the  denomination  of 
magic,  and  that  is  was  supposed  that  a  physician  could 
perform  superhuman  achievements.  Hyginos  de- 
scribes her  as  the  mother,  by  Poseidon,  of  the  heroes 
Belos,  Aktor  and  Diktys,  So  closely  was  the  healing 
art  allied,  in  ancient  estimation,  with  the  familiar 
society  of  gods. 

Perhaps  few  people  received  more  from  other  coun- 
tries than  did  the  Greeks,  and  none  appear  to  have 
been  more  tenacious  in  the  pretense  that  all  their 
attainments  originated  with  themselves.  Their  first 
knowledge  of  the  healing  art  was  exhibited  among 
the  Pelasgic  populations  of  Thessalia  and  the  Pelopon- 
nesos.  Accordingly  we  find  traditions  of  a  King  Apis 
reigning  in  Argos,  as  having  been  the  first  physician. 
As  if  to  confuse  the  story  beyond  credibility,  one 
legend  makes  him  a  descendant  of  Okeanos;  a  second, 
the  son  of  Apollo,  the  god  of  healing,  and  a  third  as 
the  colonizer  of  Egypt,  afterward  commemorated  by 
the  Sacred  Bull.*  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to  understand 
the  myth  as  signifying  that  the  art  of  medicine  in 
Greece  was  coeval  with  the  earliest  civilization  of  the 
country. 

*  It  is  significant  that  the  syllable  Ap  appears  in  the  names  of  the  medical  gods 
of  Greece.  Thus  we  have  ApoWo,  Askl/T^ios,  or  perhaps  more  correctly.  Aisku- 
la/ius,  and  the  name  of  Apia  for  the  whole  Morean  peninsula. 


40  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Apolld  was  the  favorite  god  of  the  Greeks.  Under 
Asiatic  and  Libyan  influence,  Poseidon  had  been  origi- 
nally worshipped,  and  the  Pelasgic  Zeus.  With  the 
revolutions  of  the  archaic  period,  which  subverted  the 
basileis,  or  priest-kings,  and  substituted  the  commons' 
kings  or  tyrants,  the  new  Zeus  of  Olympus,  the  son  of 
Kronos,  became  the  Supreme  Divinity.  The  cult  of 
Apollo  was  made  a  part  of  the  new  worship,  and  the 
son  of  Zeus  was  commemorated  as  the  god  of  music, 
poetry  and  divination,  and  the  physician  of  the  gods. 
Paieon,  however,  of  the  older  gods  is  set  forth  in  the 
y//d;^  as  curing  the  wound  of  the  god  Ares,  received 
from  Diomedes,  and  Pluto,  when  pierced  in  the 
shoulder  by  Heraklds.  The  Odysseia  also  declares  the 
Egyptian  physicians  skilled  above  all,  "for  truly  they 
are  of  the  race  of  Paieon."  In  honor  of  Apollo  as  the 
god  smiting  with  death,  and  restoring  to  health,  the 
hymns  chanted  in  his  praise  every  seventh  day  of  the 
month  were  called  pczans. 

The  Northern  Pelasgic  myths  ascribed  the  primitive 
development  of  the  art  to  a  wise  personage  of  Thes- 
salia,  Kheiron.  The  tribe  to  which  he  belonged,  the 
Kentaurs,  has  been  the  theme  of  many  fables  and  the 
subject  of  much  conjecture.  It  was  common  to  depict 
them  after  the  manner  of  Assyrian  sphinxes  or 
cherubs,  as  human  figures  above  and  horses  below. 
Probably  it  was  only  a  mode  of  rebus  in  picture-writ- 
ing to  indicate  them  as  the  progeny  of  the  Hippoi,  the 
priests  of  the  goddess  Hippa  or  Rhea  among  the  Mag- 
netes,  as  the  poet  Pindaros  has  described  their  origin. 
The  name  Kentaur  may  have  been  formed,  however, 
from  the  Semitic  terms  kahen  and  tur,  and  so  mean  a 
]-»riest  of  the  rock-sanctuary.  This  would  be  appro- 
priate for  the  wise  Kheiron,  but  hardly  so  well  for  his 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  4I 

more  warlike  countrymen.  Those  who  are  skillful  in 
deriving  every  race  and  custom  in  Greece  from  Indian 
sources,  have  attempted  to  trace  them  from  the  Gan- 
d'harvas  of  Indian  fable.  Mr,  E.  Pococke,  who  is  often 
more  plausible,  although  more  imaginative,  declares 
them  to  have  been  "Kand'haurs,  or  emigrants  from 
Kandahar,"  and  akin,  as  their  peculiarities  show,  to 
the  Catti  and  Rajputs.  The  Charon  was  the  sage  and 
counsellor  of  the  tribe.  This  description  tallies  with 
that  of  Kheiron,*  the  instructor  of  Jason  the  Argonaut, 
of  Herakles,  Asklepios  and  Akhilleus.  His  abode  was 
in  a  Sacred  Cave,  to  which  all  resorted,  and  mythopoeic 
lore  describes  him  as  the  son  of  Kronos  by  a  Hippeian 
mother.  Two  of  his  pupils,  Akhilles  and  Asklepios 
were  famous  for  their  knowledge  and  skill  in  healing. 
His  art  seems  to  have  received  from  him  its  ancient 
name,  kheirourgike,  and  the  practitioners  of  Thessalia, 
were  designated  at  Kheironidae.  They  even  asserted 
that  Kheiron  was  the  ancestor  of  their  family. 

Asklepios  or  ^sculapius  appears  to  have  superseded 
all  the  other  hero-gods  as  patron  of  the  healing  art. 
Although  the  name  as  well  as  traditions  imply  a  Pel- 
asgic  origin,  he  originated  beyond  the  Mediterranean. 
His  Asiatic  character  is  indicated  by  the  symbol  or 
totem  by  which  he  was  often  represented,  the  serpent 
upon  the  stauros  or  tree  of  life.  In  all  the  East,  in 
Africa  and  aboriginal  America,  the  healing  art  was 
denoted  by  this  figure,  the  coluber,  royal  asp,  the 
hooded  snake  or  the  rattlesnake.  Even  the  Greek 
artists  who  changed  the  archaic  methods,  represented 
the  god  as  an  old  man  with  a  staff  or  wand  encircled 

*  II  has  been  suigested  thit  the  name  Kheiron  was  derived  from  kJirir,  the 
hand;  ami  therefore,  that  the  legend  sii;niriis  th-it  the  healing  art  as  represented 
fey  him,  was  chiefly  exercised  by  manipulation,  both  in  the  forms  of  massage  and 
mesmerism.     It  is  apparent  that  such  was  the  fact. 


42  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

by  the  sacred  animal.  Hygieia,  his  daughter,  also  had 
a  bowl  in  which  the  serpent  was  feeding,  or  it  was 
coiled  around  her  body  and  arm.  The  Tyrians  repre- 
sented the  altars  with  serpents  winding  round  them, 
or  emerging  from  the  receptacle  beneath.  Even  the 
nahash  of  the  Garden  of  Eden  was  ^sculapian.  In  the 
dramas  of  the  Asian  and  Samothrokian  mysteries,  the 
demigod  was  represented  as  beloved  of  the  Great 
Mother,  self-mutilated,  dying  and  resuscitated  again 
to  new  life.  In  Greece  his  temples  had  always  a  ser- 
pent and  its  progeny  for  tenants.  When  a  new  shrine 
was  dedicated,  a  serpent  was  brought  from  Epidavros. 
Ovid  relates  the  account  of  an  embassy  from  Rome  to 
obtain  "  the  god  ^sculapius"  for  that  city,  and  the  mi- 
raculous circumstances  attendant  upon  their  mission. 

Grecian  vanity,  however,  required  that  the  god 
should  be  naturalized.  Accordingly,  the  theologists 
represented  him  as  the  son  of  Apollo  the  healer. 
Several  temples  were  designated  as  his  birthplaces  ; 
the  principal  ones  being  in  Messenia,  Thessalia  and  at 
Epidavros  in  Argolis.  One  legend  described  him  as 
born  in  the  form  of  a  serpent  from  the  Q^gg  of  a  raven. 
Another  declares  him  the  son  of  the  god  by  the  maid 
Kordnis,  and  that  he  became  the  ward  of  Kheiron. 
He  accompanied  the  other  hero-gods  on  the  Argonau- 
tic  expedition,  and  receiving  from  Perseus  some  of  the 
blood  of  Medusa,  performed  marvellous  cures  with  it, 
even  restoring  the  dead  to  life.  For  this  he  was  j^ut 
to  death  by  Zeus  himself. 

Homer  and  the  other  poets  describe  his  children  as 
inheriting  the  sacred  art.  Makhaon  was  skilled  as  an 
operating  surgeon  and  Podaleirios  as  a  physician. 
Both  had  their  shrines  and  received  homage  as  gods. 
The  daughters  were  likewise  honored  as  divine.    Their 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  43 

names,  Hygieia  or  health,  Aiglaia  or  radiant  virtue, 
Panakeia  the  all-healing,  and  laso  the  savior  from  ill, 
indicate  the  ^-Esculapian  art  to  have  included  not  only 
medicine  and  operative  surgery,  but  every  means  of 
preserving  the  body  and  restoring  it  to  soundness. 

The  healing  function  was  regarded  as  an  attribute 
of  divinity  itself.  Not  only  were  Kheiron,  Asklepios 
and  his  children  enrolled  in  the  pantheon,  and  com- 
memorated by  appropriate  rites  of  worship,  but  the 
greater  deities  are  described  by  Homer  and  other  poets 
as  exercising  the  physician's  office.  When  Diomedes 
was  wounded,  the  warrior  Sthenelos  extracted  the 
arrow  from  his  shoulder,  and  Pallas-Athena  breathe 
into  hirn  a  healing  energy  which  removed  all  his  hurt. 
He  engaged  again  in  conflict,  wounding  the  goddess 
Aphrodite  in  the  wrist  and  Ares  in  the  breast  below 
the  neck.  The  god  of  war  recovered  under  the  care 
of  Paion  and  the  goddess  was  healed  by  her  mother, 
Dione,  who  touched  the  place  with  her  finger.  Hektor, 
the  illustrious  Trojan  chieftain,  crushed  by  a  rock 
hurled  by  Aias  (Ajax)  was  also  restored  to  life  and 
soundness  by  Apollo. 

Homer  also  describes  the  Grecian  chiefs  at  the  siege 
of  Troy  as  skillful  in  the  healing  art.  Podaleirios,  the 
son  of  the  Thessalian  Asklepios,  cared  for  his  brother 
Makhaon,  whose  dangerous  wound  had  filled  the  whole 
Akhaian  camp  with  dismay.  The  latter,  when  Mene- 
laos  was  wounded,  extracted  the  arrow,  cleansed  the 
injured  place  and  applied  healing  balsams  which  his 
father  had  obtained  from  Kheiron.  Patroklos  in  like 
manner  treated  Euryplos. 

"As  taught  by  Achilles,  who  had  learned 
The  art  from  Chiron,  righteous  in  his  day, 
Beyond  the  other  Centaurs." 


44  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Pliny  had  asserted  that  in  that  archaic  period  the 
art  of  healing  was  confined  to  the  treatment  of  wounds. 
Even  Plato  declares  that  the  god  considered  medical 
treatment  ill  bestowed  where  the  patient  was  not 
capable  of  a  perfect  recovery.  Other  writers  describe 
the  ^sculapian  method  as  consisting  of  magic  or 
mesmeric  agencies,  medicines,  and  surgical  appliances. 
Pindaros  writes  as  follows  : 

"Some  spells  brought  back  to  life  ; 
These  drank  the  potion  planned  ;  for  these  he  bound 
With  drugs  the  aching  wound  ; 
Some  leaped  to  strength  beneath  the  helpful  knife." 

With  the  adoption  of  the  Argive  Asklepios  as  the  god 
of  healing,  his  worship  was  engrafted  upon  the  initia- 
tions of  the  Eleusinia.  After  the  Greater  Mysteries 
were  over,  the  orgies  of  the  god  of  Epidavros  were 
celebrated  upon  the  eighth  day.  Sokrates  referred  to 
these  rites  in  his  dying  words  :  "We  owe  the  cock  to 
yEsculapius."  The  worship  of  this  god  had  then 
extended  over  Greece  and  into  neighboring  countries. 
The  temples  were  hospitals  for  the  reception  and  treat- 
ment of  the  sick.  The  Askl^piads,  a  gens  or  caste  of 
initiated  priests,  ministered  at  the  various  shrines  and 
treated  the  maladies  of  all  who  sought  their  aid. 

As  every  sacerdotal  body  in  ancient  times  was  a 
secret  order  having  a  free-masonry  of  its  own,  the 
^Esculapian  fraternity  exercised  a  like  exclusiveness. 
Fathers  instructed  their  children  and  teachers  their 
pupils,  but  only  as  members  of  an  oath-bound  brother- 
hood, incurring  the  penalties  of  the  out-caste  for  any 
violation  of  the  compact.  In  time,  there  came  to  be 
two  distinct  classes  of  practitioners,  the  Askl6piads, 
who  possessed  the  religious  and  occult  learning,  and 
the  iatroi  who  had  not  been  initiated,  but  were  able 


ARCHAIC    MEDICINE.  45 

from  there  skill  and  deftness  in  treatment,  to  practice 
the  art  successfully.  The  latter  were  often  slaves,  or 
low-caste  men,  that  were  allowed  to  treat  patients  in 
public  dispensaries,  or  such  as  were  too  poor  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  more  costly  services. 

The  Asklepiads,  following  the  archaic  usage,  pro- 
fessed to  be  lineal  descendents  of  their  ancestral  god. 
They  even  preserved  genealogies  to  prove  the  claim. 
Even  Hippokrates  and  the  historian  Ktesias,  as  late 
the  Persian  period,  prided  themselves  on  this  divine 
origin  of  the  families  to  which  they  belonged.  It 
would  seem  as  though  Hippokrates,  by  committing 
his  knowledge  to  writing  had  disregarded  his  sacer- 
dotal obligation,  or  else  we  must  suppose  that  he  only 
wrote  upon  such  subjects  as  others  were  permitted  to 
to  learn.  Doubtless,  this  was  the  case.  Plato  in  the 
Republic  severely  criticises  the  necessity  in  a  common- 
wealth for  physicians,  and  castigates  Herodikos  for 
having  adopted  methods  different  from  those  of  the 
Asklepiads.  Yet  no  modern  civilized  State  would 
tolerate  the  practitioner  who  should  neglect  or  destroy 
the  life  of  a  patient  because  of  his  inability  to  recover 
or  unfitness  to  live. 

In  the  ancient  historic  period,  it  became  impossible 
finally  to  maintain  a  sacerdotal  healing  caste.  Even 
the  spurious  oath  which  was  imputed  to  Hippokrates 
was  not  respected.  The  famous  school  of  Alexandria 
seems  to  have  been  instrumental  in  breaking  down 
the  wall  of  partition  between  the  sacred  and  profane 
— the  Asklepiads  and  those  who  were  physicians  by 
virtue  of  culture  and  native  endowment.  Medicine 
as  a  pursuit  implies  all  this  ;  aspiring  beyond  the  lust 
of  power,  it  is  the  art  of  doing  good  to  men. 


CHAPTER   II. 
MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD. 

Mr.  Grote  considers  the  historic  period,  apart  from 
the  illusions  of  legend,  as  commencing  in  Greece  with 
the  first  Olympiad,  776  years  before  the  present  era. 
In  other  countries  the  period  may  have  been  some- 
what earlier,  but  this  date  will  answer  the  purpose. 
At  this  time  the  Hellenic  national  and  religious  insti- 
tutions had  generally  superseded  the  Pelasgian.  All 
over  the  world  a  spirit  of  unrest  was  in  motion,  and 
change  seems  to  have  been  imiversal. 

The  traditions  of  the  Heroic  Age,  as  appears  from 
Homer,  ascribed  everything  indicative  of  artistic  skill 
and  superior  mental  attainment  to  the  Phoenicians. 
They  included  under  this  name  all  the  East,  Egypt, 
Assyria  and  the  Khetan  countries,  as  well  as  Sidon 
and  the  other  cities  of  the  Levant.  The  "older  gods," 
Poseidon,  Kronos,  Rhea,  and  the  Mysteries  were  from 
this  region,  preceding  the  later  divinities  of  Olympus. 

The  healing  art  was  also  to  be  traced  to  Oriental 
sources.  The  Iliad,  to  be  sure,  represents  that  Paeeon 
was  the  physician  of  the  gods,  but  the  Odyssey  declares 
that  the  Egyptian  practitioners  were  of  his  race. 
Another  poet  asserts  that  it  was  the  god  Phoebus- 
Apollo  from  whom  "physicians  have  learned  the  art 
of  delaying  death."     Even  as  early  as  Homer,  however, 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  47 

the  Oriental  divinity  Esmun  or  Bal-Zebul,  was  already 
naturalized  in  Thessalia  and  the  Morean  peninsula,  as 
Asklepios  (^sculapius),  the  son  of  Apollo  ;  and  he 
presently  became  the  patron  god  of  healing  among  all 
Greek-speaking  people.  He  was  worshipped  with 
secret  rites  at  Triakka  in  Thessaly,  at  Kos,  at  Knidos 
in  Asia  Minor,  and  in  many  parts  of  Greece,  but 
especially  at  Epidavros;  so  that  more  than  one  legend 
has  sprung  up*  respecting  his  adventures.  (Grote). 
The  symbols  and  images  of  yEsculapius  were  duly 
subjected,  as  far  as  practicable,  to  the  manipulations 
of  Hellenic  art.  The  squat  figure  peculiar  to  him  in 
his  earlier  character  as  one  of  the  Kabeirian  gods  of 
Egypt,  and  the  composite  symbolic  forms  employed 
in  other  Asian  countries,  were  changed  to  more  sym- 
metric human  shapes.  We  find  him  accordingly  rep- 
resented somewhat  like  his  counterparts,  the  Eastern 
Bacchus  and  the  Kretan  Zeus.  Of  course  the  serpent 
and  often  the  dog  were  retained  ;  without  the  sacred 
animal  the  delineation  would  not  be  complete.  A 
dwarf  figure  like  at  that  Samothrakia,  however,  was 
kept  in  a  hidden  recess.  On  the  coins  of  Epidavros, 
he  was  exhibited  as  an  infant  nursed  by  the  goat  and 
guarded  by  the  dog.  At  Korinth  and  several  other 
places  he  had  the  figure  of  a  child  holding  in  one  hand 
the  sceptre,  and  in  the  other  a  fir-cone  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  Assyrian  worship.  He  was  also  depicted  as 
a  man  of  mature  years,  bald,  with  a  flowing  beard,  and 
partly  covered  by  his  robe,  holding  the  knotted  magic 
staff  encircled  by  the  serpent.  Sometimes  the  animal 
was  coiled  in  the  form  of  a  bowl  as  though  to  represent 
the  mystic  cup  of  Hygeia.     Not  unfrequently  he  was 

*  Herodotus  declares  that  the  Greeks  reckon  the  nativity  of  gods  from  the  time 
when  the  first  knowledge  of  them  was  acquired  in  Greece. 


48  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

represented  by  the  serpent  alone,  and  in  every 
Askldpion  a  living  serpent  was  maintained  as  his 
simulacrum. 

The  Hieron  or  holy  precinct  at  Epidavros  was  long 
the  most  famous.  It  contained  a  sanctuary,  a  park  or 
sacred  grove,  and  a  theatre  capable  of  holding  twelve 
thousand  spectators.  Kds,  however,  was  more  honored 
at  a  subsequent  period.  Pergamos,  the  mountain-city 
of  Asia  minor,  was  also  famous  for  its  Asklepion,  as 
well  as  its  great  library  and  school  of  learning.  The 
symbol  of  the  god  was  a  metallic  serpent  twined  itpon 
a  pole  like  the  brazen  serpent  of  the  Book  of  Numbers. 
At  the  various  temples  the  Asklepia  or  festivals  of  the 
god  were  celebrated  ;  and  his  priests,  the  Asklepiads, 
presided  at  the  altars  and  initiations. 

The  temples  were  thronged  with  the  sick  as  well  as 
with  worshippers.  Only  the  initiated,  however,  might 
enter  the  sacred  precinct,  except  by  permission  of  the 
superintending  priest.  This  was  granted  on  condition 
of  undergoing  a  religious  purification,  or  in  other 
words,  the  preliminary  initiations.  Fasting,  absti- 
nence from  wine,  and  bathing  were  strictly  enjoined. 
Mesmerism  and  massage  were  among  the  chief 
agencies  depended  upon.  Sleep-houses  were  always 
provided  and  great  diligence  employed  to  ascertain 
whether  the  patients,  when  in  the  hypnotic  or  clair- 
voyant condition,  had  received  any  suggestion  in 
regard  to  their  treatment.  The  medicinal  means 
generally  consisted  of  roots,  herbs  and  a  careful 
regimen,  together  with  the  various  ceremonies,  incan- 
tations and  other  magic  observances. 

It  was  not  attempted,  however,  to  cure  persons 
thoroughly  diseased.  "Asklepios  did  not  think," 
Plato  informs  us,  "  that  a  man  ought  not  to  be  cured, 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  49 

who  could  not  live  m  the  ordinary  course,  as  in  that 
case  he  would  be  of  no  service."  Incurables  v^^ere 
carefully  excluded  from  the  temples.  It  was  usual 
when  a  sick  person  failed  of  recovery,  to  lay  the  blame 
upon  him  instead  of  upon  the  treatment.  The  priest- 
physician  declared  to  hirti  that  his  unbelief  and  sins 
were  the  cause  of  failure,  or  else  some  ordinance  of 
fate. 

The  priests  of  ^sculapius,  the  Asklepiads,  took  sole 
charge  of  everything  relating  to  his  temples.  They 
were  hereditary  orders,  professing  to  be  lineal 
descendants  of  the  divinity.  Even  the  Romans,  when 
they  imported  this  worship,  established  the  gens  of 
Acilius  as  the  lineage  of  the  god.  It  was  asserted  that 
they  possessed  occult  knowledge  imparted  by  yEscu- 
lapius  himself.  Parents  communicated  the  art  to  their 
children,  but  to  impart  to  any  one  not  of  the  race  and 
duly  initiated  was  regarded  as  an  act  of  impiety. 
"The  holy  word  may  only  be  revealed  to  the  initiated" 
was  the  law  recorded  by  Hippokrates  ;  "  the  profane 
may  not  receive  it  before  initiation."  The  traditionary 
form  of  the  oath  contains  an  execration  of  short  life 
calamity  and  opprobrium,  if  the  candidate  should 
profane  or  popularize  the  knowledge  by  revealing  it 
to  anyone  except  the  children  of  his  teachers,  and 
disciples  obligated  by  this  oath  and  stipulation,  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  the  medical  caste. 

It  has  been  thought  by  some  that  the  Asklepiads 
were  not  members  of  the  sacerdotal  order.  The  fact, 
however,  that  they  had,  like  other  priesthoods,  rites 
of  their  own  and  occult  doctrines  for  the  initiated,  iu 
enough  to  set  that  question  at  rest.  Greece  had  not 
in  the  historic  period  a  caste  of  priests  like  Asiatie 
countries;  but  none  the  less  there  were  ministrants  at 


50  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  various  shrines,  and  they  professed,  as  at  Eleusis, 
to  receive  their  authority  by  hereditary  descent  from 
the  first  attendants  at  the  worship  of  the  divinity. 
The  Asklepiads  were  the  traditional  sons  of  ^scula- 
pius,  and  constituted  a  special  class,  officiating  at  the 
sanctuaries  of  the  divinity  and  obligated  to  preserve 
intact  his  mysteries. 

Their  maintenance  was  derived  from  the  bounty  of 
their  patrons.  While  in  later  days  the  iatrists  were 
paid  by  salaries  and  stipulated  compensations,  the 
Asklepia  were  supported  by  the  munificence  of  the 
grateful.  Presents  and  honoraria  were  bestowed, 
sometimes  as  offerings  to  the  god  and  sometimes 
more  directly  to  his  priests  :  it  was  all  the  same. 
Sometimes  patients  in  the  sleeping  halls,  who  had  not 
bee"  successfully  hypnotized,  beheld  the  proxies  of 
the  divinity  in  the  act  of  gathering  the  votive  offer- 
ings in  a  bag.  Next  day,  however,  it  was  annoimced 
that  ..^sculapius  had  borne  them  away  in  person.  A 
cock  was  the  usual  sacrifice,  sometimes  a  goat,  but 
vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  paintings  and  works  of  art, 
facsimiles  of  the  parts  of  the  body  that  had  been 
diseased,  of  more  or  less  valuable  material,  were  com- 
mon. Aristides  sent  to  the  temple  at  Pergamos  a 
silver  tripod  with  images  upon  it  to  represent  yEscu- 
lapius  himself,  Hygieia  and  the  dwarf-simulacrum, 
Telesphoros,  the  symbolic  figure  of  the  secret  rites. 
In  later  centuries,  the  treasuries  of  these  shrines 
tempted  the  cupidity  of  conquering  generals.  Sylla, 
the  Roman  consul,  emptied  the  coffers  at  Epidavros 
to  obtain  money  for  the  war  against  Mithradates. 
Pergamos  was  also  compelled  to  submit  to  heavy 
contributions. 

A   practice   of    these    sanctuaries    consisted   in    the 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  5 1 

inscribing  upon  tablets  the  name  and  history  of  every 
sick  patient,  and  an  account  of  the  disease,  mode  of 
treatment  and  remedies  employed.  It  was  also  cus- 
tomary to  engrave  the  name  and  description  of 
remedies,  particularly  of  those  more  recently  dis- 
covered, upon  the  door-posts  and  columns  of  the 
temple-hospitals.  One  man  left  on  record  an  antidote 
for  the  poison  of  venomous  serpents;  another,  a  gold- 
smith, bequeated  to  the  Asklepion  at  Ephesos  the 
formula  of  a  lotion  for  the  eyes  for  sufferers  who  had 
been  abandoned  by  human  aid.  Surgical  instruments 
were  also  presented;  Eristratos  offered  an  instrument 
■for  the  extraction  of  teeth. 

Rome  having  been  for  centuries  without  a  caste  or 
profession  of  physicians,  sent  an  embassy  about  three 
centuries  before  the  present  era  to  Epidavros  to  bring 
away  the  ^sculapius  to  Rome.  The  legend  describes 
a  serpent  as  making  his  way  from  the  temple  to  the 
city,  going  aboard  the  Roman  galley,  and  debarking 
at  an  island  in  the  river  Tiber,  where  a  temple  was 
at  once  consecrated  to  his  worship.  A  company  of 
Asklepiads  accompanied  the  expedition  to  the  new 
sanctuary.  The  shrine  was  greatly  celebrated  and  the 
Emperor  Claudius  decreed  that  all  slaves  healed  at  the 
place  should  become  free.  Pliny,  ^lianus  and  Galen 
have  recorded  some  of  the  curative  agents  employed. 

The  Asklepiads  continued  in  existence  till  the  sub- 
version of  the  ancient  worship.  The  temple  of  Knidos 
was  closed  by  the  Emperor  Constantine.  There  is  a 
tradition  also  that  St.  Hilarios  destroyed  the  JEscula- 
pian  serpent  at  Epidavros.  As  the  legends  of  the 
period  abound  with  stories  of  Christian  missionaries 
destroying  serpents,  we  need  only  include  this  with 
the  others,  alike  fictitious  and  alike  enigmatic. 


52  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  medical  art,  however,  did  not  remain  through 
this  period  confined  to  a  privileged  and  protected  class. 
The  seventh,  and  more  particularly  the  sixth  century, 
before  the  present  era,  were  characterized  by  a  gen- 
eral unrest,  and  by  great  political  and  even  religious 
changes.  The  Pelasgic  predominance  generally  came 
to  an  end  in  Greece ;  the  old  dynasties  were  superseded 
by  other  forms  of  government ;  new  divinities  and 
modes  of  worship  were  introduced  ;  schools  of  philos- 
ophy came  into  existence,  and  everything  exemplified 
the  advancing  trend  of  thought.  The  sacerdotal  class 
was  made  subordinate;  human  sacrifices  were  generally 
discontinued  ;  and  religion  became  not  only  mantic 
and  enthusiastic,  but  popularized.  The  healing  art 
participated  in  the  revolution.  It  was  taught  in  the 
schools  of  philosophy,  at  first  under  the  old  obligation 
of  secrecy,  but  with  the  dissolution  of  the  Pythagorean 
brotherhood,  its  arcane,  medical  as  well  as  scientific, 
were  made  public.  latreia  or  hospitals  were  estab- 
lished in  the  principal  Grecian  states,  and  physicians 
appointed  by  the  government  to  take  charge  of  them. 
These  employed  slave-doctors  to  attend  to  those  of 
their  own  class,  while  they  themselves  cared  for  those 
in  better  circumstances. 

In  the  more  liberal  atmosphere  of  the  colonies, 
Magna  Graecia,  Sicily  and  Kyrene,  philosophic  learn- 
ing enjoyed  freedom  and  opportunity  beyond  what 
existed  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor.  Xenophanes 
accordingly  established  his  school  in  Sicily,  and  Pyth- 
agoras another  at  Kroton  in  Italy.  For  more  than  two 
centuries,  the  medical  practitioners  from  the  colonies 
surpassed  those  from  the  schools  of  the  Asklepiads 
of  Kos  and  Knidos,  in  reputation  and  professional 
skill. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  53 

DEMOKEDES. 

Herodotus  has  related  the  story  of  Demokedes,  with 
the  circumstance  and  embellishment  of  a  tale  in  the 
Thousand  and  One  Nights.  It  illustrates  the  changes 
that  were  taking  place.  Demokedes  was  a  native  of 
Kroton,  and  during  his  youth  had  prosecuted  the  study 
of  medicine.  Unwilling  to  endure  the  severe  temper 
of  his  father,  he  left  Italy  and  sailed  to  .i^^^gina.  Here 
he  began  the  practice  of  his  art ;  and  although  desti- 
tute of  instruments  and  other  necessary  appliances, 
he  quickly  surpassed  the  best-skilled  physicians  of  the 
place.  The  next  year,  the  commonwealth  appointed 
him  archiatrist  or  State-physician,  at  the  salary  of  a 
talent — about  %i,2oo.  The  year  after  the  Athenians 
secured  him  at  a  higher  price — $2,000,  and  the  fourth 
year,  Polykrates,  the  monarch  of  Samos,  engaged  him 
for  two  talents.  "  It  was  in  no  small  measure  from  his 
success,"  says  Herodotus,  *'  that  the  Krotonians  came 
to  be  reckoned  such  good  physicians  ;  for  about  this 
period  the  physicians  of  Kroton  had  the  name  of  being 
the  best,  and  those  of  Kyrene,  the  second  best  in  all 
Greece." 

Polykrates  was  afterward  treacherously  murdered 
by  the  Persian  satrap  Oroetes,  and  those  who  accom- 
panied him  were  consigned  to  slavery.  Of  this  num- 
ber was  the  physician.  Dareios  Hystaspis  having 
succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Persia,  commanded  Oroetes 
to  be  put  to  death.  His  property,  including  slaves  and 
treasures,  were  brought  to  Susa. 

The  Persian  kings  at  this  time,  kept  Egyptian  phy- 
sicians at  their  court,  as  well  as  magicians  and  native 
practitioners.  One  day  Dareios  leaped  from  his  horse, 
while  hunting,  and  dislocated  his    foot.     The  Egyp- 


54  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

tians  were  unable  to  relieve  him,  and  for  a  week  he 
was  sleepless  from  the  pain.  Some  one  then  told  him 
of  Demokedes,  who  was  immediately  brought  to  him, 
fettered  and  in  the  dress  of  a  slave.  The  Greek  feared 
that  if  he  should  make  known  his  skill  and  perform  a 
successful  operation,  he  would  be  detained  in  captivity. 
In  the  ancient  belief,  before  philosophy  had  changed 
it,  banishment  from  one's  country  was  regarded  as 
equivalent  to  capital  punishment.  Even  Sokrates 
chose  instead  to  drink  the  hemlock.  Accordingly 
Demokedes  pretended  to  be  totally  ignorant  of  surgery. 
The  king  sent  for  officers  to  come  with  scourges  and 
pricking-irons.  The  Greek  hesitated  no  longer.  He 
first  proceeded  by  the  use  of  appropriate  remedies  to 
alleviate  the  pain  ;  and  after  the  king  had  become 
recruited  by  sleep,  he  reduced  the  dislocation  and  suc- 
ceeded in  restoring  the  limb  to  its  normal  state. 

The  king  had  despaired  of  a  cure,  and  in  his  joy 
conferred  every  honor  upon  the  physician.  Demokedes 
was  introduced  to  the  Sultanas  as  the  preserver  of  the 
king.  Each  of  them  presented  him  with  a  plate  heaped 
with  gold  coin.  A  slave  became  rich  by  picking  up 
the  pieces  that  dropped.  He  was  also  promoted  to  the 
post  of  royal  physician,  and  admitted  to  the  honor  of 
sitting  at  the  royal  table.  No  man  stood  so  high  in 
favor.  Dareios  had  commanded  that  the  unskillful 
Egyptians  should  be  impaled  on  the  stauros,  but  at  his 
entreaty  spared  their  lives.  When,  however,  his  own 
wishes  stood  in  the  way,  he  was  less  generous. 

CURING    A    CANCER. 

"  Moreover,"  says  Herodotus,  "  it  happened  that 
Atossa  [Hadassah  ?]  the  daughter  of  Cyrus  who  was 
married  to  Dareios,  had  a  boil  form  upon  her  breast, 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  55 

which  after  it  burst,  began  to  spread  and  increase. 
Now  as  long  as  the  sore  was  of  no  great  size,  she  hid 
it  through  shame,  and  made  no  mention  of  it  to  any- 
one, but  when  it  became  worse,  she  sent  at  last  for 
Uemokedes,  and  showed  it  to  him.  Demokedes  said 
he  could  make  her  well,  but  she  must  first  promise  him, 
with  an  oath,  that  if  he  cured  her  she  would  grant  him 
whatever  request  he  might  prefer.  On  these  terms  he 
applied  his  art  and  soon  cured  the  abscess." 

Atossa  not  only  recovered  perfectly  but  became  the 
mother  of  Xerxes  and  several  other  children,  outliving 
her  husband  and  exercising  great  influence  in  the 
reign  of  her  son. 

Demokedes  had  entreated  permission  to  return 
home.  Knowing,  however,  that  the  Persian  king 
would  not  grant  the  request,  he  instructed  the  queen 
to  propose  the  conquering  of  Greece.  At  her  sugges- 
tion, he  was  sent  by  Dareios  with  an  expedition  to 
make  a  preliminary  survey,  and  on  arriving  at  Taren- 
tura,  succeeded  in  effecting  his  escape.  He  returned 
at  once  to  Kroton,  and  married  the  daughter  of  Milo 
the  famous  athlete  and  disciple  of  Pythagoras. 

Herodotus  probably  received  this  account  after  he 
had  become  a  resident  of  Italy,  from  the  family  of  the 
physician.  It  may  have  been  exaggerated.  Dareios, 
certainly  made  no  attempt  against  Greece  till  he  had 
first  invaded  the  country  north  of  the  Danube.  It  is 
true,  however,  that  from  that  time  Greek  physicians 
were  kept  at  the  Persian  court. 

EMINENT    TEACHERS    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  early  philosophers  made  medical  lore  a  part  of 
their  knowledge.  Pythagoras  had  acquired  it  with  the 
other   mystic  learning  of  the  Egyptian    priests.     He 


56  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

seems  to  have  given  the  preference  to  external  medi- 
cation, but  many  of  his  followers  were  skillful  in  the 
treatment  of  internal  diseases.  Alkmaeon,  who  was  a 
disciple  at  the  school  of  Kroton,  afterward  gained  a 
high  reputation  as  a  philosopher  and  naturalist.  He 
possessed  a  considerable  knowledge  of  anatomy,  and 
wrote  several  medical  works.  His  treatise  upon  human 
physiology  was  supposed  to  be  the  most  ancient  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge. 

Empedokles  of  Sicily  was  also  a  student  of  the 
Pythagorean  school,  and  displayed  such  skill  in  the 
healing  art  that  many  believed  his  powers  to  be  super- 
human. It  was  declared  that  he  restored  a  woman  to 
life  who  had  lain  thirty  days  apparently  dead  ;  that 
he  arrested  a  pestilenceby  turning  the  waters  through 
a  stagnant  marsh;  and  that  he  delivered  a  district 
from  the  ravages  of  sirocco  by  closing  up  a  passage 
between  two  mountains.  He  believed  that  races  of 
living  animals,  under  favorable  conditions,  would 
spring  up  even  from  the  earth. 

Akron,  the  fellow-townsman  of  Empedokles,  was 
held  by  that  philosopher  in  utter  detestation.  He 
seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  Aristophanes,  and  to 
have  attempted  to  cast  ridicule  upon  the  writings  of 
the  sage.  He  has  been  regarded  by  many  as  the 
founder  of  the  school  of  Empii-ic  physicians,  but  this 
claim  is  somewhat  premature.  He  was,  however,  a 
Periodentes,  or  visiting  physician,  making  stated  calls 
upon  his  patients,  in  order  to  observe  their  symptoms 
and  treat  them  accordingly.  He  visited  Athens  at  the 
time  of  the  great  plague,  and  by  causing  fires  to  be 
built  near  the  sick  and  in  unwholesome  places,  greatly 
benefited  many.  He  was  the  author  of  several  medi- 
cal works  that  were  highly  esteemed. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  57 

Anaxagoras  of  Klazomenae,  the  friend  of  Perikles, 
was  also  distinguished  for  the  profoundness  of  his 
speculations,  and  his  superior  attainments  in  physical 
science.  His  views  upon  medicine  and  human  physi- 
ology, however,  are  widely  at  variance  with  those 
developed  in  later  times. 

Demokritos  of  Abdera  appears  to  have  had  much  to 
do  with  the  moulding  of  subsequent  opinions.  He 
was  an  indefatigable  student,  and  accomplished  in  the 
learning  of  his  age,  religious,  philosophic  and  scien- 
tific. His  countrymen  having  entertained  Xerxes  on 
his  return  from  Greece,  the  king  bestowed  upon  them 
royal  honors,  and  left  several  Mazdean  teachers  to 
instruct  them  in  the  Oriental  learning  and  doctrines.* 
The  young  Demokritos  was  among  their  disciples. 
His  father  dying,  he  was  left  in  the  possession  of  a  rich 
patrimony,  which  he  at  once  devoted  to  the  acquiring 
of  knowledge.  He  travelled  from  country  to  country, 
to  Italy,  Egypt  and  the  East,  listened  to  the  teachers  of 
philosophy,  and  finally  returned  home  a  master  in  all 
departments  of  learning.  He  became  himself  a  teacher, 
introducing  new  concepts  of  natural  law  and  opera- 
tion, as  well  as  of  the  virtues  and  properties  of  medi- 
cinal plants  and  various  mineral  bodies.  He  gave  a 
new  impulse  to  research  in  every  field. 

MEDICAL    PRACTICE    AT    ATHENS. 

As  has  been  already  shown,  there  were  several 
classes  of  physicians  in  Athens.  The  Republic  took 
care  to  provide  that  every  one  should  receive  needed 
medical  attention.  The  Paeonion  at  the  Peirasus  and 
the  Asklepion  in  the  city  were  time-honored  sanctu- 
aries, which    were    frequented  by    patients   of   noble 

*  Dareios  was  a  propagandisiof  the  worship  of  Ahura  Mazda  in  his  dominions. 


58  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

birth,  and  others  who  had  been  admitted  to  the  wor- 
ship of  ^Esculapius.  In  addition  there  were  the  iatreia 
or  dispensaries  for  the  commonalty  and  slave  popula- 
tion. These  were  in  charge  of  the  public  physicians, 
appointed  by  the  Ekklesia  or  General  Assembly  f^i  the 
people.  Demokedes  held  the  office  a  year  in  the  time 
of  the  Peisistratidse,  but  under  the  commonwealth  the 
number  of  these  physicians  appears  to  have  increased. 
After  the  Persian  invasion  Athens  had  a  larger  popu- 
lation, and  doubtless  the  imperfect  sanitary  regula- 
tions, and  the  Great  Plague  in  the  time  of  Perikles, 
made  more  extensive  provision  for  gratuitous  medical 
treatment  necessary. 

Plato  decried  severely  the  demand  for  these  institu- 
tions. "Numerous  law-courts  and  dispensaries  are 
necessary,"  he  said,  "because  insubordination  and 
diseases  have  multiplied  in  the  commonwealth.  Can 
you  adduce  any  greater  proof  of  bad  and  shameful 
training,"  he  demands,  "  than  the  fact  of  needing 
physicians  and  presiding  magistrates — and  these,  too, 
not  only  for  craftsmen  of  the  lower  classes,  but  also 
for  those  who  boast  of  having  been  well  brought  up  ? 
*  *  *  And  to  need  the  art  of  medicine,  not  on 
account  of  wounds  or  some  epidemic  complaint,  but 
because  of  sloth  and  luxurious  feeding, — being  dis- 
tended with  rheum  and  flatulence  like  lakes,  and 
obliging  the  scholarly  Asklepiads  to  invent  new  names 
for  the  diseases,  such  as  dropsies  and  catarrhs — do  you 
not  think  this  abominable  ?  " 

The  philosopher  was  conservative  in  his  views  far 
beyond  what  would  be  tolerated  at  the  present  time. 
He  was  himself  carefully  instructed  in  the  art  of 
medicine,  as  it  was  taught  at  Kroton  and  Kyrene,  and 
was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  learning  of  the  Ask- 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  59 

lepiads.  "Before  the  time  of  Herodikos,"  he  remarks, 
"the  Asklepiads  did  not  practice  the  methods  now  in 
use,  of  putting  the  patient  on  a  regimen.  Herodikos, 
being  a  teacher  of  young  men,  and  himself  in  weak 
health,  devised  a  skillful  combination  of  gymnastics 
and  medicine,  which  served  first  to  render  himself 
very  uncomfortable,  and  afterward  many  others 
besides.  He  succeeded  in  procuring  for  himself  a 
lingering  death.  He  was  constantly  attending  to  his 
disease,  which  was  mortal,  and  therefore  impossible 
to  cure.  He  neglected  everything  else,  that  he  might 
employ  constant  medical  treatment,  and  was  always 
in  trouble  if  he  departed  in  the  least  from  his  usual 
diet.  Thus  he  passed  his  life,  engaged  in  a  long 
struggle  with  death,  and  succeeded  by  this  peculiar 
skill  of  his  in  arriving  at  old  age." 

^sculapius  himself,  the  philosopher  declares,  re- 
garded these  matters  in  a  far  different  light.  He 
treated  those  only  that  were  still  virtually  sound  but 
chanced  to  be  afflicted  by  some  incidental  complaint. 
For  them  he  prescribed  medicine,  but  ordered  no 
change  of  the  usual  diet.  But  systems  thoroughly 
diseased,  he  did  not  attempt  to  cure.  He  did  not 
think  that  a  man  who  could  not  live  in  the  ordinary 
course  ought  to  be  cured,  as  he  would  be  of  no  service 
to  himself  or  to  the  community. 

A  description  of  the  practitioners  may  be  of  interest. 
"There  are  two  kinds  of  physicians,  the  gentler  and 
the  ruder,  and  two  modes  of  medicating,"  he  remarks, 
"  In  other  words,  there  are  physicians,  and  their  assist- 
ants ;  but  somehow  we  call  the  latter  class  physicians 
likewise.  Whether  these  assistants  are  free  men 
or  slaves,  they  acquire  their  knowledge  of  the  art 
empiricallv  fr')m  obeying  their  masters  and  observing 


6o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

their  methods.  With  the  others  the  art  is  a  hereditary 
possession,  and  is  taug;ht  as  such  by  free  men  to  their 
children."  "From  childhood  upward,  while  learning 
their  art,  they  gain  experience  from  a  large  number 
of  patients,  and  these  of  a  very  sickly  character.  They 
do  this  the  more  thoroughly,  if  they  are  themselves 
afflicted  with  all  kind  of  maladies,  and  are  not  alto- 
gether of  a  healthy  constitution.  It  is  not  by  the  body 
however,  that  they  cure  the  body,"  he  adds  ;  "but  they 
cure  the  body  by  the  soul,  and  if  this  is  in  a  disordered 
condition,  it  is  incapable  of  accomplishing  any  cure 
whatever." 

The  slave-doctors  were  employed  to  do  the  most 
unattractive  part  of  the  work.  They  waited  upon  the 
callers  at  the  dispensaries,  or  went  from  one  house  to 
another  to  prescribe  for  sick  domestics.  "A  physician 
of  this  class,"  Plato  remarks,  "never  talks  to  his 
patients  individually  or  lets  them  talk  about  their 
individual  complaints.  He  prescribes  as  he  sees  fit, 
as  though  he  knew  everything  about  the  case  ;  gives 
orders  after  the  manner  of  a  tyrant,  and  then  hurries 
away  to  another  of  his  sick  patients."  On  the  other 
hand,  a  free-born  practitioner  discourses  with  a  free- 
born  patient,  making  use  of  speculations  of  a  philo- 
sophic character,  describing  the  disorder  from  its  very 
commencement,  together  with  its  pathology,  and  illus- 
trating the  subject  by  comparison  with  other  cases. 
'•  If,"  says  Plato,  "during  such  a  discussion,  one  of 
these  physicians  who  practice  medicine  empirically, 
knowing  nothing  of  speculative  research,  should 
encounter  such  a  practitioner,  he  would  burst  into 
laughter  and  speak  to  him  in  no  other  language  than 
is  ready  to  be  uttered  to  the  majority  of  the  so-called 
physicians.     He  would   say:    'You  stupid  dolt!    you 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  6l 

are  not  treating  the  sick  patient,  but  are  imparting  to 
him  instruction,  almost  as  though  he  was  desiring  to 
become  a  physician  and  not  to  be  in  health.'  " 

From  this  time  onward  to  the  later  centuries,  the 
history  of  medicine  comprises  the  doctrines  of  great 
teachers,  and  the  exploits  and  rivalries  of  the  various 
schools  and  parties. 

HIPPOKRATES. 

Philosophic  speculation  had  led  to  the  development 
of  new  views  in  all  the  principal  fields  of  thought.  So 
long  as  the  teachers  exhibited  an  external  assimilation 
to  the  general  sentiment  of  the  commonalty,  they 
could  enjoy  the  utmost  liberty  of  belief  in  their  schools 
and  private  discussions,  apart  from  the  public.  In  this 
way  various  opinions  were  considered,  and  eventually 
great  changes  and  even  revolutions  accomplished. 

Among  the  eminent  men  of  that  time,  Hippokrates 
has  always  held  a  prominent  rank.  Partly  from  native 
genius,  but  likewise  from  assiduous  study  and  broad 
culture,  he  became  illustrious  in  his  own  age,  and  his 
reputation  extended  through  the  centuries  after  him. 

It  is  not  easy,  probably  it  is  not  necessary,  to  ascer- 
tain to  what  extent  Hippokrates  was  an  innovator,  or 
the  introducer  of  novel  doctrines.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  medical  caste,  that  claimed  a'Esculapius  himself, 
for  their  eponymous  hero-ancestor.  Like  other  Ask- 
l^piads  he  was  instructed  at  the  temple-school  of  Kos, 
an  island  in  the  Myrtoan  Sea,  colonized  from  Epidav- 
ros.  He  next  sojourned  at  Athens,  where  he  became 
a  student  of  Herodikos  of  Selymbria,  and  attended  the 
lectures  of  the  most  distinguished  sophists.  Pie  after- 
ward returned  to  Kos,  where  he  remained  till  the  death 
of  his  father.     During  this  period  he  is  said  to  have 


62  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

made  copies  of  the  tablets  and  book-rolls  in  the 
Asklepia  at  Kos  and  Knidos ;  and  a  scandal  set 
afloat  in  later  centuries  imputed  to  him  the  burn- 
ing of  those  collections,  in  order  that  he  might 
supersede  them  by  his  own  compilations.  The 
honors  paid  to  him  in  later  days  by  his  fellow- 
citizens,  as  well  as  the  privileges  granted  by  Athens 
to  Kos  on  his  account,  would  seem  to  be  a  sufficient 
refutation. 

Hippokrates,  like  other  ancient  philosophers,  trav- 
eled over  many  different  countries,  sojourning  at  places 
where  epidemics  were  raging,  and  observing  their 
progress  and  characteristics.  In  this  way  he  remained 
with  Demokritos  at  Abdera,  when  that  city  was  suffer- 
ing with  a  pestilential  visitation.  He  was  also  at 
Athens  during  a  great  plague,  which  he  is  said  to  have 
arrested.  Plato  speaks  of  him  as  teaching  medicine. 
The  Persian  king,  Artaxerxes  Mnemon,  attempted  after 
the  manner  common  at  that  court,  to  procure  his  ser- 
vices, offering  him  splendid  presents,  and  threatening 
war  against  Kos,  in  case  he  should  not  be  delivered  up. 
Finally,  he  established  himself  in  Thessalia,  a  country 
famous  ever  since  the  days  of  Kheiron  for  medical 
and  "magical"  knowledge. 

Hippokrates  achieved  the  distinction,  which  he  has 
since  retained  in  medicine,  by  creating  for  it  a  litera- 
ture. This  made  him  and  his  art  immortal.  He  was 
a  hero,  not  merely  of  the  hour  but  of  the  ages. 
Whether  he  struck  out  any  new  field  of  knowledge  or 
observation,  is  not  a  matter  of  certainty.  His  great- 
ness consisted  in  his  rare  success  in  gathering  up 
what  was  known,  tracing  its  resemblances  and  analyz- 
ing its  differences,  and  so  combining  all  into  a  rational 
method. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  63 

He  was  a  philosopher,  and  while  personally  familiar 
with  the  principal  sages  of  his  time,  hesitated  not  to 
elaborate  and  propound  his  own  dogmas.  He  was 
profoundly  religious,  but  he  did  not  have  that  blind 
veneration  for  things  esteemed  divine,  which  hindered 
him  from  investigation  into  the  nature  and  condition 
of  physical  occurrences.  All  causes,  he  believed,  were 
of  divine  agency,  but  their  operation  waS  directed  by 
constant  laws  and  natural  conditions.  To  explore 
them,  with  a  view  to  remedy  evils  and  benefit  man- 
kind, was  therefore  not  only  lawful  but  a  work  of  the 
highest  merit. 

The  Hippokratian  school  of  medicine  bore  the  desig- 
nation of  dogmaiic,  or  philosophic  ;  as  teaching  and 
practicing  in  accordance  with  a  general  principle,  and 
not  empirically.  It  placed  the  art  upon  a  basis  so  firm 
that  later  teachers  have  generally  imitated  and  modi- 
fied what  was  set  forth,  rather  than  venture  iipon 
new  fields  of  enquiry. 

Whether  the  obligation  of  secrecy  was  maintained 
with  the  former  strictness,  is  questionable.  The 
maxim  has  been  imputed  to  Hippokrates  :  "  vSacred 
knowledge  may  be  communicated  only  to  the  initiated; 
the  profane  may  not  be  taught  before  their  initiation." 
This,  however,  was  the  imperative  rule  before  he  was 
born.  It  was  accounted  sacrilege  for  any  to  intrude 
upon  a  priestly  function.  He  was  certain  to  meet  the 
fate  of  Korah,  Uzzah  and  King  Uzziah.  It  is  certain 
that  Pythagoras,  himself  obligated  in  Egypt,  initiated 
all  his  disciples.  But  that  there  was  any  genuine 
"  Hippocratic  oath,"  apart  from  the  usual  sacerdotal 
requirement,  is  preposterous.  The  attempt  was  made 
in  later  centuries,  to  impose  such  an  obligation  upon 
medical  students,  but  it  was  a  failure.     The  Pythago- 


64  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

rean  fraternity  had  dissolved  while  Hippokrates  was 
still  a  young  man,  and  its  members  had  made  public 
its  learning,  medical  as  well  as  metaphysical,  astro- 
nomic and  mathematic.  What  Plato  stated  in  regard 
to  the  methods  of  Herodikos  and  the  Askl6piads, 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  no  obligation  of  secrecy 
was  then  in  existence. 

Several  endeavors  have  been  made  to  ascertain  and 
classify  the  works  of  Hippokrates.  The  success  has, 
however,  been  problematic.  It  was  the  ancient  prac- 
tice for  unknown  authors  to  ascribe  their  works  to 
famous  individuals  who  had  lived  before  ;  and  for 
imitators  and  copyists  to  insert  their  own  utterances 
into  the  texts  of  authors.  The  earlier  periods  of  the 
present  era  abound  with  such  literature.  Mercurialis 
of  Padua  attempted  the  task,  three  centuries  ago, 
making  four  categories  :  i.  Works  distinctly  Hippo- 
cratic,  being  in  the  Doric  language  and  "manifestly 
authentic,"  2.  Works  of  Hippokrates  published  by 
his  sons  and  disciples.  3.  Works  written  by  others, 
accordant  with  his  doctrines  and  ascribed  to  him. 
4.  Works  not  in  accord  with  his  doctrines,  but  imputed 
to  him.  Louis  de  Lemas  of  Portugal,  writing  about 
the  same  time,  rejected  all  but  nineteen  of  these  works 
as  spurious.  Haller,  however,  would  accept  but  fifteen 
as  genuine.  Gruner  threw  all  but  ten  ;  and  Grimm 
makes  the  number  still  less.  Professor  Link  of  Berlin 
is  still  more  iconoclastic,  and  declares  that  the  Works 
of  Hippokrates,  as  they  are  called,  are  but  a  collection 
of  treatises  by  different  authors  living  before  the 
establishment  of  the  school  of  Alexandria. 

Doubtless,  however,  enough  of  his  genuine  writings 
were  extant  at  that  time  to  enable  his  doctrines  to  be 
very  generally  known.     It  is  acknowledged  that  his 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  65 

views  outstripped  those  entertained  in  succeeding 
ages.  Galen  credits  him  with  the  knowledge  of 
scientific  anatomy,  and  asserts  that  the  Asklepiads 
generally  were  proficient.  He  was  skillful  in  diagnosis 
and  in  the  art  of  prognosticating.  His  observations 
upon  "critical  days"  and  the  crises  themselves  are 
remarkable  for  their  acuteness  and  accuracy.  He  was 
a  careful  uroscopist,  and  particular  in  noting  the  sputa, 
coating  of  the  tongue,  evacuations, — also  the  general 
appearances,  the  cast  of  the  eyes,  the  increase  or  dimi- 
nution of  bulk,  the  breathing,  mental  condition  and 
phenomena.  In  acute  disorders,  he  made  great  depend- 
ence upon  cooling  drinks  to  further  the  natural  repara- 
tive action.  He  prescribed  total  abstinence  from  food 
while  a  disorder  was  on  the  increase,  and  especially  at 
the  critical  period,  and  a  spare  diet  on  other  occasions. 
Yet  at  the  same  time  he  required  strict  attention  to 
the  constitution  as  well  as  the  habits  of  the  patient  in 
regard  to  food  and  drink.  He  discouraged  rapid 
changes  in  habits  and  manner  of  living.  Excesses  of 
all  kinds  were  dangerous,  and  every  bodily  function 
ought  never  to  transgress  the  limits  marked  out  by 
nature.  Those  in  health  should  abstain,  he  said,  from 
all  kinds  of  medicme.  He  declared  cathartics  to  be 
the  medicine  most  difficult  for  individuals  to  bear. 
He  also  disapproved  too  strict  a  regimen,  as  being 
more  hurtful  to  a  person  in  health  than  a  freer  mode 
of  living.  In  this  respect,  or  in  others,  it  will  be  seen 
that  he  sets  aside  the  methods  of  his  teacher,  Herodi- 
kos,  and  adheres  to  the  older  ^sculapian  notion. 

The  physician,  he  taught,  should  always  observe 
carefully  and  assist  as  he  best  was  able  the  processes 
of  nature.  His  was  the  maxim:  '■'■  Nature  is  the  first  of 
physicians^     He  was  very  careful  not  to  interfere  with 


66  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

what  he  considered  reparative  efforts,  but  on  the  other 
hand  endeavored  to  promote  them.  If  they  seemed 
to  him  insufficient  he  stimulated  them,  and  if  in 
excess,  he  sought  to  moderate  them. 

In  the  works  ascribed  to  him,  he  is  credited  with  a 
Materia  Medica  of  at  least  586  different  remedial 
agents — ^6  mineral,  300  vegetable,  and  150  animal 
substances.  His  mineral  remedies  included  alum  and 
several  salts  of  lead  and  copper.  The  vegetable  phar- 
macopaeia  embraced  the  white  veratrum,  laurel, 
euphorbia,  carthamos,  elder,  chenopodium,  wild 
parsley,  etc.  He  seems  also  to  have  made  great 
use  of  honey  and  honeycomb,  and  figs  were  also 
highly  prized. 

Considering  the  time  and  circumstances,  Hippo- 
krates  appears  to  have  possessed  a  very  proficient 
knowledge  of  surgery.  He  was  skillful  in  the  use  of 
bandages,  and  judicious  in  his  treatment  of  fractures. 
He  devised  several  kinds  of  apparatus  for  curvature, 
and  the  reducing  of  luxations  ;  and  employed  instru- 
ments like  the  trephine  for  injuries  of  the  head. 
Another  maxim  attributed  to  him  was  certainly  much 
affected  by  later  practitioners  :  "  Those  complaints 
which  medicine  will  not  cure,  iron  will  cure  ;  what 
iron  will  not  cure,  fire  will  cure  ;  and  what  fire  will 
not  cure  are  incurable." 

Hippokrates  did  not  reject  philosophy  or  its  meth- 
ods. His  early  relations  with  the  sophists  and  with 
Demokritos,  appear  to  have  colored  all  his  beliefs. 
He  was  also  more  or  less  in  harmony  with  Pythagoras 
and  the  physical  doctrines  of  Herakleitos,  and  he 
religiously  accepted  the  notion  of  supernal  agency  in 
all  visible  operations.  He  considered  it  the  proper 
task  of  the  enquirer  to  find  out  the  laws  and  conditions 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  67 

by  which  the  agency  of  the  divine  beings  was  deter- 
mined and  according  to  which  it  might  be  foretold. 
He  also  adopted  with  implicit  confidence  the  old  belief 
in  magical  divination,  prophetic  dreams  and  clair- 
voyance. Familiar  as  he  was  with  the  temple-sleep  of 
the  Askl6pia,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  fully  con- 
cur in  these  prevailmg  opinions.  "Even  when  the 
eyes  are  closed,"  says  he,  "  the  soul  sees  everything 
that  goes  forward  in  the  body."  Again,  he  is  explicit : 
"  When  the  soul  has  been  freed  by  sleep  from  the  more 
material  bondage  of  the  body  it  retires  within  itself, 
as  into  a  haven,  where  it  is  safe  against  storms.  It 
perceives  and  understands  everything  that  is  going  on 
around  it,  and  represents  this  condition  as  if  with 
various  colors  and  forms,  and  explains  clearly  the  con- 
dition of  the  body." 

But  the  fame  of  Hippokrates  is  not  founded  on  any 
of  the  specific  doctrines  imputed  to  him.  He  was 
great  because  of  his  breadth  of  knowledge,  and  because 
he  made  that  knowledge  accessible  to  those  who  came 
after  him,  without  partiality  and  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

KTESIAS. 

The  example  of  Demok^des  was  often  repeated. 
"  How  many  there  are,"  says  Sokrates,  **  whom  the 
King  of  Persia  has  caused  to  be  carried  away  and  still 
keeps  near  him,  merely  on  account  of  their  talents,  are 
now  languishing  in  perpetual  bondage."  We  have 
observed  that  Hippokrates  was  able  to  keep  himself 
aloof,  although  it  involved  his  countrymen  in  peril. 
Ktesias,  of  the  rival  school  at  Knidos,  was  conducted 
to  Susa  and  made  court  physician.  He  belonged  to 
the  suite  of  Parysatis  the  queen-mother,  and  treated 
Artaxerxes  Mndmon  for  his  wounds  received  at  the 


68  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

battle  of  Kunaxa.  Having  access  to  the  archives  of 
the  Empire,  he  compiled  histories  of  Persia,  India  and 
Assyria,  all  of  which  are  lost.  It  is  known,  however, 
that  he  criticised  and  often  disputed  the  statements 
of  Herodotus.  He  added  nothing  to  the  literature  of 
his  order,  doubtless  observing  the  oath  of  secrecy. 

ARISTOTLE. 

The  philosopher  Aristotle  was  also  a  member  of 
an  ^sculapian  family.  His  father,  Nikomakhos,  had 
been  the  physician  of  King  Amyntas,  the  father  of  the 
celebrated  Philip,  and  was  the  author  of  several  works 
on  Medicine  and  Natural  History.  Both  parents  of 
Aristotle  died  while  he  was  young,  and  he  became  the 
ward  and  pupil  of  Proxenos  of  Mysia,  whom  he  after- 
ward recompensed  like  a  true  Asklepiad  by  adopting 
and  educating  his  son.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he 
went  to  Athens,  where  he  remained  twenty  years.  He 
was  at  first  a  student  of  Plato  at  the  Akademeia,  but 
afterward  devoted  himself  to  the  branches  of  knowl- 
edge which  should  fit  him  for  the  labors  of  his  life. 
After  the  death  of  Plato  he  left  Athens  and  became 
the  tutor  of  Alexander.  At  his  instance,  this  prince 
employed  several  thousand  collectors  in  Europe,  Asia 
and  India  to  procure  animals  and  specimens  for  his 
studies.  It  was  declared  hyperbolically  that  an  amount 
of  money  equivalent  to  $Soo,ooo  was  expended  for  this 
purpose.  Aristotle,  working  with  his  usual  energy, 
made  dissections  and  kept  notes  of  his  observations, 
adding  a  multitude  of  important  discoveries  to  medi- 
cine and  the  accessory  sciences.  He  compiled  fifty 
books  upon  comparative  anatomy  and  natural  history, 
illustrating   them  with   anatomical  drawings.     None 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  69 

of  them,  however,  have  reached  us.  He  also  quar- 
relled with  his  royal  disciple,  who,  however,  did  tiot 
withhold  assistance  to  his  labors.  Returning  to 
Athens,  Aristotle  opened  a  School  of  Philosophy  at 
the  Lykeion  [Lyceum)  where  he  lectured  thirteen  years. 
Though  less  profound  than  Plato,  and  of  a  more  scien- 
tific tendency,  his  numerous  literary  productions  made 
him  the  principal  leader  of  philosophic  thought  in 
Europe  and  the  Muslim  world  for  centuries. 

THEOPHRASTOS. 

Tyrtamos,  the  Lesbian,  first  a  disciple  of  Plato,  and 
afterward  the  favorite  student  of  Aristotle,  succeeded 
the  latter  as  the  head  of  the  Peripatetic  School.  His 
superior  eloquence  and  enunciation  led  his  admirers 
to  bestow  upon  him  the  name  by  which  he  is  best 
known,  Theophrasios,  the  divine  instructor.  The  stu- 
dents thronging  his  lectures  were  numbered  by  thou- 
sands. Among  them  were  Erasistratos  and  Niko- 
makhos.  The  latter  was  the  son  of  Aristotle,  who 
had  made  Theophrastos  his  guardian  and  preceptor. 
Theophrastos  was  a  voluminous  writer,  composing  not 
only  various  philosophic  works,  but  likewise  numerous 
treatises  upon  mineralogy  and  other  subjects.  His 
History  of  Plants,  comprising  nine  books,  was  a  com- 
plete system  of  botany,  as  it  was  then  known.  He 
also  wrote  upon  medicine. 

PRAXAGORAS. 

Another  distinguished  Asklepiad,  Praxagoras,  of 
Kos,  added  further  to  the  vocabulary  and  literature  of 
Grecian  medical  learning.  He  made  the  distinction 
between  veins  and  arteries  in  the  form  which  has 
since   been    accepted    by  medical   men.      One    of   his 


70  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

notions  gave  intermittent  fever  its  origin  in  the  vena 
cava,  and  he  taught  that  the  heart  was  the  origin  of 
the  ligaments  of  the  body.  He  was  a  bold  surgical 
operator,  removing  the  uvula  in  cases  of  inflamma- 
tion, and  opening  the  abdomen  in  iliac  passion,  that 
he  might  restore  the  intestines  to  normal  position. 

CHRYSIPPOS. 

Knidos  in  Karia,  a  colony  from  Epidavros,  had  also 
a  famous  temple-school.  Ktesias,  the  historian  of 
Persia,  was  from  one  of  the  Askl^piad  families  of  that 
city.  Chrysippos  was  also  in  high  repute  for  his  skill 
and  erudition.  He  visited  Egypt  in  the  reign  of 
Nekhtanebos  for  instruction  from  the  priest-phy- 
sicians. He  would  be  considered  even  now  as  worthy 
to  represent  the  advocates  of  safe  and  simple  medica- 
tion. He  administered  mild  remedies  and  strenuously 
opposed  all  forms  of  depletion.  Pupils  in  great  num- 
bers resorted  to  him,  some  of  whom  outshone  their 
master. 

ERASISTRATOS. 

Erasistratos  eflfected  a  revolution  in  the  manner  of 
studying  medicine.  He  was  the  grandson  of  Aristotle, 
and  inherited  his  passion  for  knowledge.  He  was  a 
native  of  the  island  of  Keos,  a  place  remarkable  for 
its  custom  under  which  the  inhabitants  at  the  age  of 
sixty  put  an  end  to  their  existence  by  drinking  hem- 
lock. Sokrates  seems  to  have  been  in  sympathy  with 
this  practice  ;  for  while  denying  the  right  of  voluntary 
suicide,  he  regarded  his  sentence  to  die  as  a  not  un- 
welcome exemption  from  the  infirmities  often  incident 
to  advancing  age.  Erasistratos  became  a  pupil  of 
Chrysippos  at  the  temple-school  of  Knidos,  and  also 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  7I 

of  Theophrastos.  After  spending  .several  years  in  his 
native  island,  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  court 
physician  to  Seleukos  the  Conqueror.  He  was  engaged 
in  charge  of  Prince  Antiokhos  (Soter)  who  was  wasting 
away  with  an  unknown  disease,  of  which  other  phy- 
sicians failed  to  guess  the  nature  or  the  cause.  Era- 
sistratos  perceived,  by  a  peculiar  quickening  of  the 
pulse  whenever  she  appeared,  that  the  prince  was 
madly  enamored  of  his  father's  wife,  Stratonik^,  and 
Seleukos  was  persuaded  upon  learning  this  to  resign 
her  to  his  son. 

The  later  career  of  Erasistratos  was  associated  with 
the  establishing  of  the  famous  School  of  Philosophy 
and  Science  at  Alexandria  by  Ptolemy  Soter.  He  for 
a  time  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  that 
metropolis  but  afterward  abandoned  it  to  give  ex- 
clusive attention  to  his  duties  as  an  instructor  at  the 
Musaeum.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  depart  from  prece- 
dent, even  to  setting  aside  the  doctrines  of  Hippo- 
krates  and  the  Dogmatists,  and  founding  a  school  of 
his  own. 

He  introduced  new  methods  of  teaching.  Following 
the  example  of  his  master  Chrysippos,  he  cut  loose 
from  Empiric  precedent.  He  was  the  first  writer  that 
distinguished  Surgery  from  Medicine  in  the  healing 
art.  He  had,  like  others  before  him,  confined  his 
investigations  to  the  dissecting  of  the  bodies  of  ani- 
mals; but  now  he  set  at  nought  the  Hellenic  prejudice, 
and  engaged  in  dissections  of  the  human  body  itself. 
To  his  explorations  we  are  indebted  for  an  explana- 
tion of  the  function  of  the  brain  and  cerebro-spinal 
system,  and  the  discovery  of  the  lacteal  vessels,  and 
he  appears  likewise  to  have  had  some  perception  of 
the  circulation  of  the  blood.     He  taught  the  existence 


72  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

of  the  pneuma or  spiritual  essence,  and  that  it  is  inhaled 
with  the  breath  and  passes  from  the  lungs  to  the 
arteries,  becoming  the  vital  principle  of  the  body.  Its 
normal  movement  sustained  the  health  ;  while  an 
obstruction  in  the  veins,  repelled  the  blood  to  the 
arteries,  and  became  the  cause  of  disease. 

He  reprobated  the  complicated  formulas  which  were 
then  common  among  physicians.  Like  his  tutor, 
Chrysippos,  whose  procedures  he  largely  adopted,  he 
discountenanced  blood-letting,  and  the  use  of  cathar- 
tic medicines,  depending  upon  the  ligaturing  of  the 
limbs,  simple  if  not  specific  remedies,  emetics  and 
enemas,  with  abstinence,  to  accomplish  the  desired 
ends.  At  the  same  time  he  was  a  bold  surgeon,  open- 
ing the  abdomen  in  case  of  cancer,  or  abscess  of  the 
liver  or  spleen,  in  order  to  apply  remedies.  He  thus 
held  in  turn  the  office  of  court  physician  in  Syria,  and 
archiatrist  in  other  places,  as  well  as  teacher  in  the 
School  at  Alexandria.  He  finally  returned  to  Asia 
Minor  to  spend  the  residue  of  his  life.  According  to 
the  practice  of  the  times,  he  presented  samples  and 
models  of  his  inventions  at  the  temple  of  the  Ephesiau 
goddess  Artemis.*  Among  them,  were  a  catheter  and 
an  instrument  for  extracting  teeth. 

THE  GENERAL  CHANGE  OF  SENTIMENT. 

The  healing  art,  thus  far,  had  been  almost  exclusively 
associated  with  the  religious  orders,  and  remedies  were 
applied  with  peculiar  ceremonies,  invocations,  and 
other  accompaniments.  But  philosophers  were  de- 
generating into  skeptics,  and  religious  influence 
waned.  The  traditions  of  Europe,  the  faith  of  Asia 
and  the  dogmas   of    Egypt   had  lost  their  influence. 

*The  Great  Mother,  "  Diana  of  the  Ephesi-.ns." 


HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE.  73 

The  former  things  were  passing  away,  and  all  looked 
as  if  chaos  had  begun  its  reign.  The  learned  cared 
little  to  know  the  the  truth,  but  chose  rather  to  dis- 
pute about  it. 

Nevertheless,  with  the  policy  introduced  by  Alex- 
ander and  Seleukos,  began  a  new  era  in  the  world. 
The  disciple  of  Aristotle  had  been  accompanied  by 
men  of  learning  to  the  remotest  limit  of  his  conquests; 
and  his  successors,  in  their  enthusiasm,  vied  with  each 
other  in  the  promotion  of  knowledge  and  general 
literature.  Every  ancient  country  seems  at  this  period 
to  have  begun  the  preparing  of  historic  and  religious 
books.  A  similar  impulse,  whether  it  existed  in  the 
air  of  the  time  or  was  imparted,  was  likewise  experi- 
enced in  the  nations  beyond  the  Indus.  A  new  phi- 
losophy, a  new  worship,  and  a  new  literature  were 
cultivated  in  the  northern  regions,  extending  south- 
ward, eastward  and  in  every  direction  where  the 
missionaries  of  King  Asoka  and  his  influence  had 
penetrated.* 

THE    ALEXANDRIAN    SCHOOL. 

After  the  cordon  against  foreigners  had  been  re- 
moved in  the  later  years  of  the  native  monarchy,  the 
temple-schools  of  Egypt  became  a  resort  for  men  of 
learning  from  other  countries.  The  earlier  philoso- 
phers, Thal^s,  Solon,  Pythagoras  and  Xenophanes,  all 
went  thither  for  instruction  ;  later  came  Demokritos, 
Plato,  Chrysippos,  Eudoxos.  After  the  accession  of 
Ptolemy,  himself  a  scholar  and  author,  the  new  city 
of  Alexandria  succeeded,  as  a  centre  of  learning,  to 
the  ancient  cities  of  Heliopolis,  Memphis  and  Thebes. 

*  The  philosophy  of  Bakkheios,  and  some  say  of  the  Zoroasters. 


74  MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD. 

The  Museion  was  the  World's  University.  Every 
facility  for  students  was  afforded.  There  was  a  hall 
where  the  teachers  dined,  with  corridors  for  lectures 
and  a  theatre  for  lectures  and  discussions  after  the 
Socratic  method.  Attached  to  it  was  the  Botanic 
Garden,  filled  with  medicinal  and  exotic  plants,  and 
collections  of  wild  beasts  and  rare  birds  ;  and  there 
were  also  rooms  where  hundreds  of  scribes  were 
employed  at  preparing  papyrus,  copying  books,  writing 
from  dictation  and  arranging  the  scrolls  in  their 
proper  order.  "  No  doubt,"  remarks  Winwood  Reade, 
"most  of  the  Museum  professors  were  narrow-minded 
pedants  ;  .  .  .  no. doubt  much  of  the  astronomy 
was  astrological,  much  of  the  medicine  was  magical, 
and  much  of  the  chemistry  was  alchemical.  .  .  . 
Yet  with  all  this  it  should  be  remembered  that  from 
Alexandria  came  the  science  which  the  Arabs 
restored  to  Europe,  with  some  additions  from  the 
Crusades." 

Medical  knowledge  speedily  became  prominent, 
Herophilos  of  Kalkhedonia,  an  Askl^piad  and  disciple 
of  Praxagoras,  was  the  first  teacher.  He  was  a  zealous 
anatomist,  actually  dissecting  seven  hundred  human 
corpses,  and  as  Celsus  declares,  even  opening  the 
bodies  of  living  criminals  in  order  to  witness  the  phe- 
nomena and  if  possible  learn  the  origin  of  life.  He 
was  the  founder  of  pathologic  anatomy,  and  the  first 
who  instituted  necropsy  as  a  means  to  discover  the 
causes  of  death.  His  writings  were  numerous,  but 
with  the  exception  of  a  commentary  upon  the  Aphor- 
isms of  Hippokrates,  now  in  Milan,  they  have  been 
lost  ;  and  our  principal  knowledge  of  his  achievements 
and  discoveries  is  obtained  through  the  works  of  his 
most  famous  successor.     He  is  accredited  with  having 


HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE.  75 

defined  the  functions  of  the  nervous  system,  described 
the  structure  and  appendages  of  the  brain,  explained 
the  structure  of  the  eye  and  pointed  out  the  divisions 
of  the  intestinal  canal,  the  vessels  of  the  mesentery, 
etc.  Following  out  the  instructions  of  Praxagoras,  he 
delineated  the  pulsation  of  the  arteries,  making  it  the 
basis  of  an  extended  theory  of  symptomatology,  diag- 
nostic and  prognostic.  Unlike  his  rival,  Erasistratos, 
he  used  blood-letting,  and  used  drugs  extensively. 
There  were  two  parties  as  a  result,  but  that  of  Erasis- 
tratos finally  won  the  field. 

As  had  been  the  practice  at  the  temples,  the  oath  of 
secrecy  was  administered  to  students,  and  for  a  time 
was  successful  in  the  purpose  of  keeping  professional 
knowledge  away  from  others.  The  times,  however, 
were  becoming  too  liberal,  and  scholars  too  latitudi- 
narian.  For  a  time  women  were  forbidden  to  practice 
obstetrics,  and  practitioners  interdicted  from  litho- 
tomy, which  was  left  to  specialists.  There  were  many 
improvements  in  surgical  apparatus,  Xenophon  of 
Kos  applied  the  ligature  to  arrest  haemorrhage ; 
Ammonios  invented  lithotrity ;  Nileos  constructed 
the  plinthion,  a  square  box  with  pulleys,  to  be  used 
in  the  reduction  of  luxations  of  the  humerus ;  Nym- 
phodoros  devised  a  fracture-box  for  the  extremities  ; 
Amyntas  of  Rhodes  was  the  author  of  a  bandage  for 
fractures  of  the  nose  ;  Perigines  also  of  one  for  dis- 
location of  the  shoulder,  etc. 

Zeuxis,  a  disciple  of  Herophilos,  established  a  school 
of  medicine  in  Phrygia,  which  continued  in  existence 
for  many  years.  The  leading  physicians  belonging 
to  it  bore  the  designation  of  Fhilaleihes,  or  lovers  of 
truth.  They  are  named  by  Galen  with  great  com- 
mendation. 


j6  MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD, 

THE    EMPIRIC    SCHOOL. 

Philinos,  of  Kos,  belonged  to  an  ^sculapian  family 
and  for  a  time  was  the  disciple  of  Kerophilos. 
Instead,  however,  of  adhering  to  the  methods  and 
speculations  of  that  school,  he  rejected  the  innovations, 
and  particularly  the  introduction  of  anatomy  as  a  nec- 
essary branch  of  medical  study.  The  practice  of  med- 
icine, he  inculcated,  to  be  certain  and  most  likely  to  be 
beneficial,  should  be  based  upon  personal  observation 
{autopsia)  and  experience  {empeirid).  Serapion,  of  Alex- 
andria, afterward  expanded  these  views  to  a  broader 
range,  and  made  them  more  definite  and  applicable. 
He  wrote  against  Hippokrates  and  his  methods  with 
great  severity,  while  confining  himself  almost  exclu- 
sively to  researches  in  Materia  Medica,  pharmacy, 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery.  The  new  sect, 
denominated  from  its  methods,  Empdrikoi  or  Empiri- 
cists,  paid  little  attention  to  the  causes  of  disease, 
but  attached  the  chief  importance  to  symptoms.  The 
physician  having  observed  the  same  cases  at  different 
times  under  similar  conditions,  was  careful  to  discrim- 
inate between  those  deserving  consideration  and  those 
which  were  trivial  ;  and  thus,  by  comparison  with 
other  cases  and  other  means  of  information,  was  able 
to  form  definite  conclusions  of  great  accuracy. 

Although  the  name  of  this  school  of  practitioners  is 
employed  as  a  term  of  opprobrium  for  dissenting  phy- 
sicians, its  methods  and  doctrines  are  held  in  esteem. 
It  continued  to  exist  over  the  principal  countries  of 
the  Greek  and  Roman  world  from  the  time  of  the 
earlier  Ptolemies  till  its  virtual  supersedure  by  the 
Galenists.  It  had  many  able  men  in  its  ranks,  such 
as  Herakleides,  of  Tarentum  ;  Bakkheios,  of  Tanagra  r 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  77 

Glaukias  and  Menodotos,  of  Nikomedia.  One  of  the 
most  prolific  writers  was  Nikandros,  of  Kolophon.  He 
spent  some  years  at  Alexandria,  but  afterward  became 
an  admirer  of  the  scholarly  King  Attalos  Philometor 
of  Pergamos.  At  the  death  of  his  father  he  succeeded 
him  as  high  priest  of  the  oracle-temple  of  Apollo  at 
Klaros.  He  wrote  two  poems  upon  poisons  and  their 
antidotes,  which  appear  to  have  possessed  much  merit. 
Menodotos  is  a  writer  characterized  by  furious  invec- 
tive. He  always  wrote  of  his  adversaries  the  Dogma- 
tists, with  fierce  epithets,  as  tribonikoi,  drimuleontes  dri- 
mumoroi  cloak-wearers  (in  imitation  of  philosophers), 
fierce  lions,  furious  fools.  It  seems  to  have  been  a 
stain  upon  the  medical  profession,  that  many  of  its 
members  disdained  the  amenities  and  courtesies,  not 
to  mention  also  the  common  justice  and  fair  dealing, 
which  are  the  indexes  of  erudition,  good  breeding  and 
refinement. 

PERGAMOS. 

For  a  time  the  school  and  library  of  Pergamos 
rivalled  those  of  Alexandria.  It  is  said  that  after  the 
Persian  conquest  of  Babylon,  many  of  the  priests  and 
literati  emigrated  thither.  At  the  division  of  the 
realm  of  Alexander  it  became  a  place  of  great  im- 
portance. Eumenes  II.  founded  the  library,  and 
200,000  books  were  collected.  Ptolemy  Evergetes 
(Physkon)  desiring  to  cripple  this  enterprise,  forbade 
the  exportation  of  papyrus,  which  compelled  the  re- 
sort to  vellum  and  parchment.  Antony  afterward 
presented  the  entire  collection  to  Kleopatra,  to  begin 
anew  the  library  at  the  Serapion.  Attalos,  the  son  of 
Eumenes,  was  passionately  devoted  to  botany,  and 
cultivated    the  well-known  medicinal   and  poisonous 


78  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE.    ' 

plants,  henbane,  aconite,  hemlock  and  veratrum.  He 
devised  also  various  medical  formulas  and  was  skillful 
in  metallurgy.  At  his  death,  bequeathing  his  goods 
to  the  Roman  people,  the  Senate  interpreted  the  legacy 
as  comprising  the  kingdom,  and  accordingly  annexed 
it  to  the  Empire. 

The  reputation  of  Pergamos  as  a  seat  of  learning, 
continued  during  the  Roman  period.  The  temple  of 
^sculapius  was  famous,  and  throngs  of  invalids  re- 
sorted to  it  for  treatment.  There  was  a  mineral  spring 
at  the  place,  as  there  also  was  at  other  Askl6pia.  The 
same  means  were  employed  in  treatment  as  elsewhere 
— fasting,  bathing,  musical  incantation,  the  temple- 
sleep,  medicines  and  regimen.  The  Asians  and  Assyr- 
ians believed  that  there  were  seven  spirits  or  daemons 
that  obsessed  and  disordered  mankind,  as  in  the  case 
of  Mary,  the  magdalen  or  temple-girl;  and  music  was 
a  powerful  charm  for  exorcism.  The  "witch-herbs," 
poppy,  hemp,  belladonna  and  aconite  were  well  known 
and  much  used.  Oracles  and  oracular  dreams  were 
much  depended  upon  for  directions.  The  Emperor, 
Caracalla,  was  a  patient  there  in  215,  but  to  no  good 
purpose.  Patients  who  were  healed  used  to  make 
votive  offerings  and  rich  presents  to  ^sculapius,  and 
his  priests  were  as  zealous  as  those  of  Bel-Merodakh 
at  Babylon,  in  disposing  of  the  benefactions. 

HEBREW    MEDICINE. 

The  Hebrew  sacred  books  recognize  the  healing  art 
as  distinctly  a  prerogative  of  the  sacerdotal  class. 
Houses  supposed  to  contain  infection  were  to  be 
inspected  by  the  priest-physician;  and  the  person  re- 
covering from  contagious  disease  was  prohibited  from 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  79 

going  abroad  from  his  residence  till  he  had  first  been 
examined  professionally  and  permitted.  The  Levitical 
law  was  very  rigid  in  the  matter.  Even  King  Asa 
was  regarded  as  delinquent,  because,  when  having  a 
disease  that  ultimately  proved  mortal,  he  "sought  not 
to  the  Lord"  and  his  representative  priests,*  but 
among  Rephaim  or  "  physicians."  Yet  several  of  the 
prophets,  writing  centuries  before  the  Chronicles  were 
compiled,  describe  medical  matters  in  Judaea  as  like 
those  of  other  countries.  In  the  Lamentations  is  found 
a  pitiful  pleading  as  of  a  sick  person  exposed,  in  a 
public  place  for  counsel:  "Is  it  nothing  to  you,  all  ye 
passing  by  the  way  ?  Look  attentively  and  see  if  there 
is  any  pain  like  my  pain."  And  again  in  the  prophesy 
of  Jeremiah  is  a  similar  scene:  •'  Thy  wound  is  mortal; 
no  one  offereth  his  help  for  thy  cure;  no  healing  medi- 
cines {rephath)  are  applied."  And  again  he  demands: 
"  Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead  ?  is  there  no  physician 
{repha)  there  ? " 

Ezekiel  treats  of  the  bandaging  of  a  broken  arm,  and 
Isaiah  of  ointment  for  "  wound  and  bruise  and  fresh 
smiting."  The  latter  prophet  prescribed  for  King 
Hezekiah  when  " sick  unto  death"  from  an  ulcer  or 
carbuncle,  to  apply  to  it  a  lump  of  dried  figs  spread 
like  a  plaster. 

Later  writers  have  described  the  Essenes  or  healers, 
a  secret  fraternity,  identical,  perhaps,  with  the  Thera- 
peutists of  Egypt.  The  statements  of  Flavius  Jose- 
phus,  upon  which  we  chiefly  depend,  are  of  course  not 
to  be  implicitly  accepted.  They  seem  to  have  lived  as 
communists,  to  have  had  a  philosophy  and  literature 
of  their  own,  to  make  medicine  and  divination  a  study, 
and  so  there  was  a  discipline  and  an  art  of  healing 

*G>mpare,  Denteronomy ,  xix.,  17. 


8o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

peculiar  to  their  own  number,  Josephus  says  that 
they  studied  the  medicinal  properties  of  herbs  and 
stones,  and  doubtless  they  acted  as  physicians  to  the 
poor.  Perhaps  from  this  practice  they  obtained  their 
designation;  but  among  themselves  they  recognized 
only  a  Master  or  episcopos,  and  called  each  other  the 
Brethren. 

Their  origin  is  not  known,  and  their  end  as  a  distinct 
people  is  unrecorded. 

BUDDHISTIC    INDIA. 

Ab  oriente  Lux!  Mention  has  already  been  made  of 
the  physicians  and  healing  art  of  the  Vedic  and  Brah- 
manic  India.  About  the  time  of  the  death  of  Alexan- 
der, Nanda,  the  King  of  Magadha  in  northern  India, 
had  died,  and  soon  after  Sandrakottos  or  Chandra- 
Gupta  became  king  and  Lord  Paramount  of  India.  He 
established  his  royal  abode  at  Pataliputra  (Patna,) 
then  the  focus  of  Indian  learning  and  refinement.  He 
was  a  patron  of  the  Jainas  or  Hindo  Gnostics,  and  a 
prince  of  great  ability.  Seleukos  sent  the  historian 
Megasthenes  as  a  minister  to  his  court,  and  to  him  we 
are  indebted  for  having  made  the  Occidental  world  of 
that  period  acquainted  with  the  "  Far  East."  He  wrote 
a  book  describing  scenes  and  matters  that  had  come 
under  his  notice,  and  gave  a  description  of  the  healing 
art  as  there  taught  and  practiced,  which  corresponds 
very  closely  with  its  condition  as  it  had  existed  in 
Greece.  "Next  in  honor  to  the  Shamans,  or  ascetic 
teachers,"  says  he,  "  stand  the  physicians.  They  apply 
philosophy  to  the  study  of  the  entire  nature  of  man; 

.  .  and  they  cure  disease  by  diet,  rather  than  by 
medicines." 


MEDICINK    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  8l 

Asoka,  the  grandson  of  Chandra-Gupta,  was  the  most 
distinguished  monarch  of  India.  He  had  been  a  Jaina, 
and  had  abolished  the  death-penalty  in  his  dominions. 
In  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  his  reign,  he  embraced 
the  dharma  or  Buddhistic  philosophy,  and  became  zeal- 
ous in  its  propaganda,  sending  out,  it  is  said,  eighty 
thousand  missionaries  to  the  different  countries  of 
Asia,  and  even  to  Greece  and  Egypt.  Proselyting, 
nevertheless,  was  not  the  principal  characteristic  of 
his  reign.  He  cared  for  his  people,  and  even  protected 
animals  from  cruel  treatment.  One  of  his  rock-inscrip- 
tions contains  this  record:  "  In  the  whole  dominion 
of  King  Priyadarsin  (Asoka),  the  friend  of  God,  as 
also  in  the  adjacent  countries,  as  far  as  Tamraparni, 
the  realm  of  Antiokhos  and  his  neighbor-kings,  the 
system  of  caring  for  the  sick,  both  of  men  and  cattle, 
has  been  everywhere  brought  into  practice;  and  at  all 
places  where  useful  healing  herbs  for  men  and  cattle 
were  wanting,  he  caused  these  to  be  brought  and 
planted." 

Asoka  filled  India  with  hospitals.  He  also  estab- 
lished public  dispensaries  at  the  four  principal  gates 
of  Pataliputra.  Seven  hundred  years  later,  Fa-Hian, 
a  Chinese  traveller,  visited  India  and  found  the  hos- 
pital system  of  Asoka  in  full  activity.  "  The  nobles 
and  land-owners  have  founded  hospitals  in  every 
city,"  he  declares.  "  In  these  the  poor  of  all  countries, 
the  destitute,  the  crippled,  the  diseased,  may  repair  for 
shelter.  They  receive  every  kind  of  requisite  help 
gratuitously.  Physicians  inspect  their  diseases,  and 
order  for  them,  according  to  their  cases,  food  and 
drink,  decoctions  and  medicines — everything,  in  fact, 
which  may  contribute  to  their  benefit.  When  cured, 
they  depart  at  their  own  convenience." 


82  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

In  the  year  648,  twelve  and  a  half  centuries  ago, 
Hiouen-thsang,  another  Chinese  pilgrim,  visited  India 
and  found  the  country  abounding  with  hospitals,  or 
"houses  of  doing  good."  He  speaks  of  them  as  enter- 
taining widows  and  orphans,  and  as  making  gratuitous 
distribution  of  food,  drink  and  medicine  to  the  poor 
and  sick.  Of  these  houses,  where  these  beneficiaries 
were  thus  cared  for,  he  declares  that  there  was  a  mul- 
titude. Hospitality  seems  to  have  been  carried  out  in 
the  full  sense  of  the  term,  making  guests  of  "  the  poor, 
lame,  halt  and  blind,"  who  could  give  no  recompense, 
as  well  as  of  the  sick  and  injured  that  needed  a  phy- 
sician. 

PHYSICIANS    IN   ANCIENT    ROME. 

According  to  historians  Rome  for  many  centuries 
had  no  physicians.  The  earlier  Romans  held  learn- 
ing, philosophy  and  the  arts  in  contempt.  The  only 
accomplishments  prized  by  them  were  ability  to  fight 
and  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  Much  as  Cincinnatus  is 
lauded  for  his  simple  life,  while  saving  his  country 
from  foreign  foes,  he  was  all  the  same  tenacious  of  the 
authority  of  the  patricians  and  bitterly  opposed  to  the 
equal  rights  of  the  commonality.  In  his  view,  then 
current  with  his  order,  plebeians  had  no  country,  no 
rights  as  citizens,  no  connubial  relations,  no  religious 
worship.  Servius  Tullius  had  been  murdered  for  en- 
deavoring to  extend  to  them  these  franchises,  and  the 
Roman  Republic  long  and  sternly  withheld  them. 

^Esculapius,  it  is  recorded,  was  brought  to  Rome  in 
the  year  of  the  city  461,  about  three  centuries  before 
the  present  era.  He  was  not,  however,  honored  with 
a  shrine  inside  the  walls  of  the  city.  The  Romans 
permitted  the  divinities    of   the  subject-races   to   be 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  83 

worshipped  at  home,  and  even  by  persons  of  those 
races  at  Rome,  but  they  neither  admitted  those  divini- 
ties into  their  own  pantheon,  or  established  the  cultus 
of  Roman  gods  among  other  peoples.  The  coming  of 
the  great  son  of  the  god  Apollo  to  Rome  was  described 
in  their  annals  in  the  style  of  a  religious  legend. 

A  pestilence  was  raging  at  Rome,  and  neither  re- 
ligious incantations,  the  employing  of  amulets,  nor 
other  means  with  which  barbarous  races  are  familiar, 
were  sufficient  to  arrest  its  ravages.  The  oracles  were 
consulted  and  the  command  given  to  invite  the  god 
u:Esculapius  for  help.  An  embassy  repaired  to  Epi- 
davros  and  proceeded  to  the  Asklepion,  to  supplicate 
the  divinity.  A  serpent  came  forth,  glided  along  the 
way  to  the  city,  and  on  reaching  the  harbor,  went  on 
board  the  principal  galley,  where  it  took  up  its  quar- 
ters in  the  apartment  of  the  chief  ambassador.  On  ar- 
riving at  the  Tiber,  it  came  upon  the  deck,  and  darted 
to  the  shore  of  the  Holy  Island,  now  San  Bartolomea, 
where  afterward  a  temple  was  erected  and  hospitals 
were  established  for  the  reception  of  patients.  The 
advent  of  the  divinity  is  said  to  have  been  followed 
by  the  cessation  of  the  plague.  There  being  no  family 
of  Asklepiads  at  Rome,  the  pontiffs  fabled  that  the 
clan  of  Acilius,  a  plebeian  stock,  were  lineal  descend- 
ants of  the  god,  and  fixed  his  anniversary  in  the 
month  of  January, 

The  Roman  patricians  despised  the  physician's  call- 
ing. They  abhorred  the  class  of  men  who  made  a 
trade  of  caring  for  the  sick  and  enriched  themselves 
from  the  misfortunes  of  others.  Nor  was  it  till  the 
year  219  before  the  present  era,  that  a  surgeon,  Archa- 
gathos,  from  the  Peloponnesos,  settled  in  Rome.  The 
Roman  people  had  got  along  without  physicians,  says 


84  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Pliny,  '*  for  a  period  of  more  than  six  hundred  years — 
a  people  too,  which  has  never  shown  itself  slow  to 
adopt  all  useful  arts,  and  even  welcomed  the  medical 
art  with  avidity  until,  after  a  fair  experience,  there 
was  found  ample  reason  to  condemn  it." 

Archagathos  had  been  joyfully  welcomed  to  Rome 
and  admitted  to  citizenship.  The  Senate  had  even 
appropriated  public  money  to  buy  for  him  a  house  at 
which  to  receive  his  patients  and  care  for  them.  He 
did  not  prescribe  for  internal  maladies,  but  left  them 
to  be  treated  in  the  usual  way  by  domestic  prescrip- 
tions, incantations,  amulets,  and  remedies  suggested 
by  the  oracles.  For  a  time  he  was  popular  enough  ; 
but  as  his  methods  consisted  principally  in  cauterizing 
sores  and  cutting  off  limbs,  admiration  changed  to 
disgust,  and  he  became  the  object  of  general  odium. 

Pliny,  who  himself  believed  little  in  the  profession 
of  medicine,  but  more  in  oracles  and  simple  home- 
remedies,  has  also  preserved  for  us  the  denunciations 
of  Cato  the  Censor.  He  held  that  all  medical  services 
ought  to  be  gratuitously  rendered.  For  this  re'ason, 
he  declared,  the  Romans,  although  they  invited 
^sculapius  to  Rome,  placed  his  sanctuary  outside  of 
the  city  upon  the  island  in  the  Tiber.  Besides,  he 
adds  :  "  The  race  of  Greeks  is  very  vicious  ;  and,  my 
son,  believe  this  as  the  voice  of  an  oracle,  that,  with 
its  literature,  it  will  spoil  everything  at  Rome.  It 
will  be  worse  still  if  it  sends  us  its  physicians.  They 
have  sworn  among  themselves  to  kill  all  other  nations 
with  their  medicines.  They  exercise  their  art  for  the 
sake  of  gain,  and  seek  to  get  our  confidence  in  order 
to  be  able  to  poison  us  the  more  easily.  Remember, 
my  son,  that  I  charge  you  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
physicians." 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  85 

That  Sturdy  old  plebeian  himself  was  the  author  of 
a  treatise  upon  Family  Medical  Treatment,  the  first  work 
of  the  kind  ever  compiled  by  a  Roman.  He  was  by 
no  means  opposed  to  the  use  of  medicines.  So  far 
from  it,  Pliny  remarks,  that  he  subjoined  to  his  de- 
nunciation an  account  of  the  medical  prescriptions  by 
the  aid  of  which  he  had  assured  to  himself  and  to  his 
wife  a  ripe  old  age.  In  this  treatise  he  recommends 
the  flesh  of  the  duck,  pigeon  and  hare  as  food  for  the 
sick  ;  and  his  remedies  are  chiefly  vegetable — cabbage 
or  colewort  being  the  favorite.  His  formulas,  many 
of  them,  are  quaint  enough.  He  was  a  firm  believer 
in  charms  and  incantations.  For  dislocations  he 
makes  the  following  curious  prescription  :  "  Take  a 
green  rush,  four  or  five  feet  long,  cut  it  in  two  in  the 
middle,  and  let  two  persons  hold  it  on  your  thighs. 
Begin  to  sing,  and  continue  to  do  so  until  the  two 
pieces  are  joined  together  again.  Wave  a  blade  over 
them  when  the  two  pieces  are  joined  and  touch  one 
another,  seize  hold  of  them,  and  cut  them  across 
lengthwise.  Make  a  bandage  herewith  on  the  broken 
or  dislocated  limb,  and  it  will  heal.  Sing,  however, 
over  the  dislocation  daily." 

It  is  the  fashion  now-a-days  to  consider  everything 
ancient,  so  far  as  it  differs  from  modern  usage,  as  a 
legitimate  theme  for  scorn  and  derision.  The  method 
of. the  old  Roman,  adhering,  pertinaciously  as  he 
does,  to  the  ways  of  his  ancestors,  can  hardly  fail  to 
escape.  Nevertheless,  when  we  consider  the  surgery 
of  Archagathos,  we  must  acknowledge  in  all  candor, 
that  the  patient  would  be  far  safer  under  the  hands  of 
the  former  than  as  he  would  be  treated  by  the  Greek. 
Indeed,  though   much  singing  must  be  a  sad  bore  to 


86  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINt. 

many   sufferers,   its  beneficial    magnetic    eftect   upon, 
others  is  well  known. 

THE    METHODISTS. 

Not  till  a  century  had  passed  do  we  hear  of  another 
physician  distinguished  at  Rome.  At  that  time,  the 
famous  Mithradates  was  making  himself  master  of 
Asia  Minor  and  Armenia.  Asklepiades,  a  native  of 
Prusa  (Brussa),  refusing  his  invitation  to  reside  at 
court,  left  his  country  to  seek  his  fortune  elsewhere. 
Coming  to  Rome,  he  began  the  teaching  of  rhetoric, 
but  having  gained  knowledge  of  medicine,  launched 
forth  as  a  physician.  Pliny  describes  his  methods 
with  unconcealed  contempt.  He  was  an  Epikurean  in 
his  philosophic  belief,  and  based  all  his  notions  upon 
that  system.  He  derided  Hippokrates,  declaring  that 
the  study  of  Nature,  upon  which  the  great  Koan  had 
insisted  so  strenuously,  was  but  the  study  of  dying. 
Profiting  by  the  general  aversion  of  the  harsh 
methods  employed  by  Archagathus,  he  adopted  the 
opposite  expedient  of  bland  and  pleasant  medicines. 
He  was  suave  in  deportment,  fascinating  in  his  man- 
ners and  familiar  with  every  art  of  winning  favor. 
Indeed,  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  the  principal 
men  of  Rome,  and  seems  to  have  overcome  the 
ancient  prejudice  against  physicians.  It  was  a  favorite 
declaration  of  his  that  diseases  had  recently  changed  in 
type,  and  that  new  maladies  had  appeared,  requiring  a 
milder  but  more  efficient  treatment.  This  was  sup- 
ported from  a  statement  of  the  philosopher  Demo- 
kritos,  that  various  worlds  about  us  were  dissolving 
and  disseminating  their  noxious  emanations  upon  the 
earth.     The   change    of   habits    and    introduction    of 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  87 

luxury  into  Rome  from  the  East  were  enough  to  ac- 
count for  the  new  diseases  and  the  disappearing  of 
old  ones.  But  the  recurring  of  elephantiasis  and  hy- 
drophobia gave  plausibility  to  the  assertions  ;  and  it 
must  be  acknowledged  that  he  was  successful  in  treat- 
ment and  even  preternaturally  acute  in  perception. 
Meeting  a  funeral  procession  one  day,  he  took  the 
body  and  restored  it  to  animation,  impressing  the  by- 
standers with  the  conviction  that  he  had  raised  the 
dead  to  life. 

He  taught  that  inflammation  was  due  to  obstruction 
of  the  molecules  of  the  body,  and  dropsy  from  the  dis- 
solving of  the  flesh  into  fluid.  He  rejected  harsh 
methods,  discarding  emetics  and  substituting  enemas 
for  cathartics.  He  made  free  use  of  blood-letting, 
and  performed  bronchotomy  to  relieve  angina  and 
paracentesis  for  dropsy.  Inculcating  that  diseases 
were  produced  by  obstrtictions,  his  principal  means  of 
cure  were  dieting,  abstinence  from  wine,  exercise  on 
foot,  riding  in  litters,  bathing  and  massage.  Of  the 
latter  method  he  was  particularly  enthusiastic  and 
gave  minute  directions  as  to  its  employment.  He 
boasted  that  he  was  never  sick  ;  and  indeed  Pliny  in- 
forms us  that  he  died  with  no  malady,  but  from  an 
accident.  Cicero,  who  greatly  admired  his  talents,  re- 
marked that  "  nothing  brings  a  man  nearer  to  the 
Divine  than  the  giving  of  health  to  one's  fellow 
beings." 

The  disciples  of  Askl6piades  were  regarded  as  a  dis- 
tinct school,  and  designated  Methodici  or  Methodists. 
They  were  not  only  highly  esteemed  at  Rome,  but  in 
the  neighboring  Greek-speaking  provinces,  Illyricum 
and  Sicily,  One  of  them,  Marcus  Artorius,  was  the 
physician    of   Octavianus,    and    accompanied     him  to 


88  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Philippi.  Receiving  a  warning  in  a  dream,  he  per- 
suaded his  patron,  although  suffering  severely  from 
illness,  to  go  into  the  battle.  The  camp  was  seized  by- 
Brutus,  and  thus  the  precaution  saved  the  Emperor's 
life. 

The  later  Methodists  made  important  changes  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  school.  Themison  of  Laodikeia  was 
the  first  innovator.  He  divided  all  maladies  into  three 
classes  :  those  characterized  by  constriction  ;  those  in- 
dicated by  relaxation,  and  those  of  mixed  symptoms. 
He  used  aloes  and  scammony  as  purgatives,  and  re- 
garded the  juice  of  the  plantain  as  a  universal  remedy. 
He  employed  blood-letting  for  apoplexy  and  in 
surgery  made  use  of  the  trephine.  Juvenal  scathes 
him  severely  for  the  many  deaths  among  his  patients. 
He  is  said  to  have  died  of  hydrophobia  contracted 
from  a  friend  laboring  under  the  disease.  More  likely 
both  were  suffering  from  hypochondriasis,  which  may 
be  communicated  by  such  contiguity. 

Two  brothers,  Euphorbius  and  Antonius  Musa, 
Greeks  by  birth,  also  achieved  distinction.  The 
former  was  physician  to  Juba  II.,  King  of  Mauritania, 
and  introduced  the  plant  Euphorbia,  into  use  as  a 
remedy.  Musa  had  studied  medicine  in  order  to  re- 
lieve his  father.  The  Emperor  Octavianus  had  long 
been  in  bad  health  and  his  complaint  was  aggravated 
by  the  remedies.  Musa,  by  use  of  the  cold  bath,  suc- 
ceeded in  restoring  him.  The  grateful  Emperor  pre- 
sented him  with  a  generous  honorarium,  decreed  him 
the  rank  of  knight,  and  placed  his  statue  in  the  temple 
of  .^sculapius. 

Julius  Caesar,  when  he  became  arbiter  of  the  des- 
tinies of  Rome,  had  invited  physicians  and  learned 
men  to  live  in  the  Capitol,  granting  them  the  rights 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD  89 

of  citizenship.  Octavianus  now  issued  a  decree  ex- 
empting physicians  from  taxation.  Henceforth  they 
were  a  privileged  guild  in  Rome. 

"This  art,  however,"  says  Pliny,  "did  not  harmon- 
ize with  Roman  gravity."  Greeks  alone  carried  on 
the  lucrative  profession.  If,  by  any  chance,  there 
were  physicians  who  did  not  come  from  the  Pelopon- 
nesos  or  Asia  Minor,  they  were  compelled  to  use  Greek 
idioms  and  write  their  prescriptions  in  bad  Greek,  as 
now-a-days  it  is  done  in  bungling,  ungrammatical 
Latin. 

"  People  lose  confidence  in  what  is  intelligible  to 
them,"  says  Pliny.  "  Even  the  few  Romans  who 
studied  medicine  thought  it  necessary  to  write  their 
prescriptions  in  Greek,  because  if  they  should  attempt 
to  treat  the  disease  in  any  other  language,  they  would 
certainly  lose  all  credit,  even  with  the  ignorant  who 
did  not  know  a  word  of  Greek."  Perhaps  from  this 
fact  the  modern  practice  derives  its  sanction  of  mak- 
ing use  of  Greek  terminology,  often  to  the  climax  of 
the  absurd,  in  botanic,  chemical,  zoologic  and  other 
nomenclatures. 

CELSUS. 

iVulus  Cornelius  Celsus,  a  native  of  Verona,  living 
about  the  commencement  of  the  present  era,  was  con- 
sidered the  principal  writer  of  the  Methodic  School. 
He  was,  like  all  intelligent  physicians,  proficient  in 
the  other  learning  of  his  age.  "  He  touched  nothing 
that  he  did  not  adorn."  He  compiled  a  cyclopediac 
work  entitled  Upon  tJie  Liberal  Arts,  in  which  he  treated 
of  philosophy,  law,  agriculture  and  medicine.  He  was 
thoroughly  conversant  with  the  doctrines  of  the 
Alexandrian  School,  and  defended  the  study  of  anat- 


90  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

omy  against  the  Empirics.  He  was  eclectic  in  his 
preferences,  following  Hippokrates  in  clinic  practice, 
and  the  Methodists  in  remedial  agents.  He  was  also 
familiar  with  surgery,  describing  the  operations  for 
stone,  cataract,  depression  of  the  skull,  iridectomy, 
etc.  He  explains  also  the  surgery  of  the  genitalia,  how 
to  construct  an  artificial  prepuce,  perform  infibulation 
and  kindred  matters.  He  was  also  a  believer  in  reme- 
dies which  are  now  placed  in  the  category  of  super- 
stitions. 

THE    PNEUMATICISTS    OR    SPIRITUALISTS. 

The  rise  of  the  Pneumatic  or  Spiritual  school  was 
about  synchronous  with  the  present  era.  Athenaeos 
was  born  at  Attaleia  in  Pamphylia  ;  from  which  place 
he  afterward  went  to  Rome.  He  was  a  critical  scholar, 
and  in  his  writings  made  the  distinction  between  Ma- 
teria Medica  and  Therapeutics.  He  also  wrote  a  treat- 
ise upon  Diet.  He  was  a  philosopher,  but  rejected 
the  notion  of  four  elements,  declaring  them  only 
qualities  of  matter.  "About  the  commencement  of 
the  Christian  era,"  says  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Evans, 
"Athenaeos  of  Attaleia,  revived  the  Platonic  theory 
of  the  existence  of  an  immaterial,  active  principle, 
called /«^a;«a  or  spirit ;  and  the  state  of  this  principle 
was  considered  to  be  the  source  of  health  and  disease. 
A  medical  sect  or  school  was  founded  under  the  name 
of  Pneumatists,  or  Spiritualists,  whose  practice  was 
based  on  this  principle.  Jesus,  the  Christ,  seems 
to  have  adopted,  or  rather  to  have  conformed 
his  practice  to  that  theory,  and  without  deviating 
from  it." 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  91 

THE    ECLECTICS. 

Agathinos  of  Sparta  was  a  disciple  of  Athenaeos, 
and  is  accordingly  enumerated  among  the  pneuma- 
tists.  He  endeavored  to  establish  a  school  of  medicine 
upon  a  rational  and  philosophic  basis,  which  he  de- 
nominated Episynthetic,  as  combining  the  principles 
and  methods  of  the  various  sects,  so  far  they  could  be 
made  to  harmonize.  His  writings,  however,  are  now 
lost,  and  we  have  no  means  to  ascertain  the  views 
which  he  entertained,  except  as  he  has  been  quoted. 

Arkhigenes,  a  native  of  Apameia,  in  Syria,  was  a 
student  of  Agathinos,  and  held  like  his  preceptor  the 
cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Pneumatic  school.  He  once 
cured  Agathinos  of  a  delirium  by  anointing  his  head 
with  warm  oil.  He  is  often  described  as  the  founder 
of  the  Eclectic  School  of  physicians.  He  enjoyed  a 
high  reputation  among  his  contemporaries  during  the 
reign  of  Vespasian  and  later  emperors,  and  for  a  con- 
siderable period  afterward  ;  and  his  treatises  on  the 
pulse,  chronic  diseases,  pharmacy,  etc.,  were  cited  by 
Galen  with  warm  praise. 

Aretaeos  of  Kappadokia,  however,  is  generally  con- 
sidered as  the  brightest  luminary  of  the  Eclectic  and 
Pneumatic  schools.  We  have  two  of  his  works  still 
remaining — one  upon  the  Causes  and  Symptoms  of  Acute 
and  Chronic  Diseases,  and  a  second  upon  the  Therapeutics 
of  Diseases.  His  admirable  accuracy  of  description,  the 
correctness  of  his  views,  and  the  elegance  of  his  style 
were  unexcelled.  He  appears  to  have  anticipated 
many  of  the  physiological  and  medical  discoveries 
which  are  usually  imputed  to  Galen.  In  explaining 
paralysis,  for  example,  he  defines  carefully  the  dis- 
tinct functions  of  the  motor  and   sensory  nerves,  and 


92  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

sets  forth  as  a  prominent  exciting  cause,  indigestion, 
which  is  from  impairment  of  the  solar  sympathetic 
ganglion.  He  wrote  also  upon  mania,  and  gives  a 
very  accurate  account  of  jaundice,  as  well  as  ulcera- 
tions of  the  throat  and  tonsils.  In  treating  epilepsy 
he  suggests  the  use  of  copper.  He  bled  freely,  in- 
cising the  arteries  and  making  use  of  leeches  and  cup- 
ping glasses.  Veratum  alba  wa!s  a  favorite  remedy  in 
his  armamentarium.  He  made  great  use  of  milk,  both 
from  human  mothers  and  from  domestic  animals  ;  ap- 
plied massage  ;  administered  wine  and  opiates  with- 
out hesitation,  but  employed  few  drugs,  depending 
principally  upon  diet  and  regimen.  He  was  celebrated 
above  other  physicians  for  a  total  lack  of  professional 
bigotry. 

The  Eclectic  School  abounded  with  physicians  of 
marked  ability,  many  of  whom  enjoyed  a  wide  reputa- 
tion over  the  Roman  world.  Nor  did  it  die  out  till 
political  and  other  changes  had  produced  a  general 
revolution  over  the  Empire. 

MEDICINE    IN    THE     ROMAN    EMPIRE. 

Under  Julius  Caesar,  medical  men  residing  in  Rome 
had  received  the  honors  and  privileges  of  citizenship. 
Octavianus  Augustus  exempted  them  from  taxation. 
Nero  added  to  their  importance.  There  were  archiatri 
populares,  or  chief  physicians,  in  the  different  wards  of 
the  city,  and  archiatri  palatini  ox  physicians  of  the  Im- 
perial Palace.  These,  in  time,  assumed  and  exercised 
a  censorship  and  authority  over  their  fellow-prac- 
titioners, checking  innovation,  and  discouraging  all 
who  were  not  in  strict  subordination  to  their  preten- 
sions. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  93 

Under  the  Roman  Republic  learning  had  small 
honor,  and  the  medical  art  was  held  in  contempt. 
Soldiers  dressed  each  other's  wounds  and  waited  on 
their  sick  comrades,  till  Octavianus  became  Emperor. 
After  that  time  valetudinaria  or  military  hospitals  came 
into  fashion.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  prefect  having 
charge  of  the  camp  to  make  sure  that  the  surgeons 
visited  the  patients  in  the  hospitals.  These  valetudin- 
aria were  attached  to  the  winter  quarters,  and  the 
generals  who  were  in  the  practice  of  visiting  the  sick 
and  wounded  there  sheltered,  are  named  with  great 
praise. 

The  institution  of  iatreia  or  public  dispensaries, 
which  had  been  peculiar  to  the  Grecian  common- 
wealths and  Egypt,  became  general  in  the  Empire. 
There  were  official  physicians  everywhere,  supported 
from  the  treasury.  The  Gallic  cities  had  established 
this  practice  at  an  early  period,  and  doctors  employed 
artifices  similar  to  those  of  other  politicians  to  obtain 
these  lucrative  positions.  The  army  had  its  medical 
staff  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  the  lanista  for  his  gladi- 
ators, the  rich  man  for  himself  and  slaves,  the  Em- 
peror for  his  own  person  and  the  numerous  servants 
of  the  palace.  Even  the  artisans  sought  to  attach  to 
their  guilds  or  collegia  poor  practitioners  who  would  be 
satisfied  with  very  moderate  fees.  Rome  abounded 
also  with  druggists  and  apothecaries  who  sold  advice 
as  well  as  medicines,  and  even  lodged  patients. 

Women  were  also  practitioners,  and  honored  for 
their  ability.  An  inscription  contains  the  words  : 
''''  JulicB  Saturnince — incomparabili  mediae" — to  Julia  Satur- 
nina,  the  incomparable  physician. 

There  were  also  Schohe  Medicorum,  or  meeting-houses 
for  medical  men, — perhaps    places   for  instruction — at 


94  HISTORY    OK    MEDICINE. 

Rome,  Beneventum,  Aventicum,  and  other  places. 
The  laws  appear  to  have  been  very  strict,  and  some- 
what resembling  the  usages  of  some  of  the  western 
aboriginal  tribes  of  America.  If  a  patient  died  from  a 
remedy  or  malpractice  of  any  kind,  the  penalty  for 
the  physician  was  banishment  or  death.  Every  phy- 
sician was  compelled  to  sign  his  prescriptions. 

The  Antonines  were  philosophers,  in  spirit  as  well 
as  culture,  and  regarded  themselves  as  the  fathers  and 
protectors,  rather  than  masters  of  the  Empire.  They 
moderated  the  severity  of  the  laws,  founded  charitable 
institutions,  and  sought  to  promote  the  happiness  of 
their  subjects.  The  guilds  or  trade-societies  of  the 
period,  were  allowed  to  assume  organization  and  estab- 
lish worship  like  distinct  municipalities.  A  rescript 
fixed  the  number  of  public  physicians  which  the  cities 
of  the  highest,  second  and  lower  classes  might  not 
exceed.  In  the  small  cities  five  physicians,  three 
sophists  or  professors,  and  three  grammarians,  or  pub- 
lic teachers  were  authorized  ;  and  in  the  larger  ones, 
ten  physicians,  five  sophists  and  five  grammarians. 
These  might  receive  fees,  but  it  was  not  considered 
creditable.  A  decree  granted  to  Metrodoros  a  golden 
crown,  because  he  "for  twenty  years  a  public  physi- 
cian, has  saved  many  citizens,  and  now  lives  in 
poverty,  having  refused  from  them  any  fees."  A 
special  rate,  the  iatrikon,  was  levied  upon  the  citizens, 
in  order  to  defray  the  expenses. 

The  physicians  were  generally  from  Greece  and 
Egypt.  They  were  often  vain  and  arrogant  ;  those  at 
Rome  greatly  scandalizing  their  patrons,  by  holding 
them  in  contempt  as  ignorant  barbarians  and  clod- 
hoppers. Physicians  and  surgeons  appear  to  have 
followed  their  vocations  separately,   and  we  read  of 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  95 

specialists,  oculists,  aurists,  dentists,  etc.,  as  well  as  of 
Court  physicians,  and  medical  women  who  were  em- 
ployed for  the  diseases  of  women  and  children. 

Pliny,  the  younger,  is  very  severe  in  his  criticisms  of 
the  medical  practitioners  of  his  time.  He  describes 
Crinas  of  Massalia  (Marseilles),  who  united  astrology 
with  his  art,  subjecting  the  regimen  of  the  sick  to  the 
course  of  the  stars.  This  individual  amassed  a  large 
fortune  by  his  profession,  which  he  afterward  dis- 
bursed in  the  fortifying  of  several  towns  of  the  prov- 
ince. Another  physician  of  note  was  Thessalos,  the 
Lydian.  He  appears  to  have  been  pretentious  and 
arrogant  in  manners,  seeking  to  overawe  and  brow- 
beat others  by  his  assumptions.  He  did  not  scruple 
to  denounce  Hippokrates  and  other  prominent  writers; 
and  he  even  had  the  audacity  to  write  a  letter  to  the 
Emperor  Nero,  declaring  that  his  predecessors  had 
contributed  nothing  to  the  advancement  of  knowledge. 
He  worked  his  way  to  distinction  by  courting  great 
men,  and  boasted  that  he  could  teach  the  healing  art 
to  a  student  in  six  months.  He  used  to  declare  that 
he  was  the  chief  of  physicians,  and  excelled  other 
practitioners.  In  theory  he  appears  to  have  been  a 
Methodist,  after  the  manner  of  Asklepiades,  and  he 
wrote  on  diet  and  surgery.  Galen  lost  no  opportunity 
to  denounce  him,  and  asserted  that  he  had  not  the 
least  correct  notion  in  regard  to  the  action  of  medi- 
cine. He  had  a  large  array  of  disciples,  largely  drawn 
from  the  working  classes.  Perhaps  some  of  the  bitter- 
ness against  him  was  partisan  rancor. 

Avarice,  according  to  Pliny,  was  the  leading  charac- 
teristic of  the  Roman  practitioners  of  medicine.  So 
great  were  their  gains  that  artisans,  such  as  boot-mak- 
ers, carpenters,  butchers,  tanners,   and   even   grave- 


g6  '  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

diggers  entered  the  profession,  while  other  callings 
were  adopted  by  physicians  who  had  not  been  able  to 
obtain  a  foothold.  Galen  describes  them  as  char- 
latans, boorish  in  manners  and  contemptible  for  their 
ignorance.  The  greater  part  of  them,  he  declared, 
were  unable  to  read,  except  with  great  difficulty.  He 
satirically  recommends  that  they  should  be  very  care- 
ful, when  discoursing  with  their  patients,  not  to  make 
grammatical  blunders  ;  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  as- 
sert that  rival  physicians,  when  at  the  bedside  of  sick 
persons,  so  far  forget  themselves  that  they  would 
abuse  each  other,  thrust  out  their  tongues,  and  even 
come  to  blows.  Yet  they  were,  as  Galen  himself  ex- 
perienced, obstinately  tenacious  of  their  regularity 
and  standing  as  medical  men.  The  more  unfit  they 
were  in  morals  and  other  qualifications  the  more  arro- 
gant were  they  in  this  respect.  The  archiatri  held  a 
sort  of  predominance  over  the  commonalty  of  physi- 
cians, and  there  were  medical  societies  or  guilds  that 
assumed  the  authority  to  examine  candidates  desirous 
to  engage  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  All  the  same, 
ignorance  was  in  the  foreground,  and  with  the  sup- 
port of  their  guild  in  case  of  prosecution,  the  laws  to 
punish  ignorant  or  unscrupulous  practitioners  were 
incompetent. 

The  Roman  patricians  were  not  friends  to  the  liberal 
arts  and  would  not  educate  their  children  to  a  profes- 
sion, and  accordingly  were  served  by  foreigners  and 
by  self-taught  slaves  and  freedmen. 

DIOSKORIDES. 

The  celebrated  herbalist,  Dioskorides  Phakas,  was  a 
native  of  Cilicia.  Having  been  a  soldier  he  had  visited 
many  countries,  and  he  employed  the  opportunities 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  97 

thus  offered  in  careful  observation  of  the  flora  of  those 
regions.  His  work  on  the  Materia  Medica  for  more 
than  sixteen  centuries  was  regarded  as  the  highest 
authority.  The  thoroughness  of  his  studies  is  shown 
by  the  fact,  noted  by  Dr.  Alston,  that  he  enumerates 
"alone  90  minerals,  700  plants  and  168  animal  sub- 
stances." Galen  praises  him  warmly,  but  Dr.  Cullen, 
of  our  modern  times,  who  hardly  believed  any  ancient 
man  to  be  learned,  criticises  him  severely.  His  works 
afforded  the  basis  for  medical  study  in  the  later  schools 
of  the  Nestorians,  the  Arabians,  and  Hindus. 

GALEN. 

Claudius  Galenus  was  born  at  the  metropolitan  city 
of  Pergamos  in  the  year  131.  He  seems,  from  his  own 
account,  to  have  illustrated  the  incorrectness  of  the 
notion  that  men  inherit  their  superiority  from  their 
mothers.  He  describes  his  mother,  Xanthippe,  as 
frivolous  and  unworthy,  but  his  father,  Nikon,  as 
scholarly  and  of  an  excellent  character.  The  latter 
himself  had  instructed  his  son  in  the  philosophy  of 
Aristotle,  and  employed  a  teacher  named  Gaios  to 
teach  the  other  systems.  Directed  by  a  dream,  he  re- 
solved, when  Galen  was  but  sixteen,  to  train  him  for 
a  physician.  Pergamos  was  at  that  time  celebrated 
for  its  temple  of  -^sculapius,  its  savants  and  physi- 
cians. The  youth  was  placed  in  turn  under  the  tuition 
of  Satyros,  a  distinguished  anatomist,  Stratonikos,  an 
Askl^piad,  and  Aiskhrion,  an  Empiric.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  his  father  being  dead,  he  went  to  Smyrna 
to  hear  the  lectures  of  Pelops  and  Albinus  at  the 
school  of  philosophy.  Next  he  journeyed  to  Korinth, 
to  perfect  further  his  philosophic  studies  ;  after  which 


98  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

he  made  the  tour  of  Asia  Minor,  Syria  and  Palestine. 
He  then  became  a  student  at  the  School  of  Alexan- 
dria. Having  served  for  knowledge  for  seven  years, 
like  the  Hebrew  patriarch,  he  received  a  summons 
from  the  priests  in  his  native  country  to  return  home. 
On  his  arrival  the  Asklepiads  appointed  him  to  the 
professional  charge  of  the  athletes  and  gymnasts  at 
the  temple-school  of  ^sculapius.  A  revolt  taking 
place  some  years  later,  he  left  Asia  to  try  his  fortune 
at  Rome,  in  the  year  165.  He  was  a  philosopher  as 
well  as  a  professional  man,  and  a  philosopher  was  sit- 
ting upon  the  throne  of  the  Caesars.  He  was  warmly 
welcomed  by  fellow-philosophers,  by  the  Roman  Con- 
suls, and  made  the  friendship  of  the  youth,  Septimius 
Severus. 

It  was  not  long,  however,  before  he  drew  upon  him- 
self the  jealousy  and  enmity  of  the  Roman  guild  of 
physicians.  He  was  infinitely  their  superior  in  skill, 
liberality  of  sentiment,  and  erudition,  and  was  hated 
accordingly.  At  the  desire  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
city,  the  savants,  philosophers  and  noblemen,  he  de- 
livered a  series  of  public  lectures  upon  Anatomy.  This 
afforded  the  desired  pretext.  It  was  a  violation  of  the 
code  in  force  among  Roman  physicians,  as  well  as  of 
the  so-called  Hippocratic  Oath,  which  forbade  the  in- 
structing of  non-medical  persons  in  any  of  the  mys- 
teries of  professional  knowledge.  Galen  had  been 
accepted  by  the  priests  of  the  Asklepion  at  Pergamos, 
but  he  found  himself  totally  outside  the  pale  at  Rome. 
But  for  the  favor  extended  to  him  by  the  Emperor, 
Marcus  Aurelius,  he  might  have  been  arraigned  and 
put  to  death.  He  was  actually  in  danger  of  personal 
violence,  and  a  tumult  created  by  his  adversaries 
compelled   him    to   desist    from    lecturing.      He   was 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.  99 

denounced  by  all  the  ribaldrous  epithets  current  among 
the  medical  men  of  that  period,  and  finally  in  disgust 
left  Rome  and  returned  to  the  East.  A  year  later, 
however,  he  was  summoned  by  the  Emperor  and  his 
colleague  to  accompany  them  on  a  military  expedition, 
and  he  afterward  became  the  physician  of  the  Im- 
perial family.  He  appears  to  have  held  this  position 
of  archiatros  under  Septimius  Severus.  Returning  to 
Pergamos,  he  devoted  himself  to  literature,  thus  becom- 
ing the  oracle  of  the  medical  world  for  fourteen  centu- 
ries.    He  is  said  to  have  died  in  Sicily  in  the  year  201. 

Galen  professed  to  be  Eclectic  in  his  methods  and 
doctrines.  He  had  been  carefully  instructed  by  the 
best  teachers  in  the  various  medical  schools,  as  well 
as  in  the  Platonic,  Stoic  and  Epikurean  philosophies. 
He  wrote  dissertations  upon  the  Timceos  and  Platonic 
Dialectic,  and  professed  the  greatest  admiration  for 
Hippokrates,  but  in  logic  and  physical  science  he  was 
a  follower  of  Aristotle.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  de- 
nounce abusively  the  doctrines  of  the  various  medical 
sects,  declaring  that  although  Hippokrates  had  opened 
the  true  road,  he  himself  had  removed  the  difficulties 
encountered  in  it,  and  extended  it  over  a  larger  area. 

Whether  this  temper  and  assumption  of  superiority 
operated  to  create  the  animosity  which  he  encountered 
in  Rome,  or  whether  that  animosity  was  the  cause  of 
his  bitterness  of  feeling,  may  be  worth  considering. 

He  regarded  the  knowledge  of  the  structure  of  the 
human  body  as  the  foundation  of  the  healing  art.  In 
his  works,  almost  every  bone  and  process  of  bone, 
every  twig  of  nerve,  every  ramification  of  blood- 
vessel, every  viscus,  muscle  and  gland  known  to 
modern  anatomists,  is  described  with  great  minute- 
ness.    He  appears  to  have  followed   Herophilos  and 


lOO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

he  has  been  severely  criticised  by  Vesalius,  but  was  as 
warmly  defended  by  Eustachius.  He  pointed  out 
clearly  the  distinction  between  the  cerebral  and  spinal 
nerves,  as  well  as  the  distribution  into  nerves  of  mo- 
tion and  nerves  of  sensation.  He  also  defined  the 
functions  of  the  arteries  and  veins,  and  explained  en- 
dosmosis  and  exosmosis  as  the  "  attractive"  and  "  ex- 
pulsive" faculties.  In  operative  surgery,  he  confined 
himself  principally  to  the  methods  of  the  Alexandrian 
school.  He  gives  us  an  account,  however,  of  an  opera- 
tion which  he  performed,  cutting  open  the  breast-bone 
of  a  patient  so  as  to  lay  bare  the  heart,  in  order  to 
give  vent  to  a  collection  of  fluid  in  the  thoracic  cavity. 
He  appears,  however,  to  have  conformed  at  Rome  to 
the  prejudice  against  surgical  practice  ;  and  in  his 
capacity  of  archiatros  he  kept  a  dispensary  and  drug- 
shop  in  the  Via  Sacra,  to  which  patients  resorted. 

He  gave  much  attention  to  Materia  Medica  and 
Pharmacy,  but  his  medicinal  articles  from  the  vege- 
table kingdom  were  far  less  in  number  than  those 
named  by  Dioskorides,  although  he  enumerates  more 
animal  and  mineral  remedies.  He  was  very  full  in 
his  accounts  of  disease,  but  not  comprehensive.  He 
considered  stagnation  and  putridity  as  causing  every 
morbid  change  in  the  fluids  of  the  body.  All  fevers 
were  attributed  to  this  source,  except  the  kind  called 
ephemera.  Unfortunately,  the  theory  gave  rise,  at  a 
more  modern  period,  to  a  mode  of  treatment  most  in- 
jurious. Instead  of  air,  water  and  a  cooling  regimen, 
the  curtains  were  drawn  in  the  room  of  the  sufferers, 
fires  were  kept  up,  and  the  food  and  medicine  were  of 
the  most  heating  kind.  It  required  the  most  zealous 
protest  of  the  later  schools  to  produce  a  change  to 
more  rational  measures. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.        lOI 

The  doctrines  of  Galen  have  been  declared  material- 
istic. Yet  his  views  appear,  sometimes  at  least,  to  re- 
semble those  of  the  pneumaticists.  He  taught  that 
some  varieties  of  fever  had  a  spiritual  cause,  and  is 
said  to  have  regarded  charms  and  amulets  as  superior 
to  medicine.  In  his  philosophy  he  accepted  the  doc- 
trines of  Plato  and  Aristotle,  in  preference  to  those  of 
Epikuros,  and  inculcated  the  existence  of  final  causes, 
maintaining  that  means  do  not  lead  to  ends,  but  ends 
to  means.  He  reiterated  the  declarations  of  Hippo- 
krates  in  regard  to  the  mantic  or  divining  power  of 
the  human  soul.  "  In  sleep,"  says  he,  "  the  soul  retires 
into  the  innermost  portion  of  itself,  frees  itself  from 
outward  duties,  and  perceives  everything  that  con- 
cerns either  itself  or  the  body."  Doubtless  he  referred 
to  the  temple-sleep  and  hypnotic  vision  produced  by 
mesmeric  manipulation.  He  must  have  employed  it 
while  a  physician  at  the  Askldpion  in  Pergamos.  He 
certainly  predicted  the  course  of  a  disease  with  an 
accuracy  apparently  preternatural ;  and  he  professed 
to  derive  much  of  his  information   from  this  agency. 

LAST    YEARS    OF    ANCIENT    MEDICINE. 

After  the  death  of  Galen  medical  learning  appears 
to  have  declined  over  the  whole  Roman  world.  The 
various  philosophic  schools  gave  instruction,  but  a  dry 
rot  was  everywhere.  The  Serapeion  at  Alexandria 
held  out  longest.  Zeno,  the  Kypriote,  for  a  time  at- 
tracted large  classes  of  students  ;  and  his  disciple, 
Oribasius,  of  Pergamos,  was  archiatros  or  court  physi- 
cian to  the  Emperor  Julian.  It  was  the  desire  of  that 
monarch  to  revive  the  ancient  learning,  and  at  his  re- 
quest Oribasius  made  a  compilation  or  synopsis  of  the 


I02  HISTORY    OF    MtJJiCINE. 

medical  works  extant,  dividing  them  into  seventy- 
books,  of  which  all  but  seventeen  are  lost.  He  also 
published  several  treatises  of  his  own.  The  death  of 
the  Emperor  put  an  end  to  such  attempts.  The  Greeks 
gave  up  their  former  zeal  for  medical  studies.  A 
legend  was  related  that  St.  Hilarios  overcame  the 
^sculapian  Serpent  at  Epidavros.  By  this  we  may 
understand  the  subversion  of  the  Askl^piads,  with 
their  worship  and  professional  labors.  Whether  this 
was  in  anywise  a  calamity  may  be  a  question.  Like 
their  Khaldsean  predecessors,  they  seem  to  have  largely 
deteriorated,  becoming  more  or  less  a  class  of  diviners 
and  fortune-tellers.  They  fell  into  decay  and  were 
forgotten.  Asklepiodotos  for  a  time,  revived  the 
former  forgotten  learning.  He  had  been  a  disciple  of 
Proklos  in  the  Eclectic  philosophy,  and  of  Jakobos  in 
medicine.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works  on 
ethics  and  physical  science,  and  his  medical  attain- 
ments exceeded  those  of  his  master.  He  was  familiar 
with  the  virtues  of  medicinal  plants,  and  introduced 
Veratrum  alba  again  into  use.  He  was  also  skillful  in 
music  and  zoology,  and  also  wrote  a  commentary  on 
the  Timceos  of  Plato. 

"  During  the  first  centuries,  indeed,  of  the  Christian 
era,"  says  Professor  Dunglison,  "  theosophy  had  con- 
siderable influence  over  the  schools  in  which  medicine 
was  taught.  In  the  first  century  the  opinion  generally 
received  was  that  the  Apostles  had  obtained  the 
faculty  of  curing  all  diseases  by  means  of  the  apposi- 
tion of  the  hands  or  by  inunction  with  holy  oils  and 
ointments  ;  and  it  was  believed  that  the  disciples  of 
Christ  had  transmitted  the  power  which  they  had  re- 
ceived from  their  Master  to  the  elders  of  each  com- 
munity. *  *     In   the  fourth  century  Christianity  had 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.         I03 

extended  through  the  Roman  Empire,  and  for  the 
reasons  just  mentioned,  medical  education  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  was  everywhere  totally  neglected,  if  we  ex- 
cept at  Alexandria,  where,  even  at  that  period,  it  was 
held  in  some  account." 

The  Persian  dominion  now  became  the  place  of 
refuge  for  men  of  learning.  The  disciples  of  Nes- 
torius,  outlawed  and  persecuted  by  the  dominant 
Catholic  authorities  at  Constantinople,  found  homes 
and  protection  under  the  blacksmith's  apron.  There 
they  established  the  Khaldaean  Church  in  the  country 
of  the  Euphrates,  which  soon  extended  its  missionary 
operations  over  all  the  far  East,  clear  to  Egypt,  India 
and  China.  Their  converts  eventually  became  more 
numerous  than  the  communicants  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  both  Greek  and  Roman  combined.  They 
were  everywhere  the  patrons  of  learning.  Their  uni- 
versity at  Edessa  was  famous  for  the  influence  which 
it  exercised  over  the  Eastern  world.  Their  medical 
college  also  became  justly  distinguished  for  the  num- 
ber of  its  professors,  their  superior  scholarship,  and 
the  excellence  of  their  doctrines.  A  public  hospital 
was  also  established,  at  which  clinical  instruction  was 
imparted  to  students,  and  the  institution  was  thronged 
from  every  region  where  the  Khaldaean  Church  had 
attained  a  foothold.  Stephen  of  Edessa,  was  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  teachers  in  this  school. 

About  the  same  period  a  hospital  for  the  reception 
of  the  poor  was  founded  at  Rome  by  Fabiola,  the  friend 
of  St.  Hieronymos  (Jerome),  which  has  been  errone- 
ously supposed  by  many  to  have  been  the  first  institu- 
tion of  the  kind. 

The  Nestorians,  however,  by  no  means  concentrated 
all  their  efforts  upon  one  place  or  university.     Others 


I04  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

were  established  where  they  could  be  sustained.  They 
had  a  school  at  Nisibis,  and  at  a  later  period  they,  in 
cooperation  with  the  Jews,  founded  a  school  of  medi- 
cine at  the  city  of  Chondesabur,  which  was  frequented 
by  students  from  Persia  and  Arabia. 

Meanwhile,  Alexandria  continued  to  hold  up  the 
dimming  torch  of  medical  knowledge.  The  Emperor 
Justinian  closed  the  schools  of  philosophy,  and  so  put 
an  end  to  medical  instruction  in  other  parts  of  the 
Empire.  About  this  time,  in  the  year  543,  a  plague 
devastated  the  Roman  world.  It  attacked  all,  without 
regard  to  climate,  season,  age  or  mode  of  life,  and  its 
fatality  has  hardly  been  surpassed.  Prokopios,  who 
describes,  it  declares  that  it  carried  off  ten  thousand 
daily  at  Constantinople.  One-half  the  population 
perished  ;  whole  towns  were  deserted,  and  the  arts 
were  abandoned.  Henceforth,  barbarism  was  uni- 
versal. No  physicians  of  the  period  made  any  record 
of  the  terrible  visitation  that  could  be  of  service  to 
others,  so  great  was  their  ignorance. 

Actios,  a  native  of  Amida  or  Diarbekir  in  Mesopota- 
mia, flourished  at  this  period.  He  had  studied  medi- 
cine at  Alexandria,  and  wrote  extensively  upon  medi- 
cal subjects.  He  set  forth  Materia  Medica  with  great 
precision,  and  is  exhaustive  upon  fever.  He  also  ex- 
celled in  surgery ;  being  the  first  writer  that  has 
mentioned  the  Guinea  worm,  and  also  skillfully  de- 
lineating the  treatment  of  aneurisms,  operations  upon 
the  eye,  hernia,  peritonitis,  orchitis,  haemorrhoidal 
tumors. 

In  the  department  of  Obstetrics  he  surpassed  every 
ancient  author.  He  also  wrote  upon  pharmacy  and 
quoted  the  recipes  of  King  Nekheb,  Galen,  Hippo- 
krates    and    Dioskorides.      All   the   same   he   was   a 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    ANCIENT    HISTORIC    PERIOD.         I05 

believer  in  the  virtues  of  charms,  amulets,  prayer  and 
the  magic  touch.  In  preparing  medicines,  he  directs 
an  invocation  to  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  ; 
and  for  a  foreign  body  in  the  oesophagus  the  surgeon 
is  recommended  to  treat  the  patient's  neck,  and  repeat 
to  the  offending  body  the  command  of  the  martyr 
Blaise,  to  remove  itself.  He  also  prescribes  the  sexual 
act  as  a  remedy  for  disorder  of  the  intestines.  He 
considered  the  water  of  the  Nile  as  possessing  every 
virtue,  and  employed  a  green  jasper  set  in  a  ring  for 
numerous  complaints,  remarking  that  the  plain  stone 
was  as  salutary  as  one  with  a  dragon  engraved  upon  it. 
Alexandros  Trallianos, — Alexander  of  Tralles,  in 
Asia  Minor,  also  deserves  a  notice.  No  medical  writer, 
whether  of  ancient  or  modern  times,  it  is  asserted,  has 
treated  of  diseases  more  methodically.  His  method 
was  to  describe  and  arrange  them  according  to  the 
part  of  the  body  which  they  affect,  beginning  with  the 
head  and  proceeding  downward.  He  ventured  often 
to  differ  from  Galen,  not  so  much  from  rivalship  as 
from  a  desire  to  be  right.  He  resolutely  cautions  the 
physician  against  the  adopting  of  a  plan  for  the  treat- 
ment of  any  disease,  without  first  having  studied  the 
specific  and  individual  causes  ;  and  urges  that  he 
should  not  be  led  by  any  habit  of  routine,  but  always 
consider  the  age  of  the  patient,  the  strength,  constitu- 
tion, and  mode  of  living,  as  well  as  the  season  and 
atmospheric  variations  ;  and  especially  in  acute  dis- 
eases, to  observe  carefully  the  efforts  of  nature.  He 
appears  to  have  made  great  use  of  cathartic  medicines 
in  gout  and  rheumatic  diseases,  such  as  aloes,  scam- 
mony  and  colchicum  or  hermodactylus.  He  also  at- 
tached great  value  to  magic  incantations  and  amulets 
worn  about  the  person. 


I06  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Paulos  ^gineta,  or  Paul  of  ^gina,  properly  closes 
the  category.  Little  is  known  of  his  history,  except 
that  he  studied  medicine  at  Alexandria  before  it  had 
been  taken  by  Amru,  in  640,  travelling  afterward  in 
Greece  and  other  countries  to  perfect  his  knowledge. 
He  was  principally  celebrated  for  his  attention  to  sur- 
gery, obstetrics  and  diseases  of  women,  and  is  by  some 
considered  as  the  first  man-midwife  in  history.  He 
exhibited  much  originality  in  his  description  of  opera- 
tions. He  published  a  work  entitled  An  Abridgment  of 
All  Medicine,  in  seven  parts,  compiled  from  ancient 
writers,  with  his  own  observations  subjoined.  He  did 
not  hesitate  to  differ  from  Galen  and  Hippokrates, 
when  his  own  observation  warranted  this  ;  and  later 
writers  quote  him  with  confidence. 

The  dismemberment  of  the  Roman  Empire,  the 
utter  overthrow  of  Persia,  and  the  rise  of  a  new  faith 
in  Arabia,  changed  the  entire  aspect  of  the  civilized 
world.  With  the  fall  of  Alexandria  the  old  order  of 
things  passed  away.  Ancient  learning  was  vanquished 
in  its  last  fortress.  Apollo  and  -^sculapius  were  de- 
throned ;  the  Askl^piad,  Dogmatist,  Empiricist  and 
other  sectaries  passed  into  oblivion.  Only  Galen  re- 
mained as  the  chief  luminary  of  the  long  night  that 
now  hung  its  black  curtain  over  the  medical  world. 


CHAPTER   III. 
MEDICINE   IN   THE   MIDDLE    AGES. 

Modern  History  is  commonly  regarded  as  begin- 
ning at  the  year  476.  Adolf,  the  son  of  Alarich,  had 
contemplated  the  extinguishing  of  the  Roman  Empire 
and  the  establishment  of  Gothia  upon  its  territory. 
In  that  year  the  last  Emperor,  Romulus  Augustus 
Caesar,  abdicated  the  throne  ;  Italy  became  simply  a 
kingdom,  and  Gothic  countries  existed  upon  the  ruins 
of  the  Empire.  Yet  it  seems  almost  as  though  for  the 
East  a  period  somewhat  later  would  be  more  suitable. 
The  rise  of  Islam,  the  overthrow  of  the  realm  of 
Persia,  the  disruption  of  Syria  from  the  Grecian 
Empire,  the  fall  of  Alexandria,  with  its  school  and 
library,  were  the  rolling  up  of  the  former  heavens  and 
the  introduction  of  a  new  era  upon  the  earth.  The 
world  was  then  Gothic,  Greek  and  Moslem. 

The  sun  of  knowledge  had  set  all  over  Europe,  and 
only  stars  and  torches  remained  to  lessen  the  heavy 
darkness.  All  kinds  of  learning,  while  not  proscribed 
outright,  were,  nevertheless,  held  in  low  esteem. 
Kings  and  clergy  alike  were  illiterate  ;  barons  and 
bishops  were  sometimes  unable  to  write  their  names. 
The  commonalty  had  sunk  into  besotted  ignorance. 

The  art  of  healing  was  buried  in  the  same  abyss. 
From  its  rank  as  a  part  of  learning  it  became  a  func- 


Io8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

tion  of  religion.  "  After  the  sixth  century,"  says  Mac- 
donald,  "  the  monks  of  the  West  practiced  the  healing 
art  as  part  of  their  divine  calling,  by  resorting  to 
prayers,  relics  of  martyrs,  holy  water  and  other  Rom- 
ish ceremonials  ;  and  innumerable  cures  are  said  to 
have  been  accomplished  by  invoking  the  aid  of  saints, 
and  other  superstitious  practices.  In  the  seventh  and 
eighth  centuries  the  remains  of  the  knowledge  which 
had  accumulated  in  the  East  appears  to  have  been 
more  or  less  preserved  by  the  monks  of  the  West  " 

"physic"  and  "physicians." 

The  Roman  missionaries  whom  the  first  Bishop 
Gregory  sent  to  England  to  convert  the  Saxons, 
opened  schools  there  in  which  medicine  was  made  a 
study.  After  the  phantom  of  a  new  Empire  had  risen 
at  Rome,  teachers  were  procured  from  those  institu- 
tions for  those  just  established  in  France  and  Germany. 
In  the  year  805,  the  Emperor  Charlemagne  command- 
ed that  medicine  should  be  added  to  the  curriculum. 
The  term  />^jsic,  from  the  Greek  word  ^vffi?  {phusis)  the 
natural  constitution,  was  employed  by  Hippokrates, 
and  by  later  writers  to  signify  pharmacy  and  sorcery, 
and  thus  became  the  designation  of  this  art,  and  its 
teachers  and  practitioners  were  designated  physicians. 
Some  of  the  glamour  of  occult  power  and  knowledge 
hung  about  the  name,  and  many  have  continued  to 
believe  in  their  secret  heart  that  the  medical  prescrib- 
er  could  arrest  the  approach  of  death  and  absolve  from 
the  penalty  of  disregarded  hygienic  conditions. 

For  two  or  three  centuries  medicine  was  taught  in 
such  fashion  in  the  schools  connected  with  the  cathe- 
drals.    The  knowledge  imparted  was  inconsiderable. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  IO9 

and  the  skill  and  morals  of  the  practitioners  were  so 
inferior  as  to  bring  scandal  and  contempt  upon  them. 
Finally  the  various  councils  of  the  Gallican  and  Roman 
Churches,  some  centuries  afterward,  prohibited  priests 
outright  from  practicing  physic  or  surgery. 

RISE    OF    ISLAM. 

Meanwhile  a  new  illumination  had  appeared  in  the 
East.  The  Hanyfite  khotan^  Halibi  or  Mohamed,  had 
been  taught  in  youth  the  doctrines  of  the  Nestorians 
at  Bostra.  "His  first  and  ruling  idea  was  simply 
religious  reform,"  says  Professor  Draper — "to  over- 
throw Arabian  idolatry  and  put  an  end  to  the  wild 
sectarianism  of  Christianity.  *  *  *  It  was  an  offshoot 
of  Nestorianism  ;  and  not  till  it  had  overthrown  Greek 
Christianity  in  many  great  battles,  was  spreading 
rapidly  over  Asia  and  Africa,  and  had  become  intoxi- 
cated with  its  wonderful  success,  did  it  repudiate  its 
primitive  limited  intentions,  and  assert  itself  to  be 
founded  upon  a  separate  and  distinct  revelation." 

The  founder  of  Islam  earned  an  honorable  place  in 
the  golden  book  of  humanity.  The  new  religious 
movement  of  which  he  was  the  herald,  became  the 
agency  for  the  restoration  of  literature  and  philosophic 
learning  to  the  barbarized  nations.  He  considered 
himself  illiterate,  but  he  prized  knowledge  beyond 
valuation.  "  The  ink  of  the  learned  is  as  precious  as 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs,"  the  Kuran  declares.  For  a 
brief  season,  the  enthusiasm  of  his  disciples  degen- 
erated into  fanaticism,  and  like  contemporary  religious 
propagandists,  they  enforced  conversion  by  war  and 
massacre  ;  but  they  were  early  to  establish  toleration 
and  reinstate  learning.     They  established  an  Empire 


no  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

greater  than  that  of  Alexander  or  the  Caisars,  in  tens 
of  years  where  the  Romans  had  required  hundreds  ; 
and  came  to  Europe — "  they  alone,  while  darkness  lay 
around,  to  raise  up  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of 
Hellas  from  the  dead  ;  to  teach  philosophy,  medicine, 
astronomy  and  the  golden  art  of  song  to  the  West  as 
well  as  the  East ;  to  stand  at  the  cradle  of  modern 
science  and  to  cause  us  like  Epigoni  forever  to  weep 
over  the  day  when  Granada  fell." 

PERSIAN     SCHOOLS. 

The  Nestorians  had  preceded  the  Moslems  in  en- 
thusiasm for  learning  and  the  dissemination  of  their 
doctrines.  Their  university  at  Edessa  was  widely 
celebrated,  and  from  the  School  at  Nisibis  they  had, 
with  a  zeal  like  that  of  the  Buddhist  Asoka,  sent  their 
missionaries  to  promulgate  the  doctrines  of  the  Khal- 
daean  Church  from  Arabia,  Abyssinia  and  Egypt,  to 
India,  China  and  the  mysterious  North.  They  trans- 
lated the  works  of  Aristotle  into  Persian  and  Arabic, 
and  placed  the  writings  of  Pliny,  Galen  and  other 
savants  before  their  students  in  their  own  language. 
They  were  too  noble  for  racial  or  religious  jealousy, 
and  accordingly,  in  connection  with  the  Babylonian 
Jews,  established  the  inedical  college  at  Chondesabur, 
in  the  province  of  Khusistan,  or  Kush,  the  ancient 
Susiana.  This  school  continued  till  the  modern 
period,  and  its  physicians  were  so  widely  distinguished 
that  the  Emperor  at  Constantinople,  Andronikos  III., 
(1322-1338)  sent  for  them  to  treat  him  for  a  tumor  of 
the  spleen.  When  the  first  disciples  of  Mohamed  in 
Arabia  were  threatened  with  persecution,  they  found 
protection  in  Abyssinia,  under  the  Nestorian  King. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  Ill 

About  the  same  time  the  Persians  had  the  dominion 
over  Egypt,  and  learning  accordingly  received  a  tem- 
porary encouragement.  Syrian  scholars  came  to 
Alexandria  to  revise  their  versions  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  preferring  the  Greek  text  as  being 
more  accurate  than  the  Hebrew. 

ARABIAN    LEARNING. 

At  this  period,  Aaron  Ahran,  a  priest  of  that  city, 
was  distinguished  as  a  physician  and  medical  writer 
of  great  ability.  He  was  the  author  of  a  compilation 
entitled  Pandects  of  Medicine,  which  was  translated  into 
Arabic  and  was  the  oldest  work  upon  the  subject  ex- 
tant among  the  Arabs.  He  is  the  first  writer  who 
made  particular  mention  of  the  small-pox. 

For  a  brief  period,  the  fanaticism  of  the  Moslem 
chiefs  impelled  them  to  discourage  learning.  The 
Khalif  Omar  is  said  to  have  commanded  the  burning 
of  the  few  books  that  remained  in  the  library  at  Alex- 
andria. The  greater  number  had  been  removed  and 
destroyed  during  the  reign  of  Theodosios.  The  sub- 
sequent Khalifs,  however,  were  men  of  a  more  liberal 
character.  Ali,  the  cousin  of  the  Prophet,  was  a  lover 
of  learning.  Moawiah,  the  first  of  the  Ommiade 
dynasty  at  Damascus,  whose  father  had  been  Mo- 
hamed's  adversary  at  Mekha,  began  the  new  order  of 
things  with  the  encouraging  of  literature.  From  this 
time,  the  Jews  and  Nestorian  Christians  labored  to- 
gether ;  the  Christians  principally  becoming  teachers 
in  Moslem  families,  and  the  Jews  more  generally  the 
physicians.  The  philosophic  and  medical  works  of 
the  Greek  authors  were  translated  by  them  into  Syriac 
and  Arabic. 


HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 


THE    KHALIFS. 


The  Khalif  Al  Mansur  transferred  his  capitol  to  the 
new  city  of  Baghdad,  which  speedily  became  a  splen- 
did metropolis.  He  gave  much  attention  to  the  pro- 
motion of  the  higher  learning.  He  was  a  liberal 
patron  of  astronomy,  medicine  and  law.  He  founded 
the  university  of  Baghdad,  and  for  centuries  it  was 
among  the  most  eminent  in  all  Moslem  countries. 
Here  chemistry  was  developed  as  a  distinct  branch  of 
knowledge,  with  the  aids  of  the  balance,  the  crucible 
and  distilling  apparatus  ;  and  alchemy,  so  generally 
misunderstood  and  misrepresented,  was  cultivated  as 
a  science  of  evolution.  Public  hospitals  and  labora- 
tories were  established,  and  students  thronged  them 
from  all  countries.  At  one  time  there  were  no  less 
than  six  thousand,  chiefly  Christians  who  had  been 
exiled  for  their  religion. 

THE    GREAT    AL    MAMUN. 

Harun  Al  Rashid  emulated  this  example  of  his 
grandfather,  and  commanded  schools  to  be  opened  in 
every  mosque.  Al  Mamun,  however,  excelled  in  such 
endeavors.  He  made  Baghdad  the  centre  of  learning. 
The  Kuran  was  not  permitted  to  stand  in  the  way. 
Scholars,  he  declared,  were  the  elect  of  God.  His 
energy  in  the  pursuit  and  cultivation  of  secular 
knowledge  led  the  Moslem  doctors  of  divinity  to  brand 
him  as  apostate,  and  denounce  the  judgment  of  God 
upon  him.  They  condemned  him  for  having  inter- 
rupted the  devotions  of  the  faithful,  by  encouraging 
the  teaching  of  atheistic  philosophy.  He  believed  the 
earth  to  be  a  globe,  instead  of  a  plane  as  the  Kuran 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  II3 

represented,  and  had  set  astronomers  and  mathema- 
ticians to  ascertain  its  circumference.  He  had  caused 
Grecian  literature  to  be  introduced  into  Arabian 
schools.  He  founded  libraries,  in  each  of  which  was 
a  department  for  the  copying  of  manuscripts,  transla- 
tion and  the  composing  of  new  works.  Every  teacher 
of  the  higher  grades  was  expected  to  write  a  book. 
The  works  of  Ptolemy,  the  astronomer,  were  trans- 
lated under  the  name  of  Al  Magest.  The  Khalif  Al 
Mamun  was  an  enthusiastic  collector.  Hundreds  of 
camel-loads  of  books  were  imported  by  him,  and  he 
even  negotiated  with  the  Greek  Emperor  for  one  of 
the  libraries  in  Constantinople.  So  abundant  were 
books,  and  so  greatly  prized,  that  a  physician  at  Bagh- 
dad refused  a  tempting  offer  to  remove  to  Bokhara 
because  four  hundred  camels  would  not  suffice  to  carry 
his  library  with  him. 

MEDICAL    AUTHORS. 

Under  these  auspices,  medical  learning  greatly  pros- 
pered. Harun  placed  the  physician  Yahia  ben  Masa- 
iah  (Maswa)  in  charge  of  the  schools  at  the  capitol. 
After  him  Honain  or  Yohanan,  a  Nestorian  Christian, 
became  widely  celebrated  for  his  scholarship  and  in- 
defatigable diligence.  He  translated  the  works  of 
Plato,  Hippokrates,  Aristotle,  Galen,  Alexander,  Pau- 
los  of  ^gina  and  others ;  wrote  commentaries  upon 
them  and  composed  several  original  works.  His  sons, 
Isak  and  David,  were  also  authors  and  translators.  In 
his  writings  we  find  the  first  mention  of  academic  de- 
grees conferred  by  learned  societies.  The  college  of 
medicine  at  Baghdad,  and  others  at  Cairo  and  else- 
where, were  charged  not  only  with  the  instruction  of 


114  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Students,  but  with  their  examination  as  to  fitness  for 
the  practice  of  the  art  of  healing. 

The  methods  in  vogue  at  this  period  appear  to  have 
been  crude  and  often  peculiar.  Astrology  was  gener- 
ally employed  and  remedies  were  selected  in  accord- 
ance with  the  aspect  of  the  sky.  Uroscopy  was  re- 
garded as  an  important  factor  in  diagnosis,  and  the 
physician  carefully  investigated  the  previous  history 
both  of  the  patient  and  his  disease.  The  Thousand  and 
One  Tales  appear  to  have  been  a  fair  representation  of 
the  matter.  The  works  of  Galen  were  generally 
studied  for  information  in  anatomy.  Moslem  legisla- 
tion did  not  permit  dissection.  Surgery  was  also 
limited  ;  and  women  were  the  midwives  and  operators 
for  hernia,  calculus,  malversions  and  other  matters 
pertaining  to  their  own  sex. 

Geber  of  Mesopotamia,  sometimes  called  an  alche- 
mist, developed  several  chemical  and  pharmaceutic 
preparations  that  were  greatly  esteemed.  Among 
these  were  the  mercurial  compounds,  corrosive  subli- 
mate and  red  precipitate,  nitric  acid,  nitromuriatic 
acid,  and  nitrate  of  silver.  Gold,  and  probably  the 
chloride,  was  much  used  by  Arabian  hakhams.  Saber, 
the  head  of  the  school  at  Chondesabur,  compiled  a 
PharmacopcBta,  which  was  published  under  the  authority 
of  the  Government,  and  contained  special  directions 
against  adulteration  and  the  selling  of  medicines  at 
too  high  a  price. 

The  most  celebrated  savant  oi  the  Eastern  Khalifats, 
however,  was  Abu  Bekr  Mohamed  al  Rasi,  or  Razes, 
so  called  from  his  birthplace.  Rages  in  Media.  He 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  principal  hospital  at  Bagh- 
dad, about  the  year  890,  and  became  a  distinguished 
writer  and  medical  authority.     He  compiled  two  great 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  II5 

works,  the  Continent  and  Al  Mansor,  and  he  appears  to 
have  added  several  chemical  preparations  to  the  cate- 
gory of  official  medicines.  Among  these  were  orpi- 
ment,  blue  and  green  vitriol,  and  borax.  He  was  the 
first  to  describe  the  measles  with  distinctness,  and  he 
wrote  ably  upon  small-pox.  He  also  gave  a  descrip- 
tion of  spina  ventosa  and  spina  bifida,  hernia  and  its 
treatment,  and  other  surgical  topics,  borrowing  largely 
from  Hippokrates,  .^tios  and  Paulos  of  ^gina.  For 
cancer  he  advised  against  excision,  unless  the  disease 
was  limited  ;  in  which  case  the  entire  mass  affected 
should  be  removed.  For  bites  of  rabid  animals  he 
prescribed  the  cautery. 

Ali,  a  native  of  Persia,  flourished  in  the  same  cen- 
tury, and  was  sometimes  designated  the  Magus,  be- 
cause of  his  extensive  knowledge  of  medical,  and  what 
was  considered  occult  lore.  He  wrote  a  work  entitled 
The  Royal  Book,  which  appears  to  have  been  a  compend 
or  digest  of  what  was  extant  respecting  anatomy  and 
physiology.  It  was  principally  computed  from  the 
Greek  authors  and  the  works  of  Razes,  and  was  long 
regarded  as  the  standard  authority. 

AVICENNA. 

The  chief  luminary  of  medicine  in  the  East,  how- 
ever, was  Al  Husein  ibn  Sina,  or  Avicenna.  He  was 
born  in  978,  at  the  city  of  Bokhara,  then  also  a  centre 
of  learning.  He  seems  to  have  been  an  omniverous 
scholar,  proficient  in  every  department  of  knowledge, 
and  skillful  in  making  all  that  he  had  learned  his  own. 
Hence  he  became  the  supreme  arbiter  of  medical 
thought,  whom  it  was  temeritous  to  oppose,  or  even 
dispute.     His  great  work,  the    Canon,  was  for  six  cen- 


Il6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

turies  the  basis  of  all  that  was  permitted  to  be  taught 
dogmatically  in  medical  schools.  His  chief  quality, 
however,  appears  to  have  been  one  of  assimilation. 
He  brought  together  the  doctrines  and  discoveries  of 
those  who  had  preceded  him,  and  put  them  forth  in  a 
new  form  as  his  own.  Aristotle  was  the  dominant 
authority  in  Arabian  philosophy,  and  Galen  in  medi- 
cine ;  but  Avicenna  was  equal  to  both.  He  may  have 
lacked  originality,  but  he  had  the  will  and  force  of 
character  to  impress  his  sentiments  on  others  ;  and 
even  at  the  present  day  the  medical  world  has  not  be- 
come emancipated  altogether  from  his  authority. 

LEARNING    EVERYWHERE    PROMOTED. 

The  same  passion  for  literary  culture  which  the 
Khalifs  at  Baghdad  exhibited  was  also  general  in  the 
other  Arabian  dominions.  Colleges  were  established 
in  Mongolia,  Tartary,  Persia,  Mesopotamia,  Syria, 
Egypt,  Northern  Africa,  Morocco,  Fez  and  Spain. 
The  taste  for  science  and  its  reward  was  diffused  from 
Samarkand  and  Bokhara  to  Fez  and  Cordova.  The 
son  of  the  mechanic  was  instructed  as  well  as  the  son 
of  the  nobleman,  and  indigent  scholars  received  an 
allowance,  as  they  still  do  at  the  great  mosque  at 
Cairo.  Nestorians  and  Jews,  as  well  as  Moslem 
savants,  were  made  superintendents  of  these  institu- 
tions. "  The  teachers  of  wisdom  are  the  true  lights 
and  legislators  of  this  world,"  said  the  great  Khalif  Al 
Mamun. 

Meanwhile  the  realm  of  the  Khalifs  became  dis- 
membered by  the  revolts  of  ambitious  Arabian  chief- 
tains, and  by  conquests  of  Northern  barbarians.  The 
dynasty  of  Fatimites,  making  Fatima  the  daughter  of 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  H7 

Mohamed  their  Madonna,  after  the  manner  of  the 
Christians  before  them,  established  a  rival  Khalifat  in 
Egypt,  which  for  a  long  time  afterward  held  Northern 
Africa  and  menaced  the  Southern  countries  of 
Europe. 

Upon  the  overthrow  of  the  Ommiad  family  at 
Damascus,  one  of  the  survivors  made  his  way  to 
Spain,  where  he  succeeded  in  establishing  an  inde- 
pendent dominion.  He  made  Cordova  the  capital,  and 
established  a  university,  which  for  centuries  was  the 
centre  of  learning  in  the  West.  His  successors  con- 
tinued the  same  liberal  policy.  In  the  tenth  century 
Al  Hakham  H.  became  Khalif.  He  was  noted  for  his 
aversion  to  war  and  political  intrigues,  and  for  his 
love  of  literary  culture.  He  established  a  library  of 
four  hundred  thousand  volumes,  superbly  bound  and 
illuminated  ;  and  it  is  recorded  that  he  had  read  and 
annotated  them  all.  He  kept  a  manufactory  of  books, 
with  copyists  and  binders,  in  his  palace.  Learned  men 
of  every  faith  were  welcomed  there  ;  and  Christians 
who  were  afterward  famous  as  scholars  and  ecclesias- 
tics resorted  to  the  schools  of  Cordova,  Seville  and 
Toledo.  Gerbert,  who  became  the  Pontiff  Sylvester 
n.  and  proclaimed  the  Crusade  before  Peter  the  Her- 
mit, had  been  a  student  of  literature  and  Moslem 
learning  at  Cordova.  He  may  have  deprecated  the 
revolution  that  had  occurred  in  the  Khalifat,  or  he 
may  have  desired  to  screen  himself  from  the  imputa- 
tion of  being  a  student  of  magic  and  occult  learning. 

The  hajib  or  mayor  of  the  palace,  Mohamed  ibn  Amir, 
seized  the  supreme  power  and  held  it  till  the  expira- 
tion of  the  century.  Placing  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  orthodox  party,  he  caused  all  books  on  philosophy, 
astral  science  and  occult  learning  to  be  removed  from 


Il8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  library  and  burned.  He,  nevertheless,  continued 
to  be  a  patron  of  learning.  Under  his  descendants  the 
country  was  divided  into  several  monarchies,  all  of 
them  Moorish  and  Berber,  rather  than  Arabian. 

ABULKASIM. 

When  governments  are  unsettled,  and  men  of  merit 
hold  aloof  from  active  participation,  many  turn  atten- 
tion to  philosophic  and  literary  pursuits.  This  was 
the  case  in  the  countries  that  had  been  included  in 
Andalusia.  Medical  knowledge  was  theurgic,  and 
surgery  languished.  Finally,  in  the  latter  years  of 
the  eleventh  century,  Abu  al  Kassim,  or  Abulkasim 
became  distinguished  as  a  teacher  and  a  writer  upon 
surgery.  He  found  the  art  in  a  deplorable  condition, 
and  set  about  to  improve  it.  He  described  various 
surgical  operations  and  the  instruments  used  ;  and  he 
also  prepared  a  manual  for  surgeons  of  the  female  sex 
having  occasion  to  practice  lithotomy.  He  also  in- 
vented several  instruments  ;  among  them  a  probang 
to  dislodge  bodies  from  the  throat  ;  an  instrument  for 
the  treatment  of  lacrymal  fistula,  and  a  needle  for 
operations  for  cataract.  He  explained  an  operation 
for  hydrocephalus,  the  method  of  ligation  of  tumors, 
amputation  of  the  limbs  for  gangrene,  excision  of  the 
tonsils,  and  tracheotomy.  He  mentions  also  several 
diseases,  which  some  have  imagined  to  have  been  first 
observed  at  a  later  period. 

AVENZOAR. 

Forty  years  afterward,  Abu  Mervan  ibn  Zohar,  or 
Avenzoar,  became  famous  at  Seville.     He  appears  to 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES,  II9 

have  made  use  of  his  own  bodily  disorders  as  a  basis 
for  observations.  He  had  suffered  from  inflammation 
of  the  mediastinum,  terminating  in  abscess,  and  wrote 
extensively  upon  the  disease,  as  well  as  upon  inflam- 
mation, dropsy  and  empyema  of  the  pericardium.  He 
exhibited  the  genuine  Moslem  abhorrence  of  surgery 
in  sexual  diseases,  denoiincing  lithotomy,  and  even  a 
look  upon  that  region  of  the  body  as  an  indecency. 
He  gave  descriptions  of  abscess  of  the  liver,  rupture, 
fracture  of  the  hip-bone,  wounds  of  the  veins  and 
arteries,  tumors  and  other  surgical  diseases,  with  the 
appropriate  treatment  in  each  case.  He  prescribed 
rectal  injections  and  baths  of  milk  and  other  nutritious 
substances,  in  cases  of  stricture  of  the  oesophagus. 

PHILOSOPHIC    PHYSICIANS. 

Philosophy  and  "  magic,"  as  has  been  elsewhere  re- 
marked, were  taught  with  medicine  and  other  arts  at 
the  Arabian  schools.  The  former  was  the  educing  of 
causes  and  origins,  thus  accounting  for  the  manifes- 
tation and  results,  which  are  so  commonly  exalted  by 
the  designation  of  science.  Magic,  as  defined  by  the 
Grecian  philosopher,  Proklos,  formed  the  last  or  low- 
est department  of  sacerdotal  knowledge.  It  comprises 
the  investigation  of  everything  sublunary,  its  nature, 
power  and  quality.  In  this  scope  are  embraced  the 
elementary  substances  and  their  constituents,  animals, 
plants  and  their  products,  stones  and  herbs — in  short, 
the  power  and  essence  of  everything.  **  There  is  a 
lamentable  departure  from  Divinity  in  man,"  says  this 
philosopher,  **  when  nothing  worthy  of  heaven  or 
celestial  concerns  is  heard  or  believed,  and  when 
every  divine  voice  is  by  a  necessary  silence,  dumb." 


I20  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Abu  Bekr  ibn  Tophail,  born  in  Spain  in  iioo,  and 
dying  in  exile  in  Morocco  in  1186,  was  one  of  the  pro- 
foundest  thinkers  of  the  time,  and  exercised  a  wide 
influence.  He  was  alike  versed  in  medicine,  mathe- 
matical science  and  philosophy.  He  appears  to  have 
been  a  Platonist  rather  than  an  Aristotelian,  and  his 
writings  centre  accordingly  upon  the  dialectic  of  the 
Akademeia.  The  world  of  sense,  he  declared,  was 
only  the  shadow  and  reflection  of  the  world  of  intelli- 
gence. "  Man,  considering  the  number  of  his  organs 
and  the  variety  of  their  function,  would  seem  to  be  a 
compound  being  ;  but  in  looking  again  at  the  secret 
tie  which  unites  all  these  organs,  and  their  principle 
of  action,  he  is  seen  to  be  truly  but  an  individual  ex- 
istence. This  unity  is  evolved  from  the  unity  of  the 
vital  principle." 

Abu  Bekr  ibn  Yahia,  or  Ibn-Badja  (son  of  solitude), 
a  native  of  Zaragosa,  also  flourished  in  the  eleventh 
century.  He  studied  medicine  and  the  liberal  sciences; 
and  afterward  became  the  author  of  several  works 
upon  physic,  mathematics,  and  philosophy,  among  the 
latter  a  commentary  upon  the  writings  of  Aristotle. 
He  was  destined,  however,  to  encounter  the  fanati- 
cism of  his  age.  Ibn  Khakan,  a  contemporary  writer 
in  Andalusia,  denounced  him  as  a  destroyer  of  religion, 
and  an  affliction  to  true  believers,  in  that  he  occupied 
himself  with  vain  studies,  such  as  philosophy,  mathe- 
matical knowledge,  the  celestial  bodies,  and  variations 
of  climate,  to  the  neglect  of  the  Kuran  and  orthodox 
Moslem  doctrine.  Like  other  sages  of  that  time,  he 
was  finally  compelled  to  leave  his  native  country  and 
make  his  residence  in  the  province  of  Fez,  where  he 
died  in  1138. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  121 

AVERROES    AND    MAIMONIDES. 

The  most  celebrated  student  of  Avenzohar  was  Abu 
Waled  ibn  Rashid,  of  Cordova,  better  known  as  Aver- 
roes.  He  was  the  author  of  several  medical  works, 
which  are  still  preserved  in  Latin  ;  but  his  chief  dis- 
tinction was  won  in  philosophic  speculation,  to  which 
he  devoted  himself  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  He 
wrote  a  commentary  upon  the  works  of  Aristotle,  in 
which  he  embodied  a  theosophy  like  that  of  India,  the 
dogmas  of  Erigena  and  others  setting  forth  the  doc- 
trine of  emanation  and  the  return  of  the  soul  to 
divinity.  It  is  the  fashion  now  to  criticise  and  speak 
depreciatingly  of  the  teachings  of  this  writer,  but  at 
that  time  they  were  adopted  over  all  Europe,  by 
schoolmen,  ecclesiastics,  and  thinking  men  in  all  walks 
of  life. 

The  greatest  luminary  of  Cordova,  however,  was  the 
famous  Maimonides,  the  Rabbonu  Mosa  ben  Maimun. 
Believing,  like  a  conscientious  rabbi,  that  it  was  a  sin 
to  make  use  of  religious  knowledge  as  a  craft  by  which 
to  obtain  a  livelihood,  he  adopted  the  calling  of  a  phy- 
sician. He  was  the  author  of  several  medical  works 
of  much  merit,  and  at  a  later  period  became  the  court 
physician  to  the  famous  Sultan  of  Egypt,  Saladin, 
holding  till  his  death  in  December,  1204.  Despite  his 
superior  excellence  in  this  profession,  however,  it  was 
cast  into  the  shade  by  his  labors  and  attainments  in 
philosophy  and  Hebrew  theology.  He  was  praised 
both  in  the  East  and  West,  as  the  Great  Sage  and 
Teacher,  second  only  to  Moses.  Perhaps  the  charac- 
teristic of  his  expositions  of  most  interest  to  non- 
Hebrews  is  his  interpretation  of  the  Pentateuch  and 
other  parts  of  the  Bible  as  symbolic   and   allegoric 


122  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

narrative,  rather  than  literal  history.  In  philosophic 
dogma,  he  followed  Aristotle  and  the  explanations  of 
Averroes. 

A  consensus  of  religious  belief  appears  to  have  been 
gaining  ground  at  this  period  in  the  higher  walks  of 
life.  Learned  men  have  been  described  as  having  the 
same  belief,  and  never  telling  what  it  is.  At  any  rate, 
they  are  generally  characterized  by  catholicity  of 
thought  and  feeling  ;  while  the  half-taught  are  prone 
to  display  a  violent  partisanship.  It  is  so  in  medical 
circles,  and  the  history  of  religion  is  similar.  In  the 
twelfth  century  there  seems  to  have  been  a  remarkable 
approximating  of  religious  and  philosophic  beliefs. 
The  Arabian  speculative  reasoners  were  of  the  school 
of  Averroes  ;  leading  minds  among  the  Jews  enter- 
tained formally  the  doctrines  of  Maimonides,  and  in 
European  Christendom  they  were  current  among  the 
learned.  The  Franciscans  regarded  them  with  ap- 
proval, and  doctors  in  the  universities  of  Paris, 
Bologna,  and  Germany  taught  them  to  their  thousands 
of  pupils.  It  has  even  been  affirmed  that  Henry  II,  of 
England  actually  proposed  to  adopt  the  Moslem  re- 
ligion ;  that  his  son,  Richard  I.,  when  engaged  in  the 
Crusades,  held  intimate  relations  with  Mohamedan 
princes  ;  and  that  King  John  sent  an  ambassador  to 
the  Almohade  ruler  of  Spain  and  Morocco,  offering  to 
make  Islam  the  court  religion  of  England.  Similar 
allegations  were  made  respecting  Emperors  of  Ger- 
many and  princes  in  France  and  Italy.  Men  had  be- 
gun to  doubt  whether  all  sanctity  was  circumscribed 
between  Mount  Lebanon,  the  Desert  and  the  Sea.  In- 
deed, an  inscription  on  the  pontifical  chair,  at  the 
Vatican,  disclosed  in  1662,  represented  the  Labors  of 
Hercules,  an  heir-loom  of  the  Republic  and  first  Caesar; 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  1 23 

and  again  in  1795,  when  the  French  under  Bonaparte 
occupied  Rome,  another  examination  revealed  to  view 
the  Moslem  creed  inscribed  on  the  seat :  "  There  is 
no  God  but  Allah,  and  Mohamed  is  his  Apostle."  It 
is  by  no  means  improbable  that  some  amalgamation  of 
religious  faiths  was  once  contemplated. 

A    REVULSION    OF    FEELING. 

Eras  of  good  feeling  are  generally  succeeded  by  a 
crisis  and  revulsion  to  the  opposite  extreme.  The 
ulemas  and  commonalty  in  the  Moslem  countries  had 
been  bitterly  averse  to  the  liberal  sentiments  of  the 
princes  and  savants.  The  great  Khalif,  Al  Mamun, 
was  decried  as  a  wicked  perverter  of  the  true  doc- 
trine, and  the  teachings  of  the  philosophers  were  de- 
nounced in  the  mosques  as  tending  to  remove  the 
distinctions  between  orthodox  and  dissenters,  and  to 
take  away  the  hope  of  heaven  or  the  fear  of  hell  as  in- 
centives for  good  conduct.  Military  leaders  arose  to 
enforce  the  orthodox  dogmas.  Nur  ed  Din,  of  Irak, 
led  the  Atabeks  to  exterminate  philosophers  and  here- 
tic Moslems  in  the  countries  of  Asia.  His  favorite 
general,  the  Kurd  Saladin,  carried  the  war  into  Syria 
and  Egypt,  overturning  the  Khalifat  at  Cairo,  and 
planting  in  its  place  the  Turkish  dominion. 

There  were  corresponding  changes  in  the  Andalu- 
sian,  now  Moorish  provinces  of  Spain.  The  monarch 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  orthodox  party  and 
prohibited  the  lectures  of  the  philosophers.  Many 
were  banished  or  imprisoned,  and  several  put  to  death. 
Averroes  himself  went  into  exile,  dying  in  1 198.  The 
libraries  were  ransacked  and  all  books  not  approved 
by  the  censors  were  destroyed.  The  Jews  participated 
in  the  revolution.     The  works   of  Maimonides   were 


124  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

burned  in  their  congregations  at  Montpellier,  Toledo 
and  Barcelona.  The  new  ascetic  order  of  Dominicans 
began  a  similar  proscription  in  Christendom.  A 
heated  controversy  took  place  in  the  principal  cities 
and  centres  of  learning ;  and  at  the  South  of  France 
where  were  numerous  sectaries,  Jews,  Albigeois  hav- 
ing a  Pontiff  of  their  own,  and  others,  there  was  pro- 
claimed a  crusade  and  war  of  extermination.  The 
region  was  converted  by  war  and  massacre.  The 
orthodox,  who,  like  Innocent  III.,  seriously  doubted 
the  dogmas  of  the  Church,  were  cruel  and  murderous 
to  those  who  manfully  avowed  their  disbelief.  The 
policy  was  commended  and  put  in  force  to  avoid  all 
argument  with  dissenters,  but  to  put  them  to  death, 
as  though  to  strengthen  faith  by  cruelty  and  intoler- 
ance. In  countries  where  the  authority  of  the  Church 
overrode  that  of  the  political  rulers,  the  Dominicans 
were  empowered  to  establish  the  Inquisition  as  a 
tribunal  to  uproot  all  heretical  doctrines. 

Thus  the  Turks  and  Mongol  barbarians  of  the  East, 
and  the  powers  of  Christendom  acted  in  harmony  for 
the  overthrow  of  liberal  learning  and  religious  dissent. 
"  The  daylight  of  science  went  down  over  the  nations, 
and  an  intellectual  darkness,  which  endured  for  three 
hundred  years,  enveloped  the  general  face  of  society. 
All  the  fountains  of  science  were  dried  up,  and  the 
world  seemed  retrograding  into  the  unillumined  chaos 
of  ignorance." 

These  were  indeed  the  Dark  Ages. 

TRIBUTE    TO    ARABIAN    MEDICINE. 

It  may  be  well  to  survey  briefly  the  field  in  which 
the  teachers  of  those  former  centuries  had  labored. 
Modern  writers  do  not  usually  give  much  credit  for 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  1 25 

originality  or  profoundity  of  research  to  Arabian 
writers  and  practitioners.  "  A  small  number  of  dis- 
coveries in  Materia  Medica»  or  isolated  observations," 
Professor  Dunglison  declares,  "were  the  only  ad- 
vancements which  they  made  in  the  science.  Anatomy 
continued  in  the  same  state  in  which  the  Greeks  had 
left  it.  The  theory  of  medicine  was  filled  by  them 
with  numerous  subtilities,  but  no  important  acquisi- 
tion was  gained.  As  for  surgery,  they  had  no  learned 
author  upon  the  subject,  except  Abulkasim.  Chem- 
istry, and  Materia  Medica,  in  short,  were  the  only  two 
branches  of  medicine  which  were  improved  by  them." 
Doubtless  this  sweeping  criticism  includes  the  Ju- 
daean  and  other  physicians  belonging  to  the  same 
period  and  category.  It  does  not,  however,  appear 
candid,  generous,  or  essentially  fair  and  just.  The 
writer  appears  hardly  free  from  a  proclivity  to  under- 
rate and  represent  with  partiality  those  who  are  not 
in  strict  accordance  with  him.  He  has  not  given  the 
Arabian  savants  full  credit  for  their  work  as  conserva- 
tors of  such  knowledge  as  was  worth  preserving,  and 
for  adding  to  it  such  contributions  as  they  were  able. 
They  first  differenced  the  pursuit  of  medicine  into 
physic,  surgery  and  pharmacy,  thus  opening  the  way 
for  a  broader  and  more  thorough  conception  of  the  art. 
In  making  the  preparation  of  medicines  and  chemicals 
a  department  by  itself,  they  enabled  explorers  into 
that  field  to  arrive  at  discoveries  which  have  facili- 
tated the  investigations  of  later  centuries.  They  also 
invented  many  surgical  instruments  ;  "attaching  too 
much  importance,"  as  Macdonald  remarks,  "  to  the 
mechanical  part  ot  their  profession."  This  criticism, 
perhaps,  is  just.  Even  at  the  present  time  too  much 
consideration  is    given  to    operative   surgery.     Mere 


126  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

dexterity  in  this  way  is  not  an  infallible  or  sufficient 
evidence  of  skill.  The  physician,  who  by  application 
of  the  principles  of  his  art,  can  prevent  the  mutilation 
of  the  human  frame,  is  entitled  to  the  higher  position 
in  the  ranks  of  the  profession. 

The  deplorable  fact  is,  however,  as  Professor  Dungli- 
son  sets  forth,  that  ''while  medical  instruction  flour- 
ished in  the  countries  subject  to  the  Moorish  princes, 
and  especially  in  Spain,  ignorance  possessed  the 
Christian  States  of  the  West."  Hence  it  was,  that 
when  the  rulers  of  Granada  and  other  Moslem  coun- 
tries interdicted  philosophic  teaching,  and  placed 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  literary  culture,  medical 
knowledge  went  likewise  into  the  penumbra  of  the 
eclipse. 

The  former  accompaniments  of  theurgy  and  astrol- 
ogy continued  to  be  incorporated  with  medicine  and 
Aristotelian  philosophy,  as  part  of  the  necessary  learn- 
ing of  the  physician.  Arnold  of  Villa  Nova,  a  dis- 
ciple of  Raymond  Lulli,  and  a  professor  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Barcelona,  was  a  zealous  teacher  of  occult 
learning.  He  was  also  an  expert  chemist  as  well  as 
alchemist,  and  introduced  tinctures  into  professional 
use. 

Pedro  Juliani,  a  Spanish  author,  also  belonged  to  the 
Arabian  school.  He  compiled  several  books,  both 
physiological  and  practical,  following  the  Greek  and 
Arabian  writers,  and  rather  simplifying  their  dogmas 
than  departing  from  them.  He  afterward  became 
Pontiff  at  Rome,  adopting,  as  was  the  usage  of  ancient 
Egyptian  kings,  the  name  of  John  XX.  or  XXI. 

The  most  famous  of  the  later  physicians  of  this 
school  was  Bernard  de  Gordon.  His  name  suggests  a 
Scotch  origin,  but  we  have  no  evidence  that  he  was 


MEDICINE    In    the    MIDDLE    AGES.  I27 

not  of  Gipsy  parentage — acquiring  the  designation  by- 
accident.  He  was  a  professor  at  Montpellier  in  the 
early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  wrote  a  work 
entitled  Lilium  Medicince,  which  displayed  great  learn- 
ing and  a  considerable  degree  of  merit.  It  possessed 
the  spiritualistic  and  astrologic  features  peculiar  to 
the  practice  of  the  time. 

A  Portuguese  writer,  Valesca  de  Taranta,  also 
figured  at  Montpellier  about  the  same  period.  He  is 
chiefly  distinguished  for  the  employing  of  arsenic  as 
a  local  application  for  cancer.  Another  teacher  at  the 
same  university  was  Henri  de  Mondeville.  He  was 
noted  for  his  skill  in  surgery,  but  more  than  all  by 
having  been  the  preceptor  of  Guy  de  Chauliac,  the 
most  famous  writer  on  surgery  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. "The  Chirurgie  of  the  latter,"  says  Dr.  Charles 
Creighton,  of  London,  "bears  the  date  of  1363,  and 
marks  the  advance  in  precision  which  the  revival  of 
anatomy  by  Mondino  had  made  possible."  He  had 
studied  at  Montpellier  and  Bologna,  after  which  he 
practiced  medicine  and  surgery  at  Lyons.  It  was  at 
the  period  of  the  "  Seventy  Years'  Captivity"  when 
the  Roman  Pontiffs  had  their  court  at  Avignon.  Re- 
moving thither  he  officiated  as  physician  to  three  of 
them  in  succession,  besides  gaining  reputation  as  a 
reviver  of  the  art  of  surgery.  His  great  work,  entitled 
Inventoriii7n,  sive  Collectoriufu  partis  Chirurgicalis  Medicincc 
(a  list  or  recapitulation  of  the  Surgical  Department  of 
the  Medical  Art)  was  an  accurate  statement  of  surgi- 
cal practice  as  it  then  existed.  Fallopius  ascribes  to 
him  the  same  rank  in  surgery  as  was  given  to  Hippo- 
krates  in  medicine.  Haller  describes  his  work  with 
high  praise.  Having  read  all  works  written  up  to  his 
time  on  that  important  branch  of  medicine,  he  care- 


laS  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

fully  exposed  the  divers  opinions  of  authors,  and  duly 
appreciated  each;  so  that  his  work  may  be  regarded  as 
an  excellent  historical  sketch  of  surgery  up  to  his  time. 

This  work  became  the  basis  of  surgical  instruction, 
going  along  with  Mondino's  celebrated  treatise  on 
anatomy,  all  over  Europe.  It  is  said  in  the  author's 
commendation,  that  he  had  himself  performed  almost 
all  the  operations  which  he  described.  Among  other 
original  matters,  he  gives  the  first  mention  which  we 
have  of  the  Caesarian  section. 

At  this  period  there  were  five  varieties  of  chirur- 
gists,  namely:  those  applying  cataplasms  to  all  kinds  of 
injuries  and  diseases ;  those  who  only  used  wine  in 
such  cases  ;  those  employing  emollient  ointments  and 
plasters,  going  no  further  ;  those  making  use  of  oil, 
wool,  potions  and  charms  ;  and  lastly,  "  ignorant  prac- 
titioners and  silly  old  women,  who  had  recourse  upon 
all  occasions  to  the  saints,  praised  each  other's  writings 
perpetually,  and  followed  each  other  in  one  undevi- 
ating  track  like  cranes." 

Chauliac  ascribed  the  cause  of  the  "  Black  Death" 
then  prevailing  to  "the  astral  influence  of  the  three 
great  planets,  Saturn,  Jupiter  and  Mars,  entering  int  j 
conjunction  in  the  sign  Aquarius  on  the  24th  of  March, 
1345."  This,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  period 
when  that  most  dreadful  pestilence  had  set  out  on  its 
ravages,  almost  totally  depopulating  many  districts  in 
Europe  and  carrying  off  a  third  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  earth. 

THE    HEALING    ART    OF    EARLIER    CHRISTENDOM. 

During  the  earlier  centuries  of  the  present  era  the 
care  and  treatment  of  the  sick  were  committed  to 
monks,   priests  and   individuals  of  reputed   spiritual 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  129 

powers.  Among  the  agents  employed  were  prayers, 
inunctions,  amulets,  sacred  relics,  and  what  we  de- 
nominate faith-cure  and  mind-cure.  Philosophers  and 
Christian  teachers  alike  commended  these  methods. 
"Prayer  calls  to  our  hand  the  gifts  sent  down  from 
God,"  says  lamblichos.  "  Is  any  sick  among  you  ?" 
demands  the  Hebrew  Apostle  James — "Then  let  him 
call  to  his  aid  the  elders  of  the  assembly  and  let  them 
pray  for  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  ;  and  the  prayers 
of  the  faithful  shall  heal  the  sufferer."  The  use  of 
amulets  is  world-wide  to  the  present  day,  and  they 
were  employed  alike  by  Christians,  Gnostics,  Greeks, 
Egyptians  and  Romans  ;  and  the  esteem  for  relics  of 
saints,  with  confidence  in  their  virtue,  was  shared  with 
the  Eastern  Buddhists.  The  resort  to  medicines  and 
physicians  was  regarded  as  worldly  prudence,  if  not 
as  unbelief  outright.  The  ministration  of  persons  en- 
dowed with  specific  healing  power  was  sought  instead, 
and  exorcisms  were  employed  ;  so  that  all  recoveries 
were  esteemed  as  special  divine  interposition.  In  this 
way  the  charge  of  the  sick  continued  for  a  long  period 
in  the  hands  of  religious  men  exclusively.  When 
orders  of  monks  were  instituted,  the  Benedictines  be- 
came the  principal  surgeons  and  therapeutists. 

THE    ROYAL    TOUCH. 

This  belief  was  supplemented  by  the  notion  that 
kings  when  inaugurated  under  sacred  auspices,  had 
also  the  power  of  healing  by  the  imposition  of  hands. 
French  writers  insist  that  this  rite  was  first  practiced 
in  their  country.  "  Philippe  I.,  Louis  le  Gros  and 
Louis  VII.,  touched  for  the  King's  Evil,'"  says  Michelet. 
"The  kings  of  England  would  not  have  dreamed  of 


TJO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

claiming  the  gift  of  performing  miracles."  Guibert 
adds  the  information  :  "  The  kings  of  England  did  not 
arrogate  the  gift  until  they  had  assumed  the  title  and 
arms  of  kings  of  France."  This  may  have  been  true 
in  the  case  of  the  late  Plantagenets,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, but  the  example  of  the  earlier  Saxon  monarch, 
Edward  the  Confessor,  in  the  forepart  of  the  eleventh 
century  antedates  them  all. 

Doctor :  "  Ay,  sir  ;  there  are  a  crew  of  wretched  souls 

That  stay  his  cure  :  their  malady  convinces 

The  great  assay  of  art ;  but  at  his  touch, 

Such  sanctity  hath  heaven  given  his  hand. 

They  presently  amend. 

Malcolm  :  I  thank  you,  doctor. 

Macduff :  What's  the  disease  he  means  ? 

Malcohn  :  'Tis  called  the  £v!'l  : 

A  most  miraculous  work  in  this  good  king  : 

Which  often,  since  my  hereremain  in  England, 

I  have  seen  him  do.     How  he  solicits  heaven, 

Himself  best  knows  :  but  strangely-visited  people, 

All  swollen  and  ulcerous,  pitiful  to  the  eye. 

The  mere  despair  of  surgery,  he  cures — 

Hanging  a  golden  stamp  about  their  necks. 

Put  on  with  holy  prayers  ;  and  'tis  spoken, 

To  the  succeeding  royalty  he  leaves 

The  healing  benediction." 

The  practice,  however,  was  even  older  than  the 
Saxon  kings  of  England.  It  was  employed  by  the 
Druidic  priesthood  and  by  the  Skandinavian  kings 
beyond  the  North  Sea,  before  an  English  or  Conti- 
nental monarch  presumed  to  employ  it. 

In  later  periods,  it  was  observed  that  English  kings, 
not  becoming  such  by  direct  hereditary  descent  or  the 
fiction  of  divine  right,  Protestant  as  well  as  any  other, 
were  as  good  as  any  to  heal  by  their  hands.  Presently 
the  practice  fell  into  disuse.     Indeed,  the   tables  seem 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  I3I 

to  have  been  turned  ;  the  monarchs  of  Europe,  instead 
of  curing  king's  evil  are  now  themselves  very  gener- 
ally afflicted  with  it. 

RELICS    FOR    THE    CURE    OF    SMALL-POX. 

The  frequent  recurring  of  pestilence,  with  sweeping 
mortality,  appears  to  have  been  a  mighty  agency  to 
produce  disbelief  in  the  power  of  the  clergy  and  sacred 
relics  to  ward  off  or  heal  disease.  From  987  to  1060 
there  were  no  less  than  forty-eight  deadly  visitations 
of  epidemic.  About  the  year  1000,  when  Europe  was 
in  terror  from  the  expectation  of  the  Day  of  Judgment 
and  end  of  the  world,  the  calamities  were  dreadful. 
The  very  order  of  the  seasons  seemed  to  have  been 
inverted,  and  new  laws  imposed  upon  the  elements. 
"A  dreadful  pestilence  made  Aquitaine  a  desert,"  says 
Michelet  :  "  The  flesh  of  those  who  were  seized  by  it 
was  as  if  struck  by  fire,  and  it  fell  rotting  from  their 
bones.  The  high  roads  to  the  places  of  pilgrimage 
were  thronged  by  these  wretched  beings.  They  be- 
sieged the  churches,  particularly  that  of  St.  Martin's 
at  Limoges,  and  crowded  its  portals  to  suffocation,  un- 
deterred by  the  stench  around  it.  Most  of  the  bishops 
of  the  South  repaired  thither,  bringing  with  them  the 
relics  of  their  respective  churches.  The  crowd  in- 
creased, and  so  did  the  pestilence  ;  and  the  sufferers 
breathed  their  last  on  the  relics  of  the  saints." 

RELIGIOUS    REVOLUTIONS. 

During  the  next  few  years,  worse  evils  followed,  al- 
most too  horrible  for  description.  All  Europe  and  the 
East  were  scourged  by  famine  and  mortality.     The 


132  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

strong  preyed  upon  the  flesh  of  the  weak,  children 
were  decoyed  away  and  slain  for  food,  and  the  very 
wolves  neglecting  the  corpses  of  the  dead,  appeased 
their  hunger  upon  the  bodies  cf  the  living. 

Men  abandoned  their  sins  and  sought  shelter  under 
the  shadow  of  religion.  The  brigands  that  thronged 
the  various  countries  resolved  upon  amendment  of 
life,  promising  solemnly  at  the  confessional  to  abstain 
from  the  plundering  of  travellers  when  these  were 
journeying  under  the  protection  of  priests  or  monks. 
Tne  rich,  desirous  to  expiate  their  sins  and  easement, 
built  costly  church-structures  ;  kings  and  dukes  were 
eager  to  abandon  their  thrones  and  seek  repose  in 
cloisters.  Lands,  houses  and  slaves  were  bestowed 
upon  the  Church,  and  often  to  the  credit  of  the  peni- 
tents the  latter  were  set  free.  The  new  Roman  Pon- 
tiff, Gerbert,  now  Sylvester  II.,  had  been  a  student  of 
profane  learning  at  Barcelona,  and  as  was  affirmed,  of 
mathematics  and  occult  literature  at  the  university  of 
Cordova.  Many  esteemed  him  a  magician,  and  hated 
him  for  his  great  attachment  to  the  German  Emperor, 
Otho  III.,  who  had  been  his  pupil.  He  now  insisted 
upon  a  crusade,  a  century  before  the  rise  of  Peter  the 
Hermit. 

The  world  had  been  full  of  disorder.  The  Emperor 
had  interposed  his  authority  at  Rome,  taking  from  its 
Senate  and  people  the  power  to  elect  the  Pontiff,  and 
exercising  it  himself.  It  was  not  so,  however,  for  a 
long  period.  The  Church,  as  denoted  by  its  rulers 
and  to  the  exclusion  of  the  commonalty,  became  in- 
carnate, created  anew,  and  the  umpire  of  Christendom 
in  the  person  of  the  carpenter's  son. 

This  was  Hildebrand,  the  son  of  the  flame,  the 
Christian  Bacchus,  a  Benedictine  monk  from  Clugny 


MtDlCINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  IJj 

ill  Burgundy.  For  twenty  years  he  had  ruled  as 
chancellor  in  the  Roman  councils  as  the  adviser  of 
Pontiffs  and  Senators,  the  power  behind  the  Episcopal 
throne.  He  was  able  to  procure  the  absolute  prohibi- 
tion of  marriage  among  the  clergy,  the  vesting  of  the 
elections  of  the  Roman  bishop  in  the  College  of  Car- 
dinals, and  what  was  more,  the  supremacy  of  the 
ecclesiastical  authority  over  the  Imperial,  and  so 
eventually  over  Christendom  itself. 

MEDICINE     MADE    A    DISTINCT    VOCATION. 

After  this  period  the  purpose  sprung  up  to  dissever 
the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  from  the  re- 
ligious profession.  The  bishops  and  arch-deacons, 
were  forbidden  in  the  next  century,  to  prescribe  for 
the  sick  ;  but  the  lower  clergy  were  only  restricted 
from  surgery.  Up  to  this  time,  and  afterward.  Chris- 
tian physicians  were  celibates,  and  only  unmarried 
men  were  permitted  to  engage  in  practice.  It  was  ac- 
cordingly not  an  easy  task  to  separate  the  two  pro- 
fessions. It  required  a  century  of  councils,  and  even 
threats  and  disabling  censures.  Many  notable  eccle- 
siastics were  eminent  as  practitioners.  Thieddig,  of 
Prague,  who  had  studied  at  the  university  of  Salerno, 
was  physician  to  the  King  of  Bohemia  ;  Hugo,  an 
abbe  of  St.  Denis,  was  medical  adviser  to  the  King  of 
France,  and  others  were  equally  distinguished.  As 
late  as  the  fifteenth  century,  John  Arundale,  after- 
ward bishop  of  Colchester  in  England,  was  physician 
to  Henry  VI.;  and  other  monarchs  employed  the 
medical  services  of  abbots.  The  famous  Peter  Abelard 
taught  medicine  and  allowed  the  nuns  in  his  convent 
to  practice  surgery.     Hildegard,    of   the    convent  at 


134  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Rupertsburg,  was  one  of  the  number.  She  was  widel)- 
known  and  honored,  and  for  her  medical  services,  her 
revelations  and  miracles,  she  was  canonized  as  a  saint. 
She  prepared  a  Materia  Medica  of  decidedly  original 
character,  directing,  among  other  things,  the  use  of 
common  fern  for  persons  bewitched,  herring  for  the 
itch,  and  water-mint  for  asthma.  Considering  the  age^ 
and  the  notions  of  medicine  then  current,  she  was  a 
physician  of  superior  merit. 

THE    MEDICAL    SCHOOL    AT    SAT.ERNO. 

"  The  first  medical  college  established  in  Europe," 
says  Professor  J.  W.  Draper,  "  was  that  founded  by  the 
Saracens  at  Salerno,  in  Italy."  Other  writers,  how- 
ever, with  plausible  reason,  assign  to  it  another  origin. 
Dunglison  gives  the  credit  to  the  monks.  "  Medicine 
assumed  a  more  imposing  attitude,"  says  he,  "when 
the  Benedictine  monks  turned  a  more  particular  atten- 
tion to  it,  and  established  two  celebrated  schools — the 
one  at  Monte-Cassino,  the  other  at  Salernum."  Bill- 
roth conjectures  that  the  institution  at  Salerno  was 
founded  under  the  authority  of  the  Emperor  Charle- 
magne in  802  ;  but  Dunglison  seems  to  give  it  an 
earlier  date,  declaring  that  it  was  already  celebrated 
in  the  eighth  century,  as  regarded  the  healing  art. 
This  appears  to  be  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  city 
was  the  seat  of  a  Benedictine  monastery  in  the  seventh 
century, and  that  some  of  the  prelates  and  higher  clergy 
were  distinguished  by  learning  and  medical  acquire- 
ments. In  984  Adalberon,  bishop  of  Verona,  repaired 
thither  for  remedial  treatment,  but  not  to  any  consider- 
able advantage.  "At  that  period,"  says  Dunglison, 
"  they  endeavored  to  cure  the  sick  by  prayer  only." 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  I35 

The  Saracens  from  Sicily  and  Spain  held  parts  of 
Southern  Italy  ;  and  being  the  chief,  almost  the  only 
promoters  of  learning  in  the  world,  their  influence  at 
Salerno  was  decisive.  "  It  has  by  recent  researches 
been  clearly  established,"  says  J.  F.  Payne,  of  London, 
"that  the  celebrated  Schola  Salernatitia  was  a  purely 
secular  institution.  All  that  can  be  said  with  certaintj' 
is  that  a  school  or  collection  of  schools  gradually  grew 
up  in  which,  especially  medicine,  but  also,  in  a  subor- 
dinate degree,  law  and  philosophy  were  taught."  A 
school  established  by  the  Saracens  would  be  very  sure 
to  be  of  such  a  description. 

In  the  ninth  century,  the  physicians  of  Salerno  had 
become  distinguished,  and  the  city  was  often  called 
Civitas  Hippocratica.  Many  august  and  royal  persons 
resorted  thither  in  the  next  century  for  the  restora- 
tion of  health.  William  of  Normandy  was  a  patient, 
some  years  before  his  invasion  of  England.  The  cru- 
saders, after  making  it  their  sanatorium,  helped  bring 
it  into  notice.  The  students  in  attendance  were 
numerous,  and  no  distinction  was  made  in  regard  to 
race,  religion,  or  even  sex.  The  wives,  daughters  and 
other  disciples  of  the  professors  were  equally  privi- 
leged to  receive  instruction  and  themselves  to  serve 
as  lecturers  and  preceptors.  The  most  noted  was 
Trotula,  in  the  eleventh  century.  There  were  also 
many  Jews  in  attendance  as  students  and  probably 
teachers.  The  school  continued  to  flourish  till  the 
founding  of  the  universities  of  Naples  and  Montpellier 
in  France  led  to  its  decline.  It  was  not  closed  till  i8i  i, 
by  the  order  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon. 

The  doctors  of  Salerno  won  deservedly  high  reputa- 
tion. At  a  time  when  Moslem  learning  was  excluded 
from  many  parts  of  Europe,  they  furnished  a  medium 


136  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

for  its  transmission.  In  their  medical  practice  and 
theories  they  chiefly  followed  Hippokrates  and  Galen, 
as  well  as  the  Methodists  and  Empirics,  making  use 
of  diet  and  regimen  in  preference  to  medicine.  They 
also  gave  great  attention  to  clinic  instruction  in  the 
hospitals.  Anatomy,  curiously  enough,  was  chiefly 
learned  by  demonstrations  upon  the  bodies  of  swine, 
and  one  of  their  writers,  Copho,  actually  wrote  a 
treatise  entitled  Anatome  Porci.  The  moral  analogy,  it 
would  seem,  might  have  been  somewhat  more  easily 
traced,  but  the  physical  seems  to  have  answered  them 
very  well.  Among  the  books  compiled  at  Salerno 
were  a  great  number  of  poems  on  medical  subjects. 
The  fact  is,  doubtless,  that  medical  men  are  often 
prone  to  give  great  latitude  to  the  fancy.  One  of 
these  works,  entitled  Regimen  Sanitatis  Salerni,  written 
"for  the  use  of  the  King  of  England,"  in  doggerel 
rhyme,  had  an  immense  circulation,  was  translated 
and  reprinted  in  different  European  languages  in  one 
hundred  and  sixty  editions.  A  Medical  Compend  or 
Praciica,  by  Joannes  Platearius,  was  also  reprinted 
several  times,  and  the  Antidotariutn,  a  collection  of 
formulae  for  compounding  medicines,  by  Nicolaus 
Praepositus,  was  very  generally  esteemed,  and  became 
the  basis  for  many  works  compiled  by  later  writers. 
Gilles  de  Corbeil,  first  a  professor  at  Salerno,  and 
afterward  physician  to  King  Philip  Augustus  of 
France,  composed  several  poems  in  Latin  hexameters, 
on  medical  subjects.  Two  of  these,  one  on  the  urine 
and  the  other  on  the  pulse,  were  highly  esteemed  in 
professional  circles.  After  the  philosophic  doctrines 
of  Averroes  were  generally  accepted,  there  sprang  up 
a  great  demand  for  Arabian  works  on  medicine  and 
metaphysics.     The    conquest   of    Toledo   by  Alfonso 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  137 

brought  Christendom  into  more  immediate  contact 
with  Moslem  learning.  With  the  impulse  thus  com- 
municated, Jewish  physicians,  often  under  the  patron- 
age of  bishops,  became  active  in  translating  the  medi- 
cal and  philosophic  books  into  different  European 
languages. 

About  this  time  an  enthusiasm  for  the  revival  of 
learning  prevailed,  and  universities  were  founded  in 
several  countries.  The  Emperor  of  Germany,  Fred- 
erick II.,  himself  a  proficient  scholar  in  languages 
and  natural  history,  liberally  endowed  the  school  at 
Salerno  and  established  similar  institutions  at  Naples 
and  Messina.  He  made  provision  that  the  professors 
should  receive  an  income  for  their  maintenance.  He 
also  maintained  poor  students  from  his  own  purse. 
So  celebrated  was  he  for  his  love  of  knowledge  that, 
as  in  the  case  of  Charlemagne,  whom  he  greatly  re- 
sembled, the  Eastern  Moslem  princes  emulated  each 
other  in  sending  him  artistic  works  as  tokens  of  their 
friendship.  The  Sultan  of  Egypt  presented  him  with 
an  extraordinary  tent,  in  which  effigies  of  the  sun  and 
moon  revolved,  moved  by  invisible  agents,  and  showed 
the  hours  of  the  day  and  night  in  just  and  exact  re- 
lation. His  chancellor,  Pietro  de  Vincis,  was  a  physi- 
cian, and  compiled  a  code  of  laws  for  the  Neapolitan 
dominions.  He  also  wrote  the  first  sonnet  extant  in 
the  Italian  language. 

Under  these  influences  the  practice  of  medicine  was 
included  under  the  regulations  of  the  Imperial  Code. 
Physicians  were  obliged  by  it  to  learn  anatomy  before 
everything  else;  they  were  required  to  study  diligently 
the  writings  and  doctrines  of  Hippokrates  and  Galen, 
and  were  not  allowed  to  practice  their  profession  till 
they    had  received    from   the  Board    of    Faculty    at 


13'^  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Salerno  and  Naples  a  satisfactory  and  honorable  cer- 
tificate, besides  which  they  were  obliged  to  pass  an 
examination  before  the  Imperial  Chamber,  formed  of 
a  committee  of  persons  selected  as  examiners.  The 
restrictions,  however,  soon  fell  into  desuetude.  Queen 
Ciiovanna,  of  Naples,  attempted  to  establish  them 
anew,  but  it  was  not  successful. 

Universities  were  founded  at  Bologna  and  Padua, 
which  became  distinguished  ;  the  former  adhering  to 
the  Galenic  tradition,  and  the  latter  accepting  the 
doctrines  and  reasoning  of  Averroes.  The  Jewish 
Rabbis,  among  the  foremost  promoters  of  liberal 
knowledge,  opened  schools  at  Montpellier,  Nimes  and 
Carcassonne,  where  medicine  and  other  branches  of 
learning  were  taught  as  at  Salerno  and  Cordova.  In- 
deed, the  university  at  ^lontpellier,  from  the  time  of 
its  establishment,  with  instructors  from  Spain  deeply 
imbued  with  the  philosophy  of  Averroes,  became  dis- 
tinguished for  the  practical  and  empiric  character  of 
its  teachings,  which  were  in  marked  contrast  with  the 
scholasticism  of  Paris  and  other  universities.  It  was 
equally  celebrated  for  liberality  and  catholicity.  Jews, 
Moslems,  Albigeois  and  other  Christians  of  the  Semi- 
tic, Iberian  and  Gothic  races  taiight  and  studied  to- 
gether ;  and  from  that  time  its  prestige  increased, 
while  that  of  Salerno  declined.  Here  degrees  were 
conferred  ;  we  now  witness  the  titles  of  Bachelor, 
Licentiate  and  Master  conferred  upon  the  students  in 
the  various  grades  of  progress.  The  Jews  and  Nes- 
torians  of  the  East  had  also  used  academic  distinc- 
tions ;  the  Arabians  had  continued  them,  and  the 
School  of  Salerno  likewise  employed  them.  Only  the 
teachers,  however,  were  styled  doctors,  which  term 
has  simply  that  meaning  ;  but  after  a  time,  the  desig- 


MRDICINE    IN    THE    IVIIDDLE    AGES.  I39 

nation  was  bestowed  instead  of  "  Masters,"  although 
not  correctly,  and  hardly  in  good  taste. 

THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    PARIS. 

At  Paris  in  the  twelfth  century,  the  faculty  of  the 
university  had  separated  from  the  vSchool  of  Parvis 
Notre-Dame,  and  it  was  now  the  most  distinguished 
institution  of  learning  in  the  European  world.  Litera- 
ture is  the  immortalizing  of  doctrine  and  thought,  as 
well  as  the  awakening  consciousness  of  national  exist- 
ence. The  dialectic  exercises  at  this  institution  were 
the  grandest  of  intellectual  gymnastics.  From  fifteen 
to  twenty  thousand  students  were  sometimes  in 
attendance.  In  the  thirteenth  century  it  sent  forth 
seven  Roman  Pontiffs,  and  more  cardinals  and  bishops 
than  can  be  easily  enumerated.  Raymond  Lully  and- 
Dante  went  thither  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Duns  Scotus  ; 
and  Roger  Bacon,  at  once  a  physician,  philosopher 
and  occultist,  graduated  there  in  1240. 

There  now  arose  a  heated  controversy  between  the 
University  and  the  religious  orders.  The  King  of 
France,  Louis  IX.,  took  the  side  of  the  clergy.  His 
reign  is  marked  by  the  establishment  of  the  Gallican 
Church,  by  the  war  of  extermination  against  the  Albi- 
geois,  and  his  two  crusades  into  Egypt. 

In  that  century,  also,  many  believed  the  final  catas- 
trophe of  the  earth  immediately  impending.  The 
Mongols  from  ancient  Skythia  were  deluging  China, 
India  and  Russia;  they  overthrew  the  khaHfat,  de- 
stroyed Baghdad,  penetrated  Germany  clear  to  Mora- 
via, even  devastating  ruin  itself.  The  general  of  the 
Franciscans  had  promulgated  a  book  entitled  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Everlasting  Gospel,  suggested  by  an  expression 


140  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

in  the  Apocalypse,  in  which  it  was  declared,  that  as  the 
Old  Testament  had  been  superseded,  so  would  the 
New,  being  of  the  letter  only,  be  replaced  by  a  more 
lasting  evangel  of  the  spirit  and  higher  intellect,  the 
Gospel  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

EVOLUTION  OF  THE  THEATRE. 

In  this  period  the  modern  drama  had  its  birth. 
Priests  and  monks  taking  the  parts,  acted  in  the 
chapels  the  various  scenes  and  events  recorded  in  the 
New  Testament.  Here  Dante  drew  the  inspiration 
for  his  Divine  Comedy.  The  secret  worship  of  the 
ancient  world  was  dramatic,  and  from  the  Bacchic 
religion  the  theatre  had  its  beginning.  The  church  in 
like  manner  gave  the  modern  theatre  its  inception. 
Art  means  action,  drama  embodied  in  architecture  and 
symbolic  observances.  In  this  general  upheaval  Free- 
Masonry  from  the  East  likewise  spread  its  lodges  over 
Europe. 

THE    UNIVERSITY    AND    THE    CLERGY. 

The  controversy  between  the  University  and  the 
clergy  was  carried  on  with  a  fierce  campaign  of  pam- 
phlets. It  was  finally  submitted  to  the  Roman  Cusia 
for  arbitration.  At  the  instance  of  Thomas  Aquinas, 
"the  Dumb  Ox  from  Sicily,"  an  equivocal  course  was 
adopted.  Guillaume  de  St.  Amour,  the  champion  of 
the  University,  was  publicly  condemned,  but  the  pro- 
mulgator of  the  new  Gospel  received  a  less  open  cen- 
sure. An  order  was  given  by  the  Pontiff  to  suppress 
the  book  quietly.  The  doctors  of  the  University,  how- 
ever, burned  it  in  the  presence  of  the  people  at  the 
Parvis  Notre-Dame. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  141 

THE    COLLEGE    OF    SURGEONS. 

In  the  course  of  these  conflicts,  Jean  Pitard,  the  phy- 
sician and  confidant  of  the  King,  whom  he  had  accom- 
panied in  the  Crusades  to  the  Holy  Land  and  Egypt, 
obtained  authority  from  him  in  1271,  and  founded  the 
College  of  Surgeons,  with  St.  Cosmo  and  St.  Damiani, 
for  patron  saints.  He  taught  surgery  regularly  for 
many  years,  not  with  any  superior  ability,  but  opening 
the  way  for  others  after  him.  Lanpanchi  of  Milan,  a 
medicin  chirurgique,  or  lay  physician  practicing  surgery, 
had  been  compelled  by  political  changes  to  leave  Italy. 
Coming  to  Paris  he  entered  upon  a  career  of  high  dis- 
tinction ;  and  his  great  work,  Grand  C/iirurgie,  was  the 
text-book  at  the  college  for  a  century. 

FAMOUS    ITALIAN    TEACHERS. 

From  this  time  onward  medical  instruction  was  pro- 
moted and  encouraged  in  the  various  universities  of 
Europe.  The  misgovernment  at  Bologna  had  dis- 
gusted other  teachers  and  students,  as  well  as  Lan- 
panchi, and  the  schools  at  Naples  and  Padua  had 
grown  into  distinction  in  consequence.  Roger  of 
Parma  became  a  professor  and  finally  Chancellor  at 
the  University  of  Montpellier,  and  afterward  made  his 
countrymen  acquainted  with  the  writings  of  Abul- 
kasim. 

The  professors  at  Bologna,  nevertheless,  maintained 
their  high  reputation  for  scholarship.  They  were 
more  liberal  in  their  sentiments,  less  circumscribed 
in  their  views  by  tradition,  and  possessed  of  superior 
professional  enthusiasm.  So  great  was  the  perfection 
to    which    the    medical    art    had    attained,  that    the 


142  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

instruction  had  become  divided,  and  these  professors 
were  classified  as  physicians,  surgeons,  physicians  for 
wounds,  barber-surgeons,  oculists  and  others. 

Gulielmo  de  Saliceto,  the  preceptor  of  Lanpanchi, 
was  regarded  as  the  best  instructor  of  his  time  in 
medicine,  surgery  and  pathology.  Like  the  late  pro- 
fessor Agassiz,  he  vigorously  enforced  upon  his  hear- 
ers the  importance  of  diligent  and  critical  observation 
as  the  only  sure  way  to  acquire  thorough  knowledge. 
To  the  study  of  books  he  ascribed  only  a  subordinate 
value.  Rolando  of  Parma  also  became  noted  for  his 
explorations  and  improvements  in  surgical  pathology. 

ANATOMY    FIRST    TAUGHT    BY    DISSECTION. 

The  most  startling  innovation,  however,  was  made 
at  Bologna  in  13 15,  by  Mondino  de  Luzzi.  Before  that 
time  religious  prejudice  had  interdicted  the  dissection 
of  the  human  body  as  sacrilegious,  and  the  public  feel- 
ing thus  engendered  had  made  it  perilous  to  the  safety 
of  the  individual  who  would  have  taken  the  risk.  The 
professors  and  students  were  dependent  upon  the 
nomenclatures  in  use,  the  descriptions  by  Galen,  and 
the  observations  made  by  examining  the  bodies  of 
animals.  Mondino  changed  all  these  methods.  He  dis- 
sected and  demonstrated  the  parts  of  the  human  body 
in  two  female  subjects  ;  and  the  next  year  he  repeated 
the  performance  with  a  single  subject.  He  compiled 
a  treatise  upon  the  Anatomy  of  the  Internal  Organs  of  the 
Human  Body,  which  was  the  standard  text-book  for  two 
centuries.  He  did  so  much  that  we  are  warranted  in 
honoring  him,  as  well  as  his  famous  pupil  Chauliac, 
for  opening  new  and  broader  fields  for  exploration. 
Nevertheless,  dogs  will  bay  the  moon,  and  there  are 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  1 43 

men  who  take  pleasure  in  criticising  and  depreciating 
others  more  exalted  than  themselves.  Mondino  was 
impugned  as  a  copyist  of  Galen,  and  for  making  use 
of  the  teaching  and  terminology  of  Razes  and  Avi- 
cenna.  Doubtless  he  was  too  much  absorbed  in  his 
own  researches  to  spend  time  and  energy  in  devising 
other  phrases  and  methods  ;  and  certainly  there  was 
much  that  he  did  not  know,  and  which,  perhaps, 
others  after  him  have  not  found  out.  It  becomes  the 
lover  of  real  knowledge  to  seek  to  profit  by  what  has 
been  ascertained,  rather  than  to  waste  time  and  temper 
on  apparent  omissions. 

It  is  true  enough,  however,  that  in  our  time  and  with 
the  vocabulary  and  opinions  now  in  vogue,  the  classifi- 
cations and  descriptions  of  Mondino  have  a  curious 
sound.  He  divides  the  body  into  three  cavities  :  the 
upper  one,  the  head,  containing  the  organs  of  the  ani- 
mate nature,  the  middle  one  or  thorax  containing  the 
psychal  organs,  and  the  abdomen,  containing  the 
organism  of  the  physical  nature.  In  this  arrange- 
ment he  agrees  very  closely  with  the  philosopher 
Plato  in  the  Timaios.  His  plan  of  explanation  is 
peculiar.  He  begins  at  the  lower  region  of  the  body 
to  describe  the  cavities  and  their  contents,  and  pro- 
ceeds in  due  course  to  the  head.  The  intestines  are 
enumerated  in  six  divisions.  The  other  parts  are  also 
carefully  set  forth  more  or  less  accurately.  He  dis- 
cusses the  shape  and  distribution  of  the  tissues  and 
membranes,  mentioning  the  disorders  to  which  they 
are  respectively  liable.  The  names  employed  are 
often  Arabic  or  a  mongrel  Greek,  somewhat  after  the 
modern  fashion,  as  siphak  for  the  peritoneum,  zirbus  for 
the  omentum,  eukharus  for  the  mesentery,  monoculus  for 
the  csecum,  chi/is  for  the  vulva.    He  gave  a  very  correct 


144  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

description    of   the   heart,   which    contains   the  rudi- 
ments of  the  theory  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood. 

After  Mondino  came  Nicola  Betrucci,  Pietro  del 
Corlata  and  others  who  won  honorable  distinction  in 
the  same  field.  From  this  time  it  became  the  practice 
in  the  several  universities  of  Europe  to  teach  the 
structure  of  the  human  body  by  ocular  demonstration. 
It  was  the  practice  to  employ  a  barber's  assistant  to 
dissect  in  a(l\ance  the  organs  and  tissues  required  for 
the  lecture,  using  his  razor  for  the  purpose.  The  pro- 
fessors of  anatomy  would  then  read  the  description  to 
the  students  from  the  text-book  of  Mondino.  The 
statutes  of  the  rival  university  at  Padua  prescribed 
that  its  lecturers  should  adhere  to  the  literal  text  of 
this  work. 

THE    OTHER    DEPARTMENTS. 

In  respect  to  medicine  and  surgery,  little  change  or 
improvement  occurred  during  this  period.  A  few 
shining  lights  appeared,  but  they  were  ineffectual  to 
dissipate  the  darkness  prevailing  over  Europe.  John 
of  Arden  flourished  in  England  in  1360,  and  achieved 
distinction  by  skillful  operations  for  fistula,  and  for 
adding  the  centre-pin  to  the  trepan.  Like  a  true  sur- 
geon, he  was  not  eager  to  resort  to  instruments,  but 
insisted  that  trephining  should  be  limited  to  the 
severest  forms  of  injury  to  the  head.  His  writings,  it 
is  quaintly  remarked,  were  written  with  simplicity 
and  honesty. 

LOW    ESTATE    OF    SURGICAL    SKILL. 

Upon  the  continent  of  Europe,  during  the  next  cen- 
tury, surgery  was  "  in  the  hands  of  barbers  and  others 
who  coiild  neither  read   n(jr  write."     Matthaeus  Cor- 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  I45 

vinus,  the  King  of  Hungary,  having  been  wounded  in 
battle,  offered  a  reward  in  several  countries  for  a  sur- 
geon to  cure  him.  Johannis  von  Dockenbourg  secured 
the  prize.  As  a  general  rule  those  requiring  surgical 
operations  journeyed  into  the  Moslem  countries  of 
Asia  for  the  purpose.  Good  oculists  could  be  found 
only  there.  The  Moorish  Kingdom  of  Granada  was 
approaching  its  fall,  and  its  schools  were  also  in  decay. 

THE     RENAISSANCE. 

The  fifteenth  century  was  a  period  of  transition. 
The  darkness  before  the  dawn  began  to  be  dispelled 
by  gleams  of  the  aurora.  Asia  was  to  be  left  in  night 
while  the  sun  passed  over  to  Europe.  The  political 
map  of  the  West  underwent  changes,  such  as  had  not 
taken  place  to  such  extent  for  centuries  ;  and  there 
came  with  them  a  new  birth  of  art,  knowledge  and 
liberal  culture. 

The  conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks  in 
1453,  with  the  final  extinction  of  the  Greek  Empire, 
was  the  most  important  of  these  changes.  The  later 
Byzantine  Emperors  had  sent  men  of  learning  as 
ambassadors  to  the  several  countries  of  Europe,  to 
procure  their  aid  against  the  common  enen:y.  One  of 
these,  Emanuelo  Chrysalore,  remained  a  long  time 
in  Venice,  and  taught  there  publicly  the  different 
branches  of  learning  which  had  been  neglected  and 
forgotten  in  the  countries  of  the  Western  Roman 
Empire  after  its  overthrow.  After  the  fall  of  Thes- 
salonika,  Theodores  Gaza,  a  man  somewhat  noted  for 
scholarship,  escaped  with  his  literary  treasures  to 
Italy.  After  the  final  subversion  of  the  Empire  mul- 
titudes   of    his    countrymen    followed     his    example. 


146  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Lorenzo  di  Medici,  was  then  supreme  in  the  Republic 
of  Florence,  and  gave  them  a  cordial  reception.  The 
manuscripts  thus  obtained  now  became  a  powerful 
agent  to  make  the  scholars  of  Europe  familiar  with 
Grecian  poetry,  history,  philosophy  and  medicine. 

A  change  was  quickly  perceived  in  the  methods  of 
learning.  Latin  had  before  been  the  classic  speech  of 
Europe,  as  well  as  the  dialect  of  prayer-books  and 
breviaries  ;  now  the  scholars  of  Europe  began  to  read 
Greek.  The  art  of  printing  had  been  discovered  at 
the  same  period,  giving  a  fresh  impulse  to  learning  by 
making  it  accessible  where  before  it  had  been  excluded. 
Plato  once  sold  an  estate  to  enable  him  to  purchase  the 
writings  of  Pythagoras;  now  a  few  gold  coins  were 
ample  for  the  purpose. 

THE    VATICAN    LIBRARY. 

Nicolas  v.,  the  son  of  a  physician,  and  himself 
learned  in  medicine  and  other  knowledge,  was  then 
Pontiff  at  Rome.  Under  him  the  Roman  Court  was 
thronged  by  men  of  letters,  and  the  Vatican  Library 
was  founded.  At  his  instance  there  were  more  than 
five  thousand  ancient  manuscripts  collected,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  works  of  the  Greek  authors  were 
translated  into  Latin.  He  also  was  a  liberal  patron 
of  the  arts,  and  caused  the  venerable  monuments  of 
the  capitol  to  be  preserved  and  cherished.  Rome  from 
this  period  became  the  centre  of  classic  art  and  study, 
succeeding  its  fallen  rival  on  the  Bosphoros. 

MASSTLIO    FICINO    AND    HIS    CIRCLE. 

Foremost  among  the  leading  minds  of  this  period 
was  Massilio  Ficino.     His  father  was  the  physician  of 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  147 

Cosimo  di  Medici.  This  great  banker-statesman  had 
met  the  famous  Pletho  and  been  inspired  by  an  enthu- 
siasm for  the  Platonic  philosophy.  He  persuaded  this 
physician  who  had  been  instructing  the  son  in  medi- 
cine, to  let  the  young  man  give  his  attention  to  the 
study  of  Greek  in  order  to  translate  the  writings  of 
Plato.  Thus  "that  Platonic  Academy  was  founded 
which  led  to  such  important  results  in  the  history  of 
Italian  philosophy  and  letters." 

In  Massilio  Ficino  the  two  historic  currents  of 
thought  were  blended  together.  He  was  an  ardent 
student  of  the  past,  seeking  to  know  civilization  and 
mental  culture  in  their  sources,  and  at  the  same  time 
he  was  receptive  of  inspiration  from  the  spirit  of  the 
times  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  illumination  then 
coming  over  the  European  world.  Following  in  the 
path  already  marked  out  by  Erigena,  Aosta  and  Fran, 
cesco  Petrarch,  he  in  a  degree  anticipated  also  the 
views  and  perception  of  Giordano  Bruno  and  Tomasso 
Campanclla. 

He  became  an  ardent  receiver  of  the  doctrines  of 
Plato  and  Plotinos,  whose  works  he  translated  into 
Latin,  and  he  was  also  an  eager  student  of  the  mystic 
teachings  of  the  Alexandreian  philosophers.  Believ- 
ing profoundly  in  immortality,  he  gives  us  the  state- 
ment that  he  had  made  an  agreement  with  a  skeptic 
friend  with  whom  he  had  discussed  the  matter,  that 
the  one  dying  before  the  other  should  make  his  pres- 
ence known  to  the  survivor,  and  that  the  friend  had 
actually  kept  the  appointment.  Ficino  had  also  an 
implicit  belief  in  astrology  and  the  Pythagorean 
theory  of  numbers  declaring  that  he  had  himself  the 
unanswerable  demonstration  of  their  truth.  He  enter- 
tained the  notions  of  planetary  influence  that  were 


148  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

current  among  the  leading  thinkers  of  those  times, 
and  cherished  by  many  persons  not  inferior  in  intelli- 
gence at  the  present  day.  He  declared  that  medicines 
prepared  when  the  planets  Jupiter  and  Venus  were  in 
conjunction  in  the  zodiacal  sign  Aquarius  became  thus 
possessed  of  a  superior  healing  energy. 

He  held  likewise  to  the  philosophic  notion  of  the 
(Ether — a  celestial  medium  pervading  all  things,  by  the 
agency  of  which  the  Supreme  Energy  is  incessantly 
operative, — in  which  the  universe  has  its  existence, 
and  of  which  light  is  an  affinity  motion,  planetary  and 
stellar  action  and  organic  life  are  the  outcome.  Believ- 
ing this,  he  conjectured  that  human  beings,  by  some 
occult  impartation  of  it  to  their  own  vital  energies, 
might  receive  increase  of  vigor  and  prolong  life  to  an 
indefinite  duration.  He  also  attributed  similar  results 
to  preparations  of  gold  taken  internally.  Similar 
notions  are  found  in  the  works  of  the  Neo-Platonic 
philosophers  with  which  Ficino  was  familiar. 

General  demoralization  now  existed  over  Europe. 
The  Turks  menaced  all  Christendom,  and  the  different 
countries  were  incessantly  engaged  in  war  or  agitated 
by  internal  disturbances.  The  Republics  of  Italy  were 
now  despotic  oligarchies,  premonitory  of  final  extinc- 
tion. The  Roman  prelate,  Nicolas  V.,  also  became  a 
blasphemous  despot,  putting  an  end  to  the  liberties  of 
the  capitol,  and  establishing  a  reign  of  terror,  ending 
only  by  his  death.  Another  Pontiff,  Paul  II.,  obtained 
a  disgraceful  celebrity  by  his  persecution  of  men  of 
learning.  Sixtus  IV.,  who  succeeded  him  in  147 1, 
was  chiefly  famous  for  his  licentious  amours  and  his 
numerous  "nephews."  His  efforts  for  their  aggran- 
dizement led  to  a  war  with  Florence  and  general  con- 
fusion over  Italy.     His  successors  were  Innocent  VIII. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  149 

and  Alexander  VI.  Under  such  men  social  dishonor 
and  low  morality  generally  was  the  natural  condition 
of  society. 

Ficino  remembered  the  declaration  of  Augustin  in 
regard  to  Platonism,  and  actually  contemplated  the 
promulgation  of  a  religious  philosophy  upon  that 
basis.  The  proposition  seems  to  have  met  with  favor, 
and  Matthaeus  Corvinus,  the  Hungarian  King,  con- 
sidering the  disturbed  condition  of  Italian  affairs, 
offered  him  a  residence  in  his  dominions  and  to  found 
an  Akademeia  for  the  new  cultus.  Ficino,  however, 
adhered  to  Florence  as  the  metropolis  of  the  new 
reformation,  and  would  not,  in  this  stress  of  their  for- 
tunes, abandon  his  patrons,  the  Medicis.  Soon  after- 
ward, with  a  singular  vacillation,  he  took  orders  in 
1473,  at  the  age  of  forty,  and  officiated  for  twenty-six 
years  as  a  priest. 

He  left  an  immense  amount  of  manuscript  at  his 
death,  both  original  works  and  translations.  His 
writings  upon  medicine  were  voluminous,  besides  the 
scores  of  treatises  which  he  prepared  upon  morals, 
theology  and  metaphysics.  Philosophy  owes  him 
much. 

Among  his  numerous  admirers  was  the  famous  Pico 
della  Mirandola.  This  great  scholar  was  in  close  sym- 
pathy with  his  philosophic  utterances,  but  appears  to 
have  discountenanced  his  extravagances  in  other  direc- 
tions. Reasonable  as  this  dissent  may  appear  to  us  at 
the  present  time,  it  was  little  short  of  being  revolu- 
tionary at  that  period.  Certainly  it  was  significant  of 
the  change  then  going  on  in  the  minds  of  the  scholars 
and  thinkers  of  Europe. 

The  Chancellor  Gerson  wrote  a  book  in  which  the 
dogmas  and  pretensions  of  the  medical  astrologists 


150  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

were  condemned.  He  seems  also  to  have  held  the 
peculiar  notions  of  the  theurgisls  at  a  low  estimate. 

Afterward,  the  University  of  Paris,  more  dis- 
tinguished for  scholastic  learning  than  for  social 
morals,  added  its  condemnation,  and  astrology  pres- 
ently became  an  heretical  belief. 

The  celebrated  Dominican  monk,  Savonarola,  had 
been  warmly  esteemed  by  Ficino,  but  the  revolution 
in  Florence  which  overthrew  the  power  of  the  Medicis^ 
the  patrons  of  Ficino,  had  been  promoted  by  him  and 
produced  an  estrangement.  Savonarola  was  a  zealous 
adversary  of  the  current  philosophic  doctrines,  and 
assumed  to  possess  prophetic  gifts.  Venturing  finally 
to  attack  the  corruptions  then  in  the  ascendant  at 
Rome,  the  Pontiff,  Alexander  VI.,  retaliated  by  caus- 
ing him  to  be  condemned  and  burned  alive  as  a  heretic 
in  May,  1498, 

OTHER    ITALIAN    TEACHERS. 

Italians  appear  to  have  been  the  principal  teachers 
in  the  fifteenth  century,  who  attempted  to  elevate  the 
knowledge  and  character  of  their  profession.  Bartol- 
omeo  Montagnano  taught  anatomy  at  Padua,  opening 
fourteen  human  bodies  for  his  studies.  Saladin,  of  the 
university  at  Naples,  wrote  a  treatise  upon  Materia 
Medica  and  Pharmacy.  Leonardo  Bertapaglia,  pro- 
fessor at  Padua,  published  a  commentary  upon  the 
fourth  book  of  the  Canons  of  Avicenna.  It  was  an 
honest  endeavor  to  elevate  his  calling  above  the  level 
of  barber-surgery,  but  had  no  great  merit  otherwise, 
except  for  its  exquisitely  classic  style. 

Three  other  surgeons,  Vincentio  Vianco,  Branco  and 
Bogani,  achieved  distinction  as  the  first  who  attempted 


MtDICINE    IN    THE    iMlDDLE    AGES.  151 

and  successfully  performed  the  rhinoplastic  operation. 
They  cut  a  piece  of  flesh  from  the  arm  of  the  patient, 
leaving  only  a  few  fibres  attached,  adapted  it  to  the 
shape  of  the  nose  ;  then  kept  the  raw  surface  in  con- 
tact by  binding  the  limb  across  the  face,  and  finally, 
when  the  adhesion  was  complete,  cut  the  part  entirely 
away  from  the  arm.  Gaspardo  Tagliacozzi,  afterward 
improved  the  method  by  taking  the  flesh  from  the 
biceps  muscle.  He  used  to  declare  in  his  enthusiasm 
that  the  new  nose  sensed  odorous  bodies  more  per- 
fectly than  the  natural  organ. 

Alessandro  Achillini,  of  Bologna,  was  both  the  pupil 
and  assistant  of  Mondino,  and  bore  a  high  reputation 
both  as  a  physician  and  a  philosopher.  He  lectured 
on  medicine  and  philosophy  at  the  university  and 
bore  the  designation  of  the  "Second  Aristotle."  He 
adhered  to  the  school  of  medicine  then  in  vogue  and 
did  not  subscribe  to  the  "new  learning."  His  ability, 
however,  rescued  him  from  the  opprobrium  which  it 
has  become  fashionable  to  cast  upon  the  disciples  of 
the  Arabian  schools.  He  discovered  and  described  the 
two  bones  of  the  ear,  the  iticus  and  the  malleus,  the 
seven  bones  of  the  tarsus,  the  course  of  the  cerebral 
cavities  into  the  inferior  cornua,  and  likewise  gave 
very  accurate  accounts  of  the  large  and  small  intes- 
tines, exhibiting  greater  proficiency  than  any  who  had 
preceded  him.  He  was  the  author  of  several  works  on 
anatomy,  and  his  philosophic  writings  were  printed 
in  a  single  folio  volume  in  1508. 

Germain  Colot,  a  French  surgeon  in  favor  with 
Louis  XI.,  had  chanced  to  witness  the  operation  of 
lithotomy  at  Milan,  and  made  experiments  himself, 
first  upon  a  dead  body  and  afterward  upon  a  con- 
demned criminal.     His  success  had   a  powerful  influ- 


152  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ence  in  establishing  the  operation  amongst  surgical 
practitioners.  The  principal  apparatus  for  the  pur- 
pose, however,  was  handed  down  as  a  secret,  the  prop- 
erty of  the  family,  till  the  time  of  Ambroise  Pare. 

WRITERS    ON    ANATOMY. 

Another  writer  of  some  merit  was  Matteo  of  Gradi. 
He  published  a  work  on  anatomy,  in  which  the  struct- 
ures of  various  parts  of  the  body  were  treated  and  the 
ovaries  were  correctly  described. 

Gabriello  de  Zerbi,  of  Verona,  was  another  aspirant 
for  the  highest  honors  as  a  teacher.  He  assumed  the 
title  of  Medicus  Theoricus,  or  the  Medical  Seer,  and  pub- 
lished a  work  upon  anatomy  as  his  own  original  dis- 
covery. Hardly  an  epoch  in  medical  history  ever 
passes  in  which  some  vociferous  person  does  not 
appear,  with  similar  bombastic  pretensions  of  being 
the  wise  one,  compared  to  whom  all  others  are  of  small 
account.  Apart,  however,  from  Zerbi's  consequential 
style  and  affectation  of  superior  ability,  his  chief 
excellence  consisted  in  his  skill  as  a  dissector  and  his 
actual  observations  of  the  structure  of  the  eye  and  the 
olfactory  nerves. 

INTRODUCTION    OF     METALLIC    MEDICINES. 

The  practice  of  medicine,  so  far  as  it  was  exercised 
by  ecclesiastics,  was  principally  carried  on  by  monks 
of  the  Benedictine  order.  About  the  year  1450,  one  of 
these,  Basil  Valentin,  a  German,  introduced  various 
metallic  substances  into  the  list  of  remedies.  Like 
other  physicians  of  the  time  he  was  a  student  of 
alchemy,  which  he  appears  to  have  interpreted  in  the 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  153 

exoteric  and  physical  sense.  Beginning  with  anti- 
mony he  tested  it  on  his  brother  celibates  with  results 
so  untoward  that  they  gave  it  the  uncanny  name  which 
it  still  retains,  as  deadly  to  monks.  Despite  this  unpro- 
pitious  beginning,  and  the  fact  that  inorganic  sub- 
stances are  not  accordant  to  the  physical  organism, 
the  drug  continues  to  be  held  in  esteem.  Valentin 
also  discovered  the  volatile  alkali  and  its  mode  of 
preparation  from  the  chloride  of  ammonium,  the  use  of 
mineral  acids  as  solvents,  the  production  of  ether  from 
alcohol,  and  the  tonic  properties  of  sulphate  of  iron. 

DISEASES    OF    THE    FIFTEENTH     CENTURY. 

The  destruction  of  the  Eastern  Empire  by  the  Turks, 
put  a  summary  end  to  the  commerce  between  Euro- 
pean countries  and  India.  The  ancient  accounts  of 
successful  voyages  round  the  southern  extremity  of 
Africa,  suggested  expeditions  from  Europe  to  ascer- 
tain the  possibility  of  making  a  new  route  for  trade  by 
that  direction.  Columbus,  taking  inspiration  from  the 
early  discoveries  by  Irish  and  Icelandic  adventurers  of 
a  continental  region  south  from  Greenland,  conceived 
the  project  of  a  direct  way  to  India  across  the  Atlan- 
tic, and  succeeding  in  reaching  the  West  Indies. 
Sebastian  Cabot  was  more  successful,  rediscovering 
the  Continent  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  where  the 
Northmen  had  ventured  before  him. 

New  diseases  appeared  with  these  occurrences. 
Scurvy,  which  is  said  to  have  been  first  noticed  by 
German  writers  in  1482,  made  fearful  ravages  among 
the  sailors  accompanying  Vasco  de  Gama  round  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  It  broke  out  repeatedly  in  other 
crews  making  long  voyages,  and  the  medical  art  was 


154  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

without  a  remedy.  Finally,  however,  in  1564,  a  cure 
was  found  out  by  accident,  outside  the  profession.  A 
Dutch  vessel  crossing  the  Bay  of  Biscay  fell  short  of 
provisions,  and  the  sailors  resorted  to  the  use  of  the 
lemons  and  oranges  in  the  cargo.  To  their  joyful  sur- 
prise, those  of  their  number  suffering  from  scurvy 
speedily  recovered.  The  credit,  however,  of  intro- 
ducing lemon  juice  as  a  remedy  for  scurvy  was  duly 
promulgated  by  a  medical  writer  at  a  later  period  as 
his  own  discovery.  It  has  latterlv  been  found  tn  be  a 
remedy  for  small-pox. 

The  "  Sweating  Sickness,"  broke  out  in  England  in 
1485,  with  a  fatality  like  that  of  the  Black  Plague  of 
the  preceding  century.  It  appears  to  have  been  sim- 
ilar to  the  miliary  fever,  a  filth-disease  of  the  Con- 
tinent, and  indeed  is  still  familiar  in  India.  Nowhere, 
however,  does  it  seem  to  have  so  great  a  mortality  as 
in  England  ;  and  in  later  years,  when  it  was  carried 
by  the  routes  of  commerce  across  the  North  Sea,  it  was 
characterized  by  the  peculiarity  of  attacking  English- 
men with  special  severity.  When  the  Earl  of  Beau- 
fort, afterward  Henry  VII.,  invaded  England  to  wrest 
the  crown  from  Richard  III.,  the  disease  appears  to 
have  existed  among  the  soldiers  and  adventurers 
accompanying  the  expedition.  Soon  after  he  had 
debarked,  the  pestilence  broke  out  with  terrible 
violence.  Most  persons  who  were  attacked  by  it  died 
within  twenty-four  hours,  hardly  one  in  a  hundred 
surviving.  These  were  for  a  long  time  in  great  danger 
of  relapse.  Many  towns  lost  half  their  population 
from  this  epidemic.  There  were  several  recurrences  ol 
the  visitation  during  the  next  century.  Since  that  peri 
od,  however,  it  has,  like  Asiatic  cholera  in  later  years, 
small-pox    and    typhus,  succumbed  to  the   beneficial 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  I55 

influence  of  more  wholesome  ways  of  living,  greater 
cleanliness  and  hygienic  precautions,  and  has  lost 
much  of  its  terror. 

In  Italy  morbus  petechialis  prevailed. 

SYPHILIS 

The  most  terrible  pest  of  this  period,  however,  was 
syphilis.  Known  by  older  writers,  it  now  seemed  to 
have  assumed  a  type  and  malignity  never  equalled 
before.  As  it  appeared  about  the  time  of  the  return 
of  the  first  expedition  of  Columbus  from  the  West 
Indies,  many  declared  that  it  had  been  brought  from 
the  New  World.  It  was  first  noticed,  however,  during 
the  invasion  of  Naples  by  Charles  VIII.,  King  of 
France  ;  and  designated  the  Souvenir  de  Naples^  and  the 
Neopolitan  disease.  To  assign  it  to  either  source  is 
absurd.  It  was  partially  described  by  Abulkasim  and 
Avicenna,  and  afterward  by  Gulielmo  of  Salicetta  in 
1280.  The  Alexandrian  Hebrew,  Jesus,  seems  to  have 
known  of  it.  "  He  that  sinneth  before  his  Maker," 
says  he,*  "let  him  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  physician." 
The  author  of  the  Thirty-eighth  Fsalm,  however,  is 
more  explicit.  "There  is  no  soundness  in  my  flesh  ; 
no  peace  in  my  bones,  because  of  my  sins,"  he  declares 
with  a  sad  wail.  "My  wounds  are  noisome  and  cor- 
rupt because  of  my  foolishness.  I  am  wretched  and 
bent  completely  down  ;  I  go  moaning  the  whole  day. 
My  loins  are  full  of  inflammation,  and  there  is  no 
soundness  in  my  flesh."  The  disease  of  the  first  King 
Herod  of  Judaea,  as  described  by  Josephus,  appears  to 
have  been  the  same  malady,  and  Apion  whom  the  same 
writer  denounces,  had  a  similar  complaint.     After  the 

* EccUsiasticus,  xxxviii..  15. 


156  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

famous  outbreak  in  Naples,  the  pest  was  carried  from 
country  to  country,  raging  with  fearful  violence  for 
forty  years.  It  was  regarded  by  many  as  epidemic  ; 
and  it  leveled  all  distinctions  of  rank  and  fortune, 
assailing  with  terrible  impartiality  the  king,  the 
nobleman  and  the  peasant  ;  the  pontiff,  cardinal, 
priest  and  layman.  It  passed  in  its  fell  course  f rorn 
Naples  to  Spain  and  France,  thence  to  Germany  and 
England,  onward  to  Poland  and  Skandinavia,  and 
from  Poland  to  Russia.  The  State  of  Wurtemburg 
seems  not  to  have  been  visited  till  1538.  It  extiTpated 
about  a  fourth  of  the  population  of  Europe.  The 
philosophic  investigators  in  pathology  may  determine 
for  us  the  extent  to  which  this  plague  has  left  its 
vestiges  in  the  human  family,  inducing  deterioration 
of  stamina,  and  leading  to  the  development  of  a 
numerous  category  of  ailments  that  would  otherwise 
have  been  unknown  or  of  little  importance. 

MERCURY  ADOPTED  AS  A  REMEDY. 

To  the  empirical  experimentation  with  this  com- 
plaint we  are  indebted  for  the  introduction  of  mercury 
into  Western  medicine.  It  had  been  in  use  for  ages  in 
China  and  Eastern  India.  The  Materia  Medica  of  Chun- 
Sin  recommends  quicksilver  and  native  calomel  to 
destroy  worms  ;  and  the  knowledge  of  the  drug  was 
probably  brought  from  thence  by  some  of  the  Euro- 
pean navigators.  The  first  employment  of  the  article 
was  in  Italy  in  1497  ;  chiefly,  it  would  seem,  however, 
as  an  external  application.  Berenger  de  Carpi  gener- 
ally receives  the  credit  of  beginning  this  mode  of 
treatment.  He  speedily  became  famous,  and  in  a 
single  year  acquired  a  net  income  of  six  thousand 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  157 

pistoles.  His  patients  were  compelled  to  give  him  the 
sums  which  he  demanded,  and  there  was  no  end  to  the 
wealth  which  he  accumulated. 

How  he  came  to  entertain  the  surmise  that  mercury 
might  be  specific  in  this  complaint  has  been  variously 
conjectured.  It  was  most  probable  that  he  was,  like 
other  physicians  of  the  period,  a  dabbler  in  alchemy. 
This  was  simply  a  mysticism  in  which  mercury 
denoted  a  pure  or  awakened  conscience  by  the  opera- 
tion of  which  the  whole  mind  and  heart  became 
cleansed  from  evil.  De  Carpi  doubtless  interpreted 
this  literally,  and  so  endeavored  with  the  metal  itself 
to  eradicate  this  most  foul  of  virulent  animal  poisons. 

A  prominent  physician  of  Edinburgh  remarks  that 
syphilis  in  the  United  Kingdom  at  the  present  moment 
is  in  the  stage  of  an  epidemic  in  its  decline.  It  is,  he 
adds,  the  case  with  all  infective  diseases.  This  may 
be  fortunate,  for  there  are  surgeons  professing  to 
believe  in  the  propriety,  if  not  the  necessity  of  inocu- 
lating the  healthy  with  the  virus  of  the  disease  as  a 
prophylactic,  as  others  advocate  the  infecting  with 
other  noisome  ailments.  Perhaps,  if  syphilis  is  really 
declining,  the  mercurial  remedies  will  likewise  go  out 
of  fashion,  and  so  give  the  human  family  good  cat:se 
to  rejoice  at  being  exempted  from  two  of  its  direst 
calamities.     Deus  diem  festinet. 

CLOSING    OF    THE    MIDDLE    AGES. 

The  fall  of  Constantinople  was  precursory  of  the 
modern  cycle.  A  thousand  years  had  nearly  passed 
from  the  abdication  of  Romulus  in  the  West  till  the 
overthrow  of  the  surviving  Eastern  Empire.  If  the 
former  event  betokened  the  introduction  of  the  Dark 
Ages  into  Europe,  the  latter  was  the  introduction  of  a 


158  HISTORY    OF    MKDICINK. 

new  morning.  The  plunging  of  the  Oriental  world 
into  the  abyss  of  Turkish  barbarism  was  incident  to 
the  passing  of  its  Sun  into  the  sky  of  the  Western 
countries.  Hence  first  was  witnessed  the  Renaissance 
in  Italy  and  a  general  awakening  of  the  attention  of 
the  learned  men  of  the  universities.  The  impulse  was 
transmitted  thence  into  neighboring  regions,  and  the 
darkness  of  the  former  ages  was  driven  away.  The 
adding  of  the  Greek  language  to  the  curriculum  of 
liberal  studies,  the  dissemination  of  Greek  learning 
among  the  peoples  of  Europe  and  the  invention  of 
printing  were  the  important  factors  in  the  mental 
revolution.  Besides,  the  wars,  disorders  and  general 
deterioration  of  morals  in  the  public  policy  of  the 
nations,  drove  the  thoughtful  and  well-disposed  out  of 
political  life  ;  and  they  sought  compensation  and  an 
asylum  for  the  conscience  in  literary  pursuits.  In 
fact,  most  revivals  of  learning  have  occurred  when 
commonwealths  had  corrupt  or  despotic  rulers. 

Professor  Kohlrausch  thus  aptly  sets  forth  the 
results  of  the  change  from  the  Mediaeval  to  the 
Modern  period.  "Although  it  may  admit  of  dispute 
whether,  upon  the  whole,  we  are  further  advanced  in 
the  arts  and  sciences  than  many  nations  of  antiquity 
and  the  Middle  Ages,  the  progress  in  the  universal 
spread  of  knowledge  can  admit  of  no  question  and  it 
is  the  noble  art  of  printing,  which,  as  the  great  lever, 
has  effected  this  glorious  object." 

Meanwhile,  the  New  World  beyond  the  Atlantic  had 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  Europe.  The  ancient  cos- 
mology of  scholars  and  ecclesiastics  was  rudely  over- 
turned. The  Earth  was  displaced  from  its  acknowl- 
edged rank  as  centre  of  the  universe,  and  relegated  to 
its  former  position  as  an  attendant  upon  the  Sun. 


MEDICINE   IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  159 

With  all  these  changes,  thought  all  through  the 
learned  world  was  in  a  ferment  and  there  was  an 
increased  receptivity  to  mental  illumination. 

HISTORIC     EVENTS. 

The  overthrow  of  the  Eastern  Empire,  which  had 
thus  become  the  prelude  to  greater  enlightenment  in 
Europe,  was  also  the  introduction  to  new  perils  to 
Christendom.  The  Turks  made  their  way  to  the  Dan- 
ube, with  every  prospect  of  conquering  Hungary.  A 
crusade  was  proclaimed  against  them  ;  but  the  old 
enthusiasm  was  dead.  The  mild-mannered  Frederick 
III.  was  Emperor  of  Germany,  and  could  not  rally  the 
States,  even  for  their  own  protection.  The  Roman 
legate,  Capistran,  and  the  Hungarian  General,  Johann 
Hunyady,  however,  collected  forces  and  put  the 
invaders  to  rout.  Their  King  dying  the  next  year, 
the  Hungarian  Diet  elected  Matthaeus  Corvinus,  the 
son  of  the  General  to  the  throne.  The  new  monarch 
set  himself  at  once  to  the  encouragement  of  learning 
in  the  country.  He  founded  the  university  of  Buda, 
and  offered  to  Ficino  to  establish  a  school  of  philoso- 
phy and  the  liberal  arts.  But  the  great  Italian  scholar 
was  vacillating,  and  did  not  accept  the  proposition. 

Maximilian  I.,  the  son  and  successor  of  the  Emperor 
Frederick,  was  perhaps  the  noblest  representative  of 
the  Age  of  Chivalry.  He  was  distinguished  above  his 
contemporaries  for  personal  bravery,  enthusiasm,  and 
love  for  adventure.  While  yet  only  archduke,  he  had 
married  the  daughter  of  Charles  the  Bold,  on  her  own 
choice,  she  never  having  seen  him.  He  came  to  the 
imperial  dignity  at  a  time  when  the  countries  of 
Europe   were    governed    by    kings   and    lords,    both 


l6o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

spiritual  and  temporal,  who  had  adopted  the  methods 
of  modern  diplomacy,  esteeming  treachery  as  sagacity, 
and  esteeming  honor  as  nothing.  Maximilian  was  a 
man  of  the  former  time  ;  he  was  sincere  in  his  deal- 
ings with  others  and  scrupulously  kept  his  word  and 
faith.     He  was  accordingly  often  overreached. 

Germany,  by  the  old  constitution,  was  at  that  time 
the  arbiter  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe.  Maximilian 
set  out  to  perform  effectively  the  functions  of  thi-s 
office  by  first  perfecting  the  organization  of  the 
Empire  and  providing  for  the  more  equable  adminis- 
tration of  justice  ;  and  afterward  by  uniting  Christen- 
dom for  a  reform  of  morals  and  religion  at  home,  and 
for  protection  against  the  Turks.  He  even  entertained 
the  project  of  being  himself  elected  to  the  pontifical 
chair  at  Rome. 

He  was  a  passionate  lover  of  knowledge  ;  actually 
aiding  learned  men,  and  finding  time  himself  to  com- 
pose several  books.  Thus,  in  every  way,  while  appar- 
ently unsuccessful  in  much  that  he  attempted,  he 
opened  the  way  for  the  new  period.  He  was  gentle 
and  merciful,  truly  the  prince,  the  pure-minded  hero, 
the  scholar,  the  gentleman — in  short,  all  that  makes 
up  in  the  noblest  sense,  the  man. 

"  With  Maximilian  as  their  last  representative,"  says 
Professor  Kohlrausch,  "  the  Middle  Ages  passed  away; 
a  new  period,  of  which  the  germ  had  been  sown,  now 
gradually  developed  itself  and  became  established." 

ENGLAND    AND    FRANCE. 

In  England  the  conflict  between  the  royal  houses  of 
York  and  Lancaster  had  resulted  in  the  extermination 
of  a  large  part  of  the  nobility,  as  well  as  of  the  princes 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  l6l 

of  the  blood.  Henry  VII.,  of  the  new  dynasty  of  Tudor, 
a  monarch  in  every  moral  and  other  characteristic  the 
reverse  of  Maximilian,  was  king  during  the  period  of 
transition.  Guided  by  sordid  avarice,  he  sacrificed 
the  opportunity  offered  him  by  Columbus,  and  then 
meanly,  but  with  results  fortunate  for  us,  won  the 
right  of  discovery  through  the  enterprise  of  Sebastian 
Cabot. 

■  Meanwhile,  learning  had  received  a  new  impulse  at 
the  universities.  Richard  III.,  during  his  brief  reign 
encouraged  the  liberal  arts,  and  after  his  overthrow 
the  scholars  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  continued  the 
movement. 

France  was  in  no  respect  behind.  The  university 
at  Paris,  as  well  as  the  institutions  of  the  South,  had 
been  among  the  foremost  to  accept  the  new  order  of 
things.  With  the  accession  of  Francis  I.,  Henry  VIII. 
and  Charles  V.,  the  Modern  Times  had  begun. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MEDICINE  IN  THE  RENASCENCE. 

Medicine  was  among  the  later  of  the  arts  to  partici- 
pate in  the  mental  revolution  which  superseded  the 
Dark  Ages.  Having  been  taught  in  conjunction  with 
metaphysics  and  the  occult  learning  denominated 
mathematics,  the  first  endeavors  to  let  in  the  new  light 
were  equally  directed  to  the  several  departments  of 
knowledge  usually  taught  in  the  schools.  Thus  we 
have  observed  that  Ficino,  who  was  foremost  in  the 
restoration,  and  those  who  sympathized  with  him, 
directed  their  efforts  chiefly  to  philosophy  as  the 
nucleus  around  which  the  new  thought  should  collect. 
"  It  was  at  first  very  naturally  supposed,"  says  Dr.  J. 
F.  Payne,  "  that  the  simple  revival  of  classical,  and 
especially  of  Greek  literature,  would  at  once  produce 
the  same  brilliant  results  in  medicine  as  in  literature 
and  philosophy.  The  movement  of  reforms  started, 
of  necessity,  with  scholars  rather  than  with  practicing 
physicians — more  precisely,  with  a  group  of  learned 
men,  equally  enthusiastic  in  the  cause  of  letters  and 
of  medicine." 

When  a  breach  with  former  notions  and  modes  of 
thinking  takes  place,  the  neophytes  are  often  vigorous 
in  denouncing,  with  little  or  no  discrimination,  what 
had   been  believed.     Thus,  in   earlier   centuries,    the 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE,  163 

learning  of  the  East  was  denominated  magic  and  the 
term  made  opprobrious,  while  those  who  cultivated 
knowledge  were  stigmatised  as  sorcerers.  The  Albi- 
geois,  Waldenses  and  early  reformers  in  religion  were 
alike  so  denounced.  A  person  or  sentiment  made 
odious  is  half  overcome.  The  pursuit  of  knowledge 
was  thus  transformed  from  wisdom-craft  to  witch- 
craft and  denominated  the  "black  art." 

In  a  similar  temper  the  leaders  of  the  Renascence 
discarded  the  medical  literature  of  the  Middle  Ages  as 
barbarism,  and  scouted  the  writings  of  the  Arabians 
as  profane,  if  not  actually  worse.  In  Spain,  where  the 
Christian  and  Moslem  faiths  had  been  in  immediate 
collision,  the  death-penalty,  under  religious  auspices, 
was  sometimes  inflicted  upon  such  as  studied  them. 

The  Italian  professors,  however,  adopted  the  more 
judicious  policy  of  leading  medicine  back  to  its  earlier 
sources.  They  substituted  the  writings  of  Hippo- 
krates,  Galen  and  other  eminent  physicians  for  those 
of  the  Arabian  authors.  Few  scholars,  however,  had 
any  knowledge  of  the  Greek  language,  and  even  few 
physicians  were  learned  men.  It  was  necessary,  there- 
fore, to  begin  by  the  translating  of  those  works  into 
Latin,  then  the  common  language  of  scholars  in  all 
European  countries. 

RESTORATION     OF     THE    HIPPOKRATIC    DOGMA. 

The  first  to  engage  in  this  undertaking  was  Nicola 
Leoniceno.  He  was  a  native  of  Vincenza,  and  for 
upward  of  sixty  years  a  professor  in  the  universities 
of  Padua  and  Ferrara.  He  had  become  an  accom- 
plished Greek  scholar,  and  now  made  a  translation  of 
the  writings  of   Hippokrates.  which  he  was  assiduous 


164  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

in  explaining  in  his  lectures.  Fortunately  he  was  an 
eclectic  and  not  a  bigot  or  even  a  dogmatist  in  his 
beliefs.  While  enthusiastic  in  his  devotion  to  the 
"new  learning,"  he  was  also  conscientiously  diligent 
in  selecting  from  the  doctrines  and  practice  of  the 
Arabian  physicians  whatever  he  regarded  as  true  and 
beneficial.  He  was  followed  by  Giovanni  de  Monti 
and  others. 

Hippokratic  Medicine  was  now  speedily  carried  from 
Italy  to  France,  where  it  became  the  leading  school. 
Johannis  Giinther,  of  Andernach,  for  some  time  a  pro- 
fessor  in  the  Faculty  at  Paris,  made  a  "  new  departure" 
by  translating  the  works  of  Galen  and  Hippokrates 
into  French.  Fernel,  another  eminent  representative 
of  the  school  at  Paris,  wrote  a  treatise  in  refutation  of 
the  humoral  pathology  as  set  forth  by  Galen,  and  first 
suggested  the  doctrine  of  "solidism,"  afterward  pro- 
pounded and  taught  by  Hoffman  and  his  school. 

Lommius,  a  disciple  of  Fernel,  practicing  medicine 
at  Brussels,  also  published  a  work  in  Latin,  entitled 
Observationes  Medicales,  which  enforced  the  doctrines  of 
Hippokrates.  Botal,  likewise  a  student  of  Fernel,  and 
chief  physician  to  the  kings,  Henry  II.  and  Charles  IX. 
of  France,  attained  distinction  by  his  recommendation 
of  profuse  blood-letting,  in  which  he  was  hardly  sur- 
passed by  the  famous  Sangrado.  His  contemporaries, 
Duret,  Piso  and  Holler,  also  warm  admirers  of  Hippo- 
krates, were  more  cautious  and  conservative  in  this 
respect,  adhering  more  closely  to  the  Hippokratic 
teaching.  They  wrote  ably  upon  prognosis  and  other 
practical  topics. 

After  these  writers  there  followed  a  multitude  of 
redactors,  scholiasts  and  commentators,  who  devoted 
themselves  to  elucidations  of  the  doctrines  of  Galen 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  165 

and  Hippokrates,  citing  them  as  oracles  not  to  be 
questioned  or  doubted.  Prominent  among  these  were 
Zwinger  of  Basel,  who  wrote  on  practical  medicine  ; 
Mercurialis,  who  published  a  work  upon  the  Gymnastics 
of  the  Ancients,  and  also  Amato  Lusitano  and  Prospero 
Alpino,  the  author  of  a  treatise  on  the  Medical  Art 
amo/ig  the  Egyptians. 

Giovanni  Argentine,  a  physician  of  Piedmont,  who 
taught  in  the  universities  of  Pisa,  Naples  and  Turin, 
was  distinguished  as  a  reformer  in  the  methods  of 
teaching.  He  insisted  strenuously  upon  the  old 
Empiric  doctrine  that  observation  and  experience 
constituted  the  foundation  of  all  rational  instruction 
in  medicine.  He  found  supporters  in  several  of  the 
principal  universities,  among  them  Joubert  and  Ron- 
delet,  of  Montpellier. 

THE  "new  learning"  IN  ENGLAND. 

The  turning-point  in  English  history  began  with 
the  Tudor  dynasty,  and  the  modern  age  was  fairly 
introduced  when  Henry  VIII.  came  to  the  throne. 
This  king,  who  was  neither  hero,  saint,  nor  monster, 
but  a  man  with  many  faults,  was  both  able  and  popular. 
He  was  of  versatile  ability,  skillful  in  engineering, 
music  and  literature,  well  read  in  theology,  and  atten- 
tive in  the  observance  of  religious  duties.  He  suc- 
ceeded in  war  and  soothed  down  insurrections  at  home 
by  forgiveness.  For  thirty-six  years  of  his  reign  he 
was  regarded  abroad  and  in  his  own  dominions  as  a 
model  king.  He  was  among  the  best  physicians  of  his 
age,  and  established  medicine  and  surgery  on  new 
foundations.  He  was  a  warm  friend  to  men  of  learning, 
and  his  encouragement  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the 
efforts  for  disseminating  knowledge. 


l66  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

He  made  choice  of  the  celebrated  Thomas  Lynaker 
for  his  physician,  and  continued  his  favor  and  patron- 
age without  interruption.  Lynaker  was  a  native  of 
Canterbury,  and  is  distinguished  as  the  first  English 
scholar  who  wrote  in  the  Latin  language.  He  had 
been  instructed  in  Greek  learning  by  William  of  Sell- 
ing, and  entered  the  university  of  Oxford  in  1480, 
becoming  a  Fellow  of  All-Souls'  College  four  years 
later.  Accompanying  his  preceptor  on  an  embassy  to 
Italy,  he  entered  the  university  at  Bologna  under 
Poliziano.  Among  his  fellow-students  were  the  sons 
of  Lorenzo  de  Medici,  one  of  whom  was  afterward  the 
pontiff,  Leo  X,  Lynaker  subsequently  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  in  Medicine  at  the  university  of 
Padua,  and  returned  to  Oxford.  Here  he  appears  to 
have  been  better  known  as  a  philosopher  than  as  a 
physician.  He  translated  the  works  of  Aristotle  into 
Latin,  and  also  those  of  Galen  ;  and  several  writers 
affirm  that  he  also  made  a  Latin  version  of  Hippo- 
krates.  He  formed  one  of  a  circle  of  distinguished 
scholars  who  were  active  in  the  promoting  of  classics 
and  philosophic  learning.  In  1501  he  was  appointed 
tutor  to  Arthur,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  upon  whose  death 
he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  London. 
After  the  accession  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  his  appoint- 
ment as  physician  to  that  monarch,  he  speedily  became 
the  acknowledged  head  of  his  profession  in  England. 
Among  those  who  consulted  him  were  Cardinal  Wol- 
sey,  Archbishops  Warham  and  Fox.  Some  years  later 
he  took  orders  as  a  priest.  He  resumed  literary  pur- 
suits, and  prepared  a  Greek  Grammar  for  the  use  of 
the  royal  princess  Mary. 

Conscioiis  that  he  was  the  member  of  a  learned  pro- 
fession rather  than  of  a  mere  bread- winning  craft,  he 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  167 

recognized  his  indebtedness  to  it  by  efforts  to  promote 
medical  study  in  England.  He  employed  his  vast  for- 
tune to  establish  a  chair  of  Greek  medicine  at  the 
University  of  Oxford,  and  also  began  the  foundation 
of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians  in  London.  He 
was  aided  by  the  King  in  this  enterprise,  and  the  insti- 
tution became  the  model  of  similar  ones  in  other 
countries. 

Before  this  time  the  authority  to  license  physicians 
in  London  had  been  exercised  by  the  bishops,  and 
generally  leechcraft  had  been  carried  on  by  priests. 
It  was  afterward,  vested  in   the  College  of  Physicians. 

"  DOCTOR    CAIUS." 

John  Kaye,  a  native  of  Norwich,  succeeded  to  the 
work  so  auspiciously  begun  by  Lynaker.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  remark  that  he  was  the  "  Doctor  Caius" 
whom  Shakspere  has  commemorated  in  "  The  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor,"  it  being  a  fashion  of  scholars  at 
that  period  to  give  their  names  a  Latin  or  Greek  form. 
He  was  a  ripe  scholar,  having  studied  medicine  and 
the  classic  languages  in  Italy.  He  founded  the  medi- 
cal college  at  Cambridge,  and  was  the  author  of  several 
works.  Two  of  his  treatises  describe  the  fifth  out- 
break of  the  "Sweating  Disease"  in  England  in  1551. 
One  of  them  was  in  English  and  entitled,  "^  Bokc  or 
Counseill  Against  the  Disease  commonly  called  the  Sweating 
Disease,"  and  the  other  in  Latin  having  the  name  "  Z><? 
Ephemerd  Britannicd."  He  gives  the  remarkable  state- 
ment that  this  disease,  so  mortal  in  England,  did  not 
extend  to  Scotland,  but  passed  over  to  Calais,  Brabant 
and  other  places,  affecting  Englishmen  but  not  the 
natives. 


l68  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

BERENGER    DE    CARPI, 

The  "greatest  discoveries  which  occurred  during 
the  sixteenth  century"  are  ascribed  by  many  writers 
to  Berenger  de  Carpi.  He  was  a  native  of  Modena, 
and  for  many  years  a  professor  at  Bologna.  He 
excelled  as  an  anatomist,  dissecting  more  than  one 
hundred  bodies,  and  making  several  discoveries  in 
regard  to  the  internal  structures  of  the  body.  Sprengel 
also  gives  him  the  credit  of  having  made  several 
improvements  in  surgery.  His  introduction  of  the 
use  of  mercury  in  syphilis  has  already  been  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  chapter.  He  was  a  zealous  worker, 
and  wrote  several  books  which  were  received  with 
great  favor — a  Compe?id,  Isagogce  or  introduction,  and 
Commentaries  upon  Mondini,  in  which  last  work  he  cor- 
rects mistakes  of  that  distinguished  author,  and  gives 
minute  descriptions  of  the  various  organs  and  textures 
of  the  human  body. 

PARACELSUS. 

In  point  of  genius,  original  research  and  intuitive 
sagacity,  Paracelsus  deservedly  holds  a  superior  rank. 
He  was  foremost  among  those  whose  labors  introduced 
the  new  epoch  in  medicine,  and  his  explorations  were 
so  extensive  and  profound  that  they  have  never  been 
thoroughly  apprehended.  His  father,  Wilhelm  Bom- 
bast, of  Hohenheim,  in  Wurtemburg,  was  a  physician 
of  excellent  scholarship,  and  instructed  the  young 
Philipp  in  philosophy  and  medicine  as  they  were 
taught  at  the  time.  The  youth  was  very  precocious, 
and  after  a  term  of  study  with  several  distinguished 
churchmen,  entered  the  university  at  Basel  in  1509,  in 
his  nineteenth  year.  After  this  he  became  a  pupil  of 
the  celebrated  Tritheim,  Bishop   of   Spanheim,   who 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  169 

taught  him  philosophy,  alchemy  and  the  properties  of 
metals.  He  next  spent  a  period  in  the  laboratory  of 
Sig-ismund  Fugger  in  the  Tyrol,*  where  he  attained 
greater  proficiency  in  chemistry  and  metallurgy. 
Then,  following  the  example  of  Demokritos,  Hippo- 
krates  and  other  ancient  sages,  he,  at  the  age  of  twenty, 
made  the  tour  of  Europe,  traveling  on  foot,  visiting 
the  various  mines,  and  consulting  with  learned  men 
and  others  in  his  quest  for  information.  "  I  have  pur- 
sued knowledge  at  the  risk  of  my  life,"  he  said  of 
himself;  "and  I  have  not  been  ashamed  to  learn  of 
peddlers,  news  mongers  and  barbers." 

Passing  from  Muscovy  into  the  dominions  of  the 
Great  Khan,  he  was  made  a  prisoner  and  brought  to 
that  monarch,  who  promptly  set  him  at  liberty.  He 
accompanied  the  son  of  that  prince  on  an  embassy  to 
Constantinople,  where,  as  Van  Helmont  informs  us, 
he  became  the  disciple  of  an  "Arabian"  physician,  his 
own  countryman,  named  Trismosinus  or  Pfeiffer,  who 
imparted  to  him  the  knowledge  denominated  in 
alchemic  diction,  the  "philosopher's  stone." 

Returning  by  way  of  the  Danube  to  Italy  and  Ger- 
many, he  served  for  some  time  as  a  surgeon  in  the 
imperial  army.  His  reputation  for  skill  and  learning 
was  now  acknowledged  by  the  scholars  of  the  time. 
Among  those  who  consulted  him  professionally  was 
the  celebrated  Erasmus  of  Rotterdam.  Going  to  Basel 
in  1526,  he  was  appointed  town  physician,  and  shortly 
afterward,  at  the  recommendation  of  the  Reformer 
CEkolampadius,  was  chosen  by  the  city  council  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  and   medicine   in  the  university. 

He  now  adopted  the  title  of  "  Utriusque  Medicince 
Doctor,"  or  teacher  of  both  branches  of  medicine,  and 

*The  Fuggers  were  the  principal  bankers  and  moneylenders  of  Europe. 


170  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

following  a  practice  in  vogue  among  scholars,  he  took 
the  name  by  which  he  is  best  known,  Paracelsus^  as 
another  Celsus.  He  was  bold  in  his  innovations. 
Rejecting  the  current  Aristotelian  philosophy  and 
method,  he  accepted  the  Platonic  doctrines.  He  added 
new  observations  to  what  was  known  of  surgery. 
"  The  dead  level  of  tradition  is  broken  first  by  two 
men  of  originality  and  genius,  Paracelsus  and  Par6," 
is  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Charles  Creighton.  "Apart 
from  the  mystical  form  in  which  much  of  his  teaching 
was  cast,  Paracelsus  has  great  merits  as  a  reformer  of 
surgical  practice.  'The  high  value  of  his  surgical 
writings,'  says  Haser,  'has  been  recognized  at  all 
times,  even  by  his  opponents.'  It  is  not,  however,  as 
an  innovator  in  operative  surgery,  but  rather  as  a 
direct  observer  of  natural  processes,  that  Paracelsus 
is  distinguished.  His  description  of  'hospital  gan- 
grene,' for  example,  is  perfectly  true  to  nature  ;  his 
numerous  observations  on  syphilis  are  also  sound  and 
sensible,  and  he  was  the  first  to  point  out  the  connec- 
tion between  cretinism  of  the  offspring  and  the  goitre 
of  the  parents." 

Paracelsus  was  more  famous,  however,  as  an  apostle 
of  modern  medicine.  He  would  not  be  bound  by  the 
consensus  of  opinion  entertained  by  the  majority  of 
the  medical  profession  of  the  time,  but  unsparingly 
denounced  it  as  an  artificial  system  consisting  of  a 
gibberish  unintelligible  to  the  common  people,  a 
science  which  was  only  an  invention  to  cheat  and 
deceive,  and  an  art,  not  of  curing  the  sick  but  of 
worming  into  the  favor  of  the  rich,  swindling  the 
poor,  and  gaining  admittance  to  the  tables  of  men 
of  high  standing.  "  You  live  upon  imposture,"  he 
declared,   "and    the  aid    and   abetment    of   the  legal 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  171 

profession  enable  you  to  carry  on  your  impositions 
and  to  evade  punishment  by  the  law." 

He  avowed  the  highest  respect  for  the  teachings  of 
Hippokrates,  but  discaided  the  practice  founded  upon 
the  writings  of  Galen,  Razes,  and  Avicenna,  burning 
them  in  the  presence  of  his  class.  "  Popular  medicine," 
he  declared,  "  knows  next  to  nothing  about  any  dis- 
eases that  are  not  caused  by  mechanical  means,  and 
the  science  of  curing  internal  diseases  consists  almost 
entirely  in  the  removal  of  causes  that  have  produced 
some  mechanical  obstruction  in  the  body.  But  the 
number  of  diseases  that  originate  from  unknown 
causes  is  far  greater  than  those  that  come  from 
mechanical  causes  ;  and  for  such  our  physicians  know 
no  cure,  because  not  knowing  such  causes,  they  can- 
not remove  them.  All  that  they  can  prudently  do  is 
to  observe  the  patient  and  make  their  guesses  about 
his  condition  ;  and  the  patient  has  good  cause  to  rejoice 
if  the  medicines  administered  to  him  do  him  no  serious 
harm  and  do  not  prevent  his  recovery. 

"The  best  of  our  popular  physicians  are  the  ones 
who  do  the  least  harm.  But,  unfortunately,  some  poison 
their  patients  with  mercury,  and  others  purge  or  bleed  them  to 
death.  There  are  some  who  have  learned  so  much  that 
their  learning  has  driven  out  all  their  common  sense, 
and  there  are  others  ivho  care  a  great  deal  more  for  their  otvn 
profit  than  for  the  health  of  their  patients.  A  disease  does 
not  change  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  physician,  but  the  physician  should  understand 
the  causes  of  the  disease.  A  physician  should  be  the 
servant  of  Nature,  and  not  her  enemy  ;  he  should  be 
able  to  guide  and  direct  her  in  her  struggle  for  life, 
and  not  throw,  by  his  unreasonable  interference,  fresh 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  recovery."     {Paragranum.) 


172  HISTORY     OF    MEDICINE. 

Such  utterances  speedily  brought  down  upon  him 
the  bitter  animosity  of  his  colleagues.  They  soon 
became  prolific  in  finding  pretexts  for  attacking  him. 
Paracelsus  had  departed  from  the  general  practice  of 
giving  his  lectures  in  the  Latin  language,  but  employed 
the  vernacular  Swiss-German  dialect,  and  they  made 
this  an  ostensible  reason  for  charging  him  with 
ignorance.  He  was  a  stranger,  unknown  to  them, 
they  declared,  which  was  a  mortal  offense  to  a  Swiss  ; 
he  had  been  made  a  professor  without  their  approval, 
and  they  did  not  know,  they  asserted,  whether  he  had 
ever  received  any  medical  degree.  Besides,  he  was 
profaning  and  vulgarizing  the  medical  art  by  making 
its  mysteries  known  to  the  laity,  and  was  a  man  to  be 
got  out  of  the  way  at  all  hazards.  The  apothecaries 
joined  in  the  cry.  They  were  enraged  because  he  as 
city  physician  had  insisted  upon  ascertaining  their 
fitness  to  compound  medicines,  and  whether  their 
drugs  were  pure  and  sold  at  prices  not  exorbitant.  He 
had  also  offended  them  by  writing  his  prescriptions  in 
German  instead  of  Latin,  and  becau-se  his  formulas 
were  simple  and  did  not  consist  of  from  forty  to  sixty 
or  more  different  ingredients.  Indeed  Paracelsus  was 
a  pioneer  teacher  of  direct  or  specific  medication. 

The  crowning  act  of  enmity,  however,  was  the 
ingratitude  and  treachery  of  the  Canon  of  Lichtenfels. 
He  had  been  given  up  to  die  by  his  physicians ;  but 
Paracelsus  had  succeeded  in  restoring  him  to  health. 
He  turned  upon  his  benefactor,  accusing  him  of  sor- 
cery, necromancy  and  drunkenness.  The  City  Council 
of  Basel,  to  its  own  disgrace,  took  sides  with  the 
ecclesiastic.  Paracelsus  indignantly  denounced  their 
action,  and  to  escape  prosecution  for  his  temerity,  left 
the  city. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE,  173 

After  a  series  of  journeyings  he  came  to  Nurem- 
berg. The  physicians  of  this  place,  on  learning  of  his 
arrival,  published  him  as  an  impostor  and  charlatan. 
He  replied  by  asking  for  patients  suffering  from 
incurable  diseases.  Several  cases  of  elephantiasis 
were  produced  and  successfully  treated.  Finally,  in 
1541,  the  Prince  Palatine,  Duke  Ernst  of  Bavaria, 
invited  him  to  make  his  home  at  Salzburg.  The 
malignity  of  his  enemies  pursued  him  to  this  place 
of  refuge,  and  he  was  treacherously  murdered  by 
assassins,  September,  1541. 

The  works  imputed  to  Paracelsus  are  numerous, 
and  probably  include  treatises  by  others  of  his  school. 
They  seem  to  embrace  every  topic  comprised  at  that 
time  in  the  curriculum  of  medicine.  From  the  earliest 
periods,  not  only  drugs  and  surgical  expedients,  but 
prayer,  religious  offices,  faith,  philosophy,  magic, 
astrology  and  pneumatology  were  included  in  the  art 
of  healing.  We  need  not  be  surprised,  therefore,  that 
Paracelsus  treated  of  them  in  his  writings.  Indeed, 
he  entertained  religious  and  theosophic  opinions 
greatly  resembling  those  of  Jakob  Boehmen,  and  many 
of  his  utterances  would  furnish  appropriate  themes 
for  the  Society  of  Psychical  Research. 

Yet  they  who  counted  him  a  visionary,  like  those 
who  call  him  an  ignorant  pretender,  would  reckon  ill. 
"The  highest  merits  of  Paracelsus,"  says  Giordano 
Bruno,  "  is  that  he  was  the  first  to  treat  medicine  as  a 
philosophy,  and  that  he  used  magical  remedies  in  cases 
where  the  physical  substances  were  not  sufficient." 

Paracelsus  believed  medicine  to  be  a  holy  art,  and 
the  practice  a  sacred  calling  which  the  unworthy  and 
irreverent  can  not  understand.  He  described  it  with 
a  terminology   partly  current  at  the   time,  and  partly 


174  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

consisting  of  words  of  his  own  devising  and  selecting. 
"The  knowledge  of  Nature  is  the  foundation  of  the 
science  of  medicine,"  said  he;  "and  it  is  taught  by 
the  four  great  departments  of  science  :  Philosophy, 
Astronomy,  Alchemy  and  Physical  Science."  By 
philosophy  he  meant  the  true  perception  and  under- 
standing of  cause  and  effect ;  and  he  adds,  that  "  in 
this  understanding  rests  the  indication  of  the  true 
remedy."  "  He  must,  above  all,  be  in  possession  of 
that  faculty  which  is  called  Intuition,  and  which  can- 
not be  acquired  by  blindly  following  the  footsteps  of 
another  ;  he  must  be  able  to  see  his  own  way.  If  you 
wish  to  be  a  true  physician  you  must  be  able  to  do 
your  own  thinking,  and  not  merely  employ  the 
thoughts  of  others.  What  others  teach  you,  may  be 
good  enough  to  help  you  in  your  search  for  knowledge, 
but  you  should  be  able  to  think  for  yourself  and  not 
cling  to  the  coat-tail  of  any  authority,  no  matter  how 
high-sounding  the  title  of  the  latter  may  be." 

By  astronomy  is  signified  the  mental  sphere  of  the 
being.  The  influences  of  the  seasons,  hot  and  cold, 
dryness  and  moisture,  light  and  darkness,  are  also 
included.  "  Man's  diseases  do  not  originate  in  himself, 
they  originate  from  the  influences  which  act  upon  him 
and  enter  his  constitution.  If  the  air  becomes  vitiated, 
it  may  poison  man's  body  ;  if  the  astral  influences  are 
in  a  state  of  corruption,  they  may  do  likewise." 

To  be  an  alchemist  is  to  "understand  the  Chemistry 
of  Life.  Medicine  is  not  merely  a  science,  but  an  art; 
it  does  not  consist  merely  in  compounding  pills  and 
plasters  and  drugs  of  all  kinds  ;  but  it  deals  with  the 
processes  of  life,  which  must  be  understood  before  they 
can  be  guided."  "  A  powerful  will  may  cure  where  a 
doubt  will  end  in  failure.     The  character  of  the  phy- 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  I75 

sician  may  act  more  powerfully  upon  the  patient  than 
all  the  drugs  employed."  "  The  physical  surroundings 
of  the  patient  may  have  a  great  influence  upon  the 
course  of  his  disease.  If  he  is  waited  upon  by  persons 
who  are  in  sympathy  with  him,  it  will  be  far  better 
for  him,  than  if  his  wife  or  attendants  wish  for  his 
death."  "The  physician  should  be  well  versed  in 
physical  science.  He  should  know  the  action  of  medi- 
cines  and  learn  by  his  own  experience  and  by  the 
experience  of  others.  He  should  know  how  to  regulate 
the  diet  of  the  patient ;  the  ordinary  course  of  disease, 
and  the  premonitory  symptoms ;  the  innumerable 
remedies  in  nature,  which  are  hidden  from  the  eyes  of 
the  vulgar,  but  opened  to  the  perception  of  the  wise." 

Paracelsus  also  insisted  strenuously  upon  the 
natural  qualifications  of  the  physician.  "  He  who  can 
cure  disease,"  he  declares,  "  is  a  physician.  To  cure 
diseases  is  an  art  which  can  not  be  acquired  by  the 
mere  reading  of  books,  but  which  must  be  learned  by 
experience.  Neither  emperors  nor  popes,  neither  col- 
leges nor  high  schools  can  create  physicians.  They 
can  confer  privileges  and  cause  a  person  who  is  not  a 
physician  to  appear  as  if  he  were  one,  but  they  cannot 
cause  him  to  be  what  he  is  not  ;  they  can  give  him 
permission  to  kill,  but  they  can  not  enable  him  to  cure 
the  sick."  "There  are  artificially-made  physicians 
and  there  are  born  physicians.  The  latter  possess 
their  talent  from  birth,  and  it  may  be  unfolded  and 
grow  like  a  tree  if  it  is  properly  nursed.  He  who  has 
no  natural  talent  to  be  a  physician  will  never  succeed. 
He  who  is  not  a  physician  in  the  spring  of  his  life, 
will  not  be  one  in  the  autumn." 

"  One  of  the  most  necessary  requirements  for  a  phy- 
sician is  perfect  purity  and  singleness  of  purpose.    He 


176  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

should  be  free  of  ambition,  vanity,  envy,  unchastity, 
pomposity  and  self-conceit,  because  these  vices  are 
the  outcome  of  ignorance,  and  are  incompatible  with 
the  light  of  divine  wisdom  which  should  illuminate 
the  mind  of  the  true  physician." 

Paracelsus  was  the  first  to  make  use  of  the  term 
magnetism  to  express  certain  agencies  and  phenomena. 
He  taught  that  the  archceus  or  primordial  life-essence 
was  distributed  in  all  parts  of  the  healthy  human 
body,  and  that  it  was  of  a  magnetic  nature,  attracting 
or  repelling  other  sympathetic  or  antipathetic  forces 
belonging  to  the  same  plane.  "  The  vital  force  is  not 
enclosed  in  man,  but  radiates  around  him  like  a  lumi- 
nous sphere,  and  it  may  be  made  to  act  at  a  distance. 
In  these  semi-material  rays  the  imagination  of  man 
may  produce  healthy  or  morbid  effects.  It  may  poison 
the  essence  of  life  and  cause  diseases,  or  it  may  purify 
it  after  it  has  been  made  impure,  and  restore  the 
health."  Again  he  says  :  "The  invisible  forces  act- 
ing in  the  visible  body  are  often  very  powerful,  and 
may  be  guided  by  the  imagination  and  be  propelled 
by  the  will."  He  explains  that  this  is  accomplished 
through  the  principle,  which  he  denominates  mu7nia. 
This  is  the  vehicle  of  life  ;  "  it  is  a  spiritual  substance 
containing  the  essence  of  life,  and  it  can  be  brought 
again  by  art  into  contact  with  dying  frames  and  revive 
them  if  the  vital  organs  of  the  latter  are  not  destroyed." 
The  peculiar  influence  of  one  person  upon  another  as 
well  as  its  employment  for  beneficial  and  even  bane- 
ful purposes  are  abundantly  shown.  Paracelsus  was 
strongly  in  favor  of  employing  the  magnet  itself  for 
healing  purposes,  and  gives  explicit  directions.  He 
knew  the  powers  of  mineral,  human  and  animal  mag- 
netism, and  his  doctrines  in  regard  to  human  magnetism 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  177 

have  since  been  abundantly  confirmed.  Lessing, 
in  1769,  proved  that  Paracelsus,  and  not  Mesmer,  was 
the  original  discoverer.  He  also  mentions  hydrogen 
as  an  element  the  existence  of  which  was  a  recognized 
fact,*  and  it  has  been  affirmed  that  he  also  knew  of 
nitrogen  and  oxygen. 

He  taught  that  there  were  five  causes  of  disease  and 
five  methods  for  treating  diseases,  each  of  which  was 
sufficient  for  them  all.  There  were  accordingly  five 
classes  or  sects  of  physicians.  There  were  those  who, 
like  Galen  and  Avicenna,  treat  diseased  conditions 
with  appropriate  remedies  ;  those  who,  like  the  Empiri- 
cists and  Homoeopathists,  make  use  of  specific  reme- 
dies which  have  certain  affinities  for  certain  morbid 
conditions  ;  those  who  cure  diseases  by  employing 
their  will-power  ;  those  who,  like  Hippokrates  and  the 
employers  of  magic,  make  use  of  spiritual  forces  ;  and 
those  who  cure  by  faith  alone.  "Among  these  five 
classes  the  first  is  the  most  orthodox  and  narrow- 
minded,  and  they  reject  the  other  four  because  they 
are  not  able  to  understand  them." 

The  doctrine  of  Signatures  has  often  been  mentioned 
with  accompanying  sneers.  As  Paracelsus  explains  it, 
its  reasonableness  is  very  plain.  "  This  signaiufti,  or 
specific  indication,  is  a  certain  organic  vital  activity 
giving  to  each  natural  object  a  certain  analogy  to  a 
certain  condition  produced  by  disease,  and  through 
which,  in  specific  diseases,  health  may  be  restored  in 
the  diseased  organisms."  This  hypothesis,  it  will 
readily  be  perceived,  underlies  the  doctrine  of 
Hom.oeopathy  and  the  dogma  of  direct  and  specific 
medication. 


*  Kemshead  :  Inorganic  Chemistry^  p.  bb. 


178  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

THE    SCHOOL    OF    PARACELSUS. 

The  disciples  of  Paracelsus  appear  to  have  been 
numerous.  His  works  were  published  and  eagerly- 
sought  for,  and  the  treatise  on  Surgery  was  regarded 
as  a  classic.  ^  His  philosophic,  theurgic  and  other 
writings,  however  acceptable  to  their  readers,  hardly 
came  within  the  province  of  medical  history,  as  it  has 
come  to  be  understood  in  later  centuries. 

Contemporary  with  Paracelsus  was  the  celebrated 
scholar,  Henry  Cornelius  von  Nettesheim,  more  com- 
monly known  as  Cornelius  Agrippa.  After  graduating 
at  the  University  of  Cologne  he  was  employed  by  the 
Emperor  Maximilian  in  diplomatic  service.  He  next 
served  in  the  army,  but  soon  abandoned  active  life  for 
science,  and  engaged  in  the  formation  of  a  secret 
society  of  theosophists.  He  was  invited  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Dole,  in  Burgundy,  in  1509,  and  lectured  on 
the  work  of  Reuchlin,  De  Verba  Mirifico,  which  gained 
for  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  Later  he 
published  a  treatise  on  Occult  Philosophy,  in  which 
he  had  the  help  of  the  abbot  Tritheim.  In  15 11  he 
attended  the  Schismatic  Council  at  Pisa  as  theologian, 
making  for  himself  thereby  bitter  enemies  in  religious 
circles.  In  1515  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  on 
the  jPoemander  of  Hermes,  and  received  the  doctor's 
degree  in  law  and  medicine.  Three  years  later  he 
became  the  Syndic  at  Metz,  where  he  was  constantly 
in  collision  with  the  monks  and  the  Inquisitor  Savin, 
whose  ill  will  was  increased  by  his  persistent  defend- 
ing of  a  woman  accused  of  witchcraft.  In  1522  he 
returned  to  Geneva  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
medicine,  and  the  next  year  was  appointed  town  phy- 
sician of  Friburg.     In  1523  he  was  made  court  physician 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  I79 

to  the  queen-mother,  Louise  of  Savoy,  at  Lyons. 
She  demanded  of  him  to  make  some  astrological 
calculations,  and  upon  his  refusal  dismissed  him, 
withholding  his  compensation.  He  returned  to  the 
Netherlands,  becoming  historiographer  to  Charles  V., 
and  writing  several  works.  Owing  to  the  hatred  of 
the  Dominicans,  he  was  kept  in  turmoil  all  his  life  and 
his  memory  vilified  after  death. 

FAUST. 

The  story  of  Doctor  Johann  Faust  has  been  so  dis- 
torted, as  to  lead  one  to  regard  it  as  fictitious.  He 
was,  however,  a  real  character,  a  native  of  the  duchy 
-of  Weimar,  and  brought  up  at  Wittemberg,  where,  at 
the  university,  he  took  the  degrees,  first  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity,  and  afterward  of  Doctor  in  Medicine.  He 
is  mentioned  by  Gessner,  Melanchthon,  and  others, 
and  was  well-known  to  Cornelius  Agrippa  and  Para- 
celsus. Like  the  physicians  of  the  time,  he  was  versed 
in  the  Arabian  learning,  which  afforded  to  his  adver- 
saries the  opportunity  to  stigmatize  him  as  a  sorcerer 
and  in  league  with  evil  demons.  In  this  way,  a  man 
eminent  in  scholarship,  a  devoted  and  successful  phy- 
sician, was  successfully  calumniated,  till  our  principal 
conceptions  of  him  are  formed  from  Marlowe's 
^^ History''  and  Goethe's  immortal  poem. 

ANATOMY     IN     THE    RENASCENCE. 

Jacques  Du  Bois,  who  Latinized  his  name  into  Syl- 
vius, was  the  first  master  of  anatomic  science  in  France. 
Finding  that  philosophy  and  literature  afforded  scant 
prospect  of  wealth,  he  entered  the  University  of  Mont- 


l8o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

pellier,  about  1525,  and  obtained  the  medical  degree. 
Returning  to  Paris,  now  fifty-one  years  old,  he  taught 
anatomy  in  the  College  of  Trinquet,  and  afterward 
became  professor  of  surgery  in  the  Royal  College.  His 
chief  improvement  was  the  injection  of  the  blood- 
vessels. He  was  characterized  by  great  coarseness  of 
manners,  persistent  adherence  to  Galen,  and  an  intense 
jealousy  of  every  one  exhibiting  talent  for  original 
research.  He  taught  only  from  the  carcasses  of 
animals,  and  his  great  pupil,  Vesalius,  criticises  him, 
but  Sprengel  defends  him  as  a  correct  and  able 
teacher. 

About  the  same  time  flourished  Charles  Etienne,  or 
Stephanus.  He  was  a  Huguenot  in  religion,  and  was 
accordingly  excluded  from  official  appointments,  actu- 
ally dying  in  prison,  where  he  was  confined  on  that 
account.  He  made  various  discoveries,  among  them 
the  nutritious  foramina  of  bones,  various  ligaments 
and  muscles,  the  branches  of  the  trifacial  nerve,  the 
valves  of  the  veins,  and  the  existence  of  the  ganglionic 
or  sympathetic  nervous  system  as  distinct  from  the 
pneumogastric  nerve, 

VESALIUS. 

Andreas  Vesalius,  however,  is  credited  with  the 
introducing  of  the  new  era  into  the  history  of  anatomy. 
He  was  born  at  Brussels  in  15 14,  and  after  receiving 
an  education  at  Louvain,  he  became  a  student  of  Du 
Bois  in  1528.  He  soon  perceived  the  insufficiency  of 
the  methods  of  instruction  in  France,  and  accordingly 
made  his  way  to  Venice,  to  prosecute  his  studies  to 
better  purpose.  In  1536,  he  accepted  an  invitation  to 
Padua,  to  demonstrate  anatomy,  and  seven  years  later 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  l8l 

he  was  invited  likewise  to  Bologna  and  Pisa.  He  per- 
formed the  duty  of  professor  at  the  three  universities 
during  the  same  winter.  In  his  teachings  he  made  a 
new  departure.  Mondino  and  Berenger  di  Carpi  had 
been  circumscribed  in  their  utterances  and  investiga- 
tions by  the  acknowledged  superior  authority  of  Galen 
and  the  Arabian  physicians  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Vesalius  had  the  courage,  like  Paracelsus,  to  set  their 
claims  aside,  and  undertake  a  new  arrangement  for 
anatomic  instruction.  He  was  twenty-five  years  old 
at  the  time,  and  in  three  years  had  perfected  his  plan, 
which,  after  some  time,  was  adopted  over  Europe. 
Shortly  afterward  he  was  appointed  court  physician 
to  Charles  V.,  and  continued  in  the  same  office  with 
Philip  II.  Royal  favor,  however,  was  not  powerful 
enough  to  exempt  him  from  the  enmities  engendered 
by  professional  rivalry  and  popular  prejudice.  He 
was  persecuted  all  through  his  official  career,  and 
entirely  employed  in  attendance  upon  patients,  and  in 
defending  his  methods  and  innovations.  His  enemies 
finally  conquered.  He  had  been  engaged  in  examin- 
ing the  body  of  a  grandee,  when  the  heart  was 
observed  to  palpitate  under  the  knife.  He  was  imme- 
diately denounced  to  the  Inquisition,  and  barely 
escaped  its  severest  penalties,  through  the  influence 
of  the  king,  supplemented  by  a  promise  to  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land.  While  at  Jerusalem, 
he  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  University  of  Padua 
to  become  again  its  professor  of  anatomy,  to  succeed 
his  deceased  friend,  Fallopius.  On  his  way,  however, 
he  was  shipwrecked  at  Zant6,  and  died  from  privation 
in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age. 

Vesalius  is  described  by  his  biographers,  not  as  a 
reformer  as  reformers  are  generally  to  be  found,  but 


182  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

as  making  his  innovations  after  the  most  approved 
methods  of  conservative  scientism.  He  attempted  no^ 
revolution  of  the  methods  in  vogue,  but  only  to  rectify 
errors  and  add  to  the  store  of  information  then 
possessed  by  physicians.  He  had  been  carefully  edu- 
cated in  the  opinions  of  the  time,  and  although  pro- 
fessional jealousy  and  religious  hostility  embittered 
his  life  and  hurried  him  to  his  death,  he  neither  broke 
with  the  Church  nor  with  the  orthodox  medical  fra- 
ternity, but  died  as  he  had  lived. 

He  was  the  author  of  the  first  anatomic  plates, 
executed  after  nature,  and  his  writings  accurately 
described  the  sphenoid  bone,  the  divisions  of  the 
sternum  and  sacrum,  the  vena  azygos,  the  ductus  venosus^ 
the  omentum,  the  structure  of  the  pylorus,  the  csecal 
appendix,  the  mediastinum  and  pleura,  and  the 
anatomy  of  the  brain. 

His  influence  by  no  means  ceased  with  his  death. 
Anatomy  was  no  longer  hampered  by  tradition  or 
religious  prejudice.  Instructed  by  his  writings,  and 
inspired  by  his  example  and  the  predominant  spirit; 
of  the  time,  a  multitude  of  inquirers  an  investigators 
arose  throughout  Christendom  to  carry  on  the  work 
which  he  had  begun. 

EUSTACHI. 

The  credit  awarded  to  Vesalius,  however,  ought  irt 
justice  to  be  divided  with  his  contemporary,  Bar- 
tholomeo  Eustachi.  He  was  celebrated  for  his  obser- 
vations of  the  internal  ear,  the  tube  which  bears  his. 
name,  the  anatomy  of  the  teeth,  and  for  his  investiga- 
tions of  the  intimate  structure  of  organs.  He  employed 
lenses  to  assist  him  in  his  work.     He  had  completed  a 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  183 

series  of  anatomic  engravings  in  1552,  but  was  unable 
to  publish  them.  The  facts,  however,  were  so  impor- 
tant, that  Lauth  remarked,  that,  if  he  had  succeeded 
in  giving  them  to  the  world,  anatomy  would  have 
attained  in  the  sixteenth  century  all  the  perfection  of 
two  hundred  years  later.  Eustachi  fell  under  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  authorities,  and  his  works  were  placed 
in  the  Papal  library,  leaving  others  to  make  his  dis- 
coveries anew. 

COLUMBO    AND    FALLOPI. 

Two  of  the  pupils  of  Eustachi  were  Columbo  and 
Gabriello  Fallopi.  The  former  was  his  successor  at 
Padua,  and  afterward  became  a  professor  at  Rome. 
He  gave  a  more  correct  description  of  the  heart  and 
its  vessels,  the  ventricles  of  the  larynx,  the  pulmonic 
circulation,  anatomy  of  the  internal  ear.  Fallopi  was 
a  professor  first  at  Pisa,  and  afterward  at  Padua.  He 
rectified  the  knowledge  then  possessed  of  the  anatomy 
of  the  ear,  and  corrected  several  mistakes  of  Vesalius. 
He  directed  attention  also  to  the  genitalia,  discover- 
ing the  canal  which  bears  his  name. 

OTHER    TEACHERS    OF    ANATOMY. 

Aranzi,  professor  of  anatomy  at  Bologna,  has  the 
credit  of  giving  the  first  correct  account  of  the 
anatomical  peculiarities  of  the  human  foetus.  He  also 
described  the  inferior  cornu  of  the  ventricles  of  the 
brain,  giving  them  the  name  of  hippocampi,  and  also 
explained  the  fourth  ventricle  as  the  cistern  of  the 
cerebellum.  Varoli,  the  physician  to  the  pontiff,  Gregory 
Xni.,  gave  a  fuller  description  of  the  brain  and  its 
anatomy,  than  any  of  his  predecessors. 


184  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

No  inferior  place  should  be  assigned  to  the  able 
savant,  Miguel  Serveto,  better  known  by  his  Latin- 
ized name  of  Servetus.  He  was  the  author  of  a  treatise 
entitled  De  Trinitatis  Erroribiis — Errors  of  the  Trini- 
tarian Doctrine — published  in  153 1,  in  which,  while 
expounding  his  philosophic  notions,  he  set  forth  the 
imperviousness  of  the  septum  cordis,  and  the  flow  of 
the  blood  by  what  he  terms  an  unknown  route,  by  the 
pulmonary  artery  through  the  lungs  and  thence  by  the 
pulmonary  vein  to  the  left  auricle  and  ventricle  of  the 
heart ;  from  which,  he  adds,  it  is  conveyed  by  the  aorta 
to  all  parts  of  the  body.  He  was  burned  for  heresy  at 
Geneva,  in  1553.  Six  years  afterward  Columbo  forcibly 
and  distinctly  announced  the  circular  course  of  the 
blood  as  a  discovery  of  his  own,  and  maintained  that 
the  pulmonary  vein  contained  not  air,  but  blood  mixed 
with  air,  brought  from  the  lungs  to  the  left  ventricle 
to  be  distributed  through  the  body.  From  these  two 
authors,  William  Harvey  received  his  first  conception 
of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  to  which  he  deservedly 
owes  his  fame. 

The  claim  is  made,  with  great  plausibility,  that 
Andrea  Cesalpino,  of  Arezzo,  in  Tuscany,  preceded 
him,  having  made  this  discovery  in  the  year  1569. 
According  to  Dr,  Giulio  Ceradini,  professor  in  Genoa, 
he  "discovered  the  physiological  and  continued  pass- 
age of  the  blood  from  the  arteries  to  the  veins  across 
the  capillary  anastomosis  in  all  parts  of  the  body,  and 
defined  by  circulation  the  perpetual  motion  of  the 
blood  from  the  veins  to  the  right  heart,  from  this  to 
the  lung,  from  the  lung  to  the  left  heart,  and  from  the 
left  heart  to  the  arteries  ;  producing  in  1593  the  experi- 
mental  proof  of  this  circulation,  in  the  fact  that  the 
veins,  when  tied  in  any  part  of  the  body,  swell  between 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE,  185 

their  original  capillaries  and  the  ligature,  and  when 
cut,  let  out  first  the  black  venous  blood,  and  then  the 
red  arterial  blood."  Harvey,  however,  makes  no  men- 
tion of  this,  although  he  names  others  in  the  same  line 
of  investigation.  It  is  not  the  first  time,  however, 
that  two  men,  not  acting  in  concert  and  not  even 
knowing  each  other,  have  made  like  discoveries.  It 
seems  to  be  a  law  of  the  mental  universe,  that  when 
new  knowledge  is  dawning  upon  the  world,  those  who 
are  sensitive  and  perceptive,  are  first  to  learn  it,  and 
may  do  so  at  the  same  time.  Probably,  therefore,  as 
Dr.  McDonald  suggests,  both  Harvey  and  Cesalpino 
conceived  the  idea  of  the  mechanism  of  the  circulation 
of  the  blood  independently  of  each  other,  though  the 
verdict  of  history  is  in  favor  of  Harvey. 

FABRICIO. 

Hieronymo  Fabricio  was  a  pupil  of  Fallopius.  He 
merits  distinction  for  his  efforts  to  render  anatomic 
knowledge  more  precise,  and  for  his  endeavors  to 
illustrate  obscure  points  by  researches  in  comparative 
anatomy.  In  this  way  he  investigated  the  formation 
of  the  foetus,  the  structure  of  the  oesophagus,  stomach 
and  bowels,  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  eye,  ear  and 
larynx.  His  great  merit,  however,  consists  in  his 
demonstrations  of  the  membranous  folds  in  the 
interior  of  the  veins,  to  which  he  gave  the  designation 
of  valves.  He  was  also  distinguished  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  modern  trephine,  and  for  the  employing  of 
the  tube  in  tracheotomy.  His  work  on  surgery 
passed  through  several  editions,  and  affords  an 
excellent  summary  of  the  condition  of  the  art  at  that 
period. 


l86  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  chief  advances  were  made  in  two  directions. 
The  use  of  firearms  had  become  general,  requiring 
more  specific  attention  accordingly  for  the  peculiar 
class  of  injuries  which  they  inflicted.  The  introduc- 
tion and  general  prevalence  of  syphilis  attracted 
general  attention  to  the  treatment  of  diseases  of  the 
urinary  organs.  Mayerne,  of  Venice,  acquired  a  wide 
reputation  by  the  use  of  bougies  for  stricture,  having 
cured  Henry  III.,  of  France,  who  had  contracted  it  in 
that  city  when  on  his  way  home  from  Poland.  Indeed, 
many  of  the  later  improvements  in  this  depart- 
ment seem  to  have  been  suggested  from  the  same 
cause. 

AMBROISE    PAR£, 

At  that  time  surgical  operations  were  of  a  rude 
character,  cruel  in  the  extreme,  and  often  hardly  less 
to  be  dreaded  than  death  itself.  The  light  that  was 
dawning  upon  the  learned  world  was  little  perceptible 
in  this  department.  Ambroise  Pare,  who  was  first  to 
introduce  a  new  form  of  practice,  was  only  a  barber's 
apprentice  and  by  no  means  a  scholar  or  professional 
man.  Nor  did  he  consider  that  fact  derogatory  to  him- 
self or  to  his  calling.  Then,  and  till  the  time  of  John 
Hunter,  surgical  practitioners  consisted  generally  of 
barbers,  farriers,  spayers  of  female  swine,  and  even 
cobblers  and  tinkers.  Dexterity,  rather  than  educated 
skill,  was  held  in  highest  esteem. 

Pare  excelled  in  tact  and  originality.  He  became  a 
pupil  at  the  Hotel  Dieu,  and  when  Francis  I.  invaded 
Piedmont  in  1535  he  accompanied  the  army.  Here  he 
ventured  upon  the  innovation  of  bandaging  gunshot 
wounds    instead    of    applying    hot   oil.     His   success 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  187 

encouraged  him  to  perseverance,  and  he  printed  a 
treatise  on  the  subject  at  Paris  in  1545.  The  same 
year  he  became  prorator  for  the  celebrated  Du  Bois 
(Silvius),  and  in  1550  he  published  a  second  work 
upon  anatomy.  He  made  bolder  innovations.  He 
was  the  first  to  apply  the  suture  for  hare-lip,  taking 
his  cue  from  the  practice  of  tailors  and  women  in 
winding  their  thread  around  their  needles.  His 
greatest  improvement  consisted  in  the  introduction  of 
the  ligature  for  large  arteries,  and  so  rendering  ampu- 
tation on  a  broader  scale  possible  for  the  first  time 
in  history.  This  innovation,  however,  was  fiercely 
opposed,  and  its  inventor  was  bitterly  denounced  by 
the  medical  men  of  the  time.  They  not  only  resorted 
to  the  base  expedient  of  decrying  his  professional 
knowledge,  but  they  also  ridiculed  the  idea  of  hanging 
a  man's  life  upon  a  single  thread,  when  boiling  pitch 
had  stood  the  test  so  long.  It  was  of  no  avail  for  Pare 
to  defend  the  use  of  the  ligature  by  a  demonstration 
of  its  success.  He  resorted  to  spurious  quotations 
from  Galen  and  others  to  show  that  it  was  no  innova- 
tion, but  that  it  had  been  known  and  approved  by 
them.  It  was  left  for  a  later  generation  to  adopt  his 
practice.  The  children  of  the  men  who  persecute  and 
murder  prophets  not  unfrequently  disclaim  the  act 
and  build  monuments  to  the  martyrs. 

By  the  French  army,  however.  Pare  was  beloved 
almost  to  actual  worship.  He  accompanied  the  cam- 
paigns from  1535  till  the  battle  of  Moncontour  in  1569, 
and  on  one  occasion  the  discovery  of  his  presence  in 
a  besieged  garrison  so  inspired  the  troops  that  they 
rallied  and  attacked-the  enemy  with  renewed  courage, 
putting  them  to  rout.  He  was  equally  a  favorite  with 
the  kings  of  France,  and  was  in  succession  the  surgeon 


l88  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

to  Henry  II.,  Francis  II.,  Charles  IX.,  and  Henry  III. 
On  the  night  of  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  Pare, 
who  was  a  Huguenot,  actually  owed  his  life  to  the 
personal  exertions  of  the  king  himself. 

Notwithstanding  the  endeavors  to  discredit  him 
with  the  profession.  Pare  found  men  of  eminence  who 
were  willing  to  adopt  his  improved  methods.  Among 
these  were  Maggi  Leone,  then  a  professor  at  Pavia, 
Botal,  the  phlebotomist,  then  physician  to  Henry  II. 
and  Charles  IX.,  Guillaumeau  and  others  of  high 
distinction. 

Pare  had  evidently  been  an  offender,  because,  like 
Paracelsus,  he  used  the  language  of  the  people  in  his 
books,  and  so  made  unprofessional  readers  familiar 
with  his  methods  and  sentiments.  He  was  a  French- 
man, and  employed  none  of  the  recondite,  allegoric 
and  metaphysical  utterances  characteristic  of  the  Swiss 
author.  In  the  present  period  when  everything  tran- 
scending a  bald  materialism  is  a  subject  for  contempt, 
and  is  carefully  ignored  in  surgical  teachings,  this 
fact  may  tend  directly  to  commend  him  to  favor. 

GENERAL    CONDITION    OF    THE     SURGICAL    ART. 

Antoine  Chaumette,  an  eminent  surgeon,  was  the 
author  of  an  able  treatise  relating  chiefly  to  syphilis 
and  associated  complaints,  and  also  to  gunshot  wounds. 
William  Clowes,  who  accompanied  the  army  of  the 
Earl  of  Leicester  to  the  Netherlands,  also  published  a 
work  upon  army  surgery,  based  upon  his  observations 
and  experiences.  He  also  issued  a  small  book  upon 
the  Morbus  GalHcus,  and  a  few  years  later  he  prepared 
"  A  Right  Faithfull  and  Profitable  Treatise  upon  the  King's 
Evil." 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  189 

"  Surgery  in  the  sixteenth  century,"  says  Dr.  Charles 
Creighton,  "  recovered  much  of  the  dexterity  and 
resource  that  had  distinguished  it  in  the  last  days  of 
antiquity,  while  it  underwent  the  developments  opened 
up  to  it  by  new  weapons  of  warfare.  The  use  of  the 
staff  and  other  instruments  of  the  'apparatus  major, 
was  the  chief  improvement  in  lithotomy.  A  'radical 
cure  '  of  hernia  by  sutures  superseded  the  old  applica- 
tion of  the  actual  cautery.  The  earlier  modes  of  treat- 
ing stricture  of  the  urethra  were  tried  ;  plastic  opera- 
tions were  once  more  done  with  something  like  the 
skill  of  Brahmanical  and  classical  times  ;  and  ophthal- 
mic surgery  was  to  some  extent  rescued  from  the 
hands  of  ignorant  pretenders." 

"  It  is  noteworthy,"  he  continues,  "  that  even  in  the 
legitimate  profession,  dexterous  surgical  appliances 
were  kept  secret ;  thus  the  use  of  the  '  apparatus  major' 
in  lithotomy  was  handed  down  as  a  secret  in  the 
family  of  Laurence  Colot,  a  cotemporary  of  Pare." 

INNOVATIONS    IN    MEDICINE    AND    SCIENCE. 

The  actual  improvements  in  medical  practice  in  this 
century  were  far  less  than  might  have  been  expected. 
The  failure  of  the  Galenic  remedies  to  cure  the  pre- 
valent disease  of  the  century,  led,  as  has  been  observed, 
to  the  employment  of  new  remedies,  so  that  mercury 
and  antimony  became  familiar  to  practitioners.  They 
were  bitterly  opposed,  however,  both  by  the  Faculte 
de  Medecine  at  Paris,  and  by  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  the  Society  of  Apothecaries  in  London.  Arnold 
of  Villenova  and  Raymond  Lulli  were  recognized 
as  leaders  of  the  so-called  chemical  or  chemiatric 
school. 


190  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE, 

Clinical  instruction  in  hospitals  was  introduced  in 
the  university  of  Padua  by  Giovanni  de  Monte,  who 
lectured  on  the  patients  at  the  hospital  of  St.  Francis. 
This  has  been  a  prominent  feature  of  instruction  in 
Europe  ever  since. 

In  opinion,  however,  there  had  been  a  less  decided 
•cutting  loose  from  the  past,  but  rather  a  steady  grow- 
ing as  from  infancy  to  adolescence,  and  a  greater 
readiness  to  carry  new  convictions  to  the  foreground. 
Enterprise  was  bolder  in  its  ventures  ;  religious  faith 
now  dared  show  itself  in  open  day  in  resolve  to  free 
the  individual  conscience  from  the  domination  of 
hoary,  but  usurped,  authority. 

The  very  earth  had  been  rudely  torn  from  its 
foundations,  and  thrust  forth  in  its  truer  character  as 
a  globe  revolving  in  the  infinite  space.  Copernicus 
(Kopernik)  had  dared  more,  and  proclaimed  it  but  a 
single  planet  in  the  family  of  the  solar  universe. 
Pythagoras  and  Egyptian  temple-sages  had  taught 
this  as  a  sacred  mystery  which  profane  ears  might  not 
hear  of  ;  the  Khalif  Al  Mamun  had  been  denounced 
for  it  by  Moslem  imans  as  an  atheist  attempting  to 
remove  the  sites  of  heaven  and  hell  ;  and  now,  a  cent- 
ury after  the  fall  of  Constantinople,  the  work  of  the 
Prussian  monk  was  condemned  by  the  Inquisition, 
prohibited  by  the  Congregation  of  the  Index,  and 
stigmatized  alike  by  Martin  Luther  and  his  former 
Roman  Overlord  as  false  Pythagorean  doctrine, 
destructive  to  religion  and  subversive  of  the  Holy 
Scripture.  To  dethrone  the  earth  from  the  central 
dominating  position,  giving  her  many  equals  and  not 
a  few  superiors,  seemed  indeed  like  a  terrible  con- 
ception. It  took  away  apparently  all  claim  almost 
upon  the  divine  regard,  because  such  claim  could  not 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    RENASCENCE.  igi 

be  exclusive,  and  with  this  came  the  mental  fear  of 
the  overthrow  of  the  entire  theologic  structure.  The 
ancient  usage  and  privilege  engaged  in  a  mortal 
struggle  to  restrain  the  advancing  movement  of 
scientific  explanations,  but  only  to  be  worsted  in  the 
encounter.  Thus  it  has  always  been,  and  thus  it  will 
always  continue  to  be. 

A  few  years  after  the  death  of  Copernicus,  there  was 
born  the  man  to  defend  the  new  doctrines,  and  first  to 
die  for  having  promulgated  them.  Giordano  Bruno 
was  likewise  a  monk,  and  as  such  was  amenable  to  the 
spiritual  authorities.  He  early  learned  to  doubt  the 
cardinal  points  of  belief,  and  from  careful  observation 
of  phenomena  in  the  sky,  became  a  firm  receiver  of 
the  Copernican  doctrines.  In  a  work  on  the  plurality 
of  worlds,  he  ventured  to  declare  that  the  common 
notion  was  untrue  :  the  earth  was  not  a  flat  surface 
supported  by  pillars  and  foundations  ;  nor  was  the  sky 
a  firmament  or  the  floor  of  the  angelic  heavens. 

Bruno  was  likewise  a  philosopher,  and  averred  his 
belief  in  the  Supreme  Mind,  an  Intellect  of  which  the 
visible  world  is  only  an  emanation  and  manifestation 
originated  and  sustained  by  force  derived  from  it ; 
and  that  if  this  creative  and  sustaining  force  should  be 
withdrawn,  all  things  would  at  once  disappear  from 
existence. 

He  was  followed  from  place  to  place  by  spies  and 
emissaries  of  the  Inquisition,  making  his  residence  in 
turn  in  Switzerland,  France,  England  and  Germany. 
Finally  he  was  persuaded  by  a  treacherous  Venetian 
nobleman  to  accept  a  position  in  his  household,  accused 
by  him,  and  betrayed  to  the  familiars  of  the  Holy 
Office.  In  those  days,  when  the  ecclesiastic  authority 
was  often  dominant  over  the  civil  government,  there 


192  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

could  be  no  sequence  except  of  a  cruel  kind.  Bruno 
was  surrendered  by  Venice  to  the  officials  of  the 
Inquisition  at  Rome,  where  he  was  imprisoned  two 
years,  subjected  to  their  peculiar  treatment,  accused 
of  teaching  doctrines  subversive  of  the  Catholic  faith, 
and  finally  burned  at  the  stake,  February  16,  1600.  His 
monument  commemorates  the  occurrence. 

This   tragedy  closes   our  review  of   the   sixteenth 
century. 


CHAPTER  V. 
MEDICINE  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

The  Renascence  was  now  accomplished.  New 
thought  was  at  work  opening  the  way  for  new 
methods  of  action,  and  new  conceptions  of  philosophic 
and  scientific  truth.  The  seventeenth  century  was 
thus  characterized  by  an  advance  well  defined  in  the 
fields  of  inquiry  as  well  as  adventure. 

The  re-discovery  of  the  American  continent  had 
itself  been  productive  of  great  changes  in  the  social 
and  political  condition  of  Europe.  To  be  sure,  Spain, 
claiming  the  entire  region  by  virtue  of  a  pontifical 
grant,  had  strenuously  resisted  every  attempt  of 
colonists  of  other  countries  to  plant  settlements  in  the 
new  territory.  Adventurous  seamen,  nevertheless, 
traversed  the  ocean,  exploring  the  seas  and  shores  of 
the  New  World,  and  even  committing  acts  of  piracy. 
The  destruction  of  the  Invincible  Armada  effectually 
terminated  the  Spanish  supremacy,  leaving  only  the 
power  to  snarl  and  execrate,  with  bated  breath,  the 
emigrants  from  the  several  regions  of  Europe  who 
ventured  to  find  new  homes  beyond  the  Atlantic  in 
the  territory  which  Spain  had  claimed  as  exclusively 
her  own.  Religious  dissent,  which  neither  Romanist 
nor  Reforming  rulers  or  divines  were  willing  to  per- 
mit, now  led  thousands  to  seek  in  the  New  World  that 


194  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

freedom  and  exemption  from  cruel  persecutions  which 
they  could  not  enjoy  in  the  Old. 

SCIENTIFIC     ADVANCEMENT. 

Both  Romanist  and  Lutheran  were  for  a  time  as  one 
in  hostility  to  the  scientific  inquiry  of  the  age.*  All 
the  same,  however,  the  schools  of  Europe  were  agitated 
by  the  new  discoveries  and  the  theories  which  these 
demonstrated.  It  was  not  so  much  skepticism  and 
doubt  that  were  dominant,  but  a  deeper  spirituality 
and  a  tendency  to  the  esoteric  beliefs  of  the  old  phi- 
losophers, which  characterized  the  teachers  of  the  new 
learning.  Hence  it  was  denounced  alike  by  the  clergy 
of  every  creed,  as  atheism,  sorcery,  and  communion 
with  the  evil  powers.  The  accusations  for  witchcraft 
became  numerous  in  every  country.  It  was  easier  to 
burn  innocent  folk  alive  on  such  a  charge  than  to  meet 
them  by  open  argument. 

While  Bruno  was  languishing  in  the  dungeons  of  the 
Inquisition,  Johann  Keppler  was  preparing  to  take  the 
torch  which  had  been  forcibly  wrested  from  his  hands. 
Keppler  was  a  native  of  Wurtemberg  and  had  been  a 
student  of  theology.  He  had,  however,  accepted  the 
mystic  religious  belief  then  current  among  deep- 
thinking  men,  as  well  as  the  proscribed  theory  of  the 
Copernican  system.  Leaving  the  university  of  Tubin- 
gen in  1594,  he  became  a  professor  in  the  university 
at  Gratz,  where  he  prepared  his  first  treatise.  Six 
years  later  he  was  invited  to  Prague  by  Tycho  Brahe, 
whom  he  afterward  succeeded  as  Astronomer  Royal 
to  the  Emperor  Rudolph  II.  His  genius  now  seemed 
to  have  risen  like  the  fabled  Phoenix  from  the  ashes 
of  Giordano  Bruno,  and  similar  persecutions  followed 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  I95 

him.  He  was  attacked  by  Romanist  and  Lutheran 
with  equal  animosity,  accused  of  atheism  and  hounded 
from  city  to  city.  Even  his  mother  was  prosecuted  as 
a  witch,  and  he  spent  five  years  to  defend  her.  The 
Emperor,  always  poor,  was  unable  to  pay  him  his 
salary,  and  he  left  Prague  to  become  again  a  professor 
in  a  university,  and  afterward  astrologer  to  the  cele- 
brated Wallenstein. 

Keppler  was  of  a  philosophic  disposition  as  well  as 
enthusiast.  The  modern  notions  of  induction  enable 
us  to  learn  but  little,  and  that  with  no  certain  assur- 
ance ;  and  the  scientists,  accordingly,  who  work  upon 
that  line,  allow  the  understanding  and  logic-faculty 
to  usurp  the  office  of  the  rational  and  creative  powers, 
and  shut  themselves  out  of  three-fourths  of  their 
minds.  No  great  discovery  ever  was  made,  La  Place 
truly  declares,  without  a  great  guess.  Keppler,  with 
the  genius  of  a  Plato  and  a  Swedenborg,  and  as  by 
prophetic  insight,  became  cognizant  of  the  laws  and 
processes  which  are  active  in  the  universe.  He  com- 
prehended the  subtile  secret  key  to  nature,  the  fact 
that  man  and  the  universe  are  built  after  one  pattern, 
and  have  the  same  origin.  Sweeping  away  the  chaos 
of  cycle  and  epicycle  in  the  sky,  by  which  the  former 
notions  of  learned  men  had  been  pervaded,  he  evoked 
in  its  place  the  celestial  order  and  harmony,  and 
showed  conclusively  that  numerical  and  geometric 
relations  connect  the  distances,  times  and  revolutions 
of  the  planetary  earths. 

Keppler  died  poor,  and  his  books  were  placed  on  the 
Index  of  Prohibited  Reading  J  nevertheless  he  fully  real- 
ized his  exultant  assertion  :  '*  I  have  stolen  the  golden 
vases  of  the  Egyptians  to  build  up  a  tabernacle  for  my 
God  far  away  from  the  confines  of  Egypt." 


196  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

GALILEO. 

The  invention  of  printing  had  made  the  general 
diffusion  of  learning  possible  and  certain.  Its  bene- 
fits were  supplemented  by  the  discovery  of  the  tele- 
scope. Ancient  savants  in  Assyria  and  Babylon  had 
employed  lenses  to  aid  them  in  the  forming,  and  after- 
ward in  the  deciphering  of  their  minute  wedge-shaped 
characters.  Doubtless,  likewise,  Chaldasan  astron- 
omers had  taken  advantage  of  the  same  device  to 
explore  the  constellations  of  the  sky,  and  to  ascertain 
the  approach  of  hostile  armies  ;  but  the  invention  was 
no  longer  known.  Even  Francis  Bacon  was  declaring 
his  disbelief  in  the  utility  of  optical  instruments  in 
scientific  inquiry,  when  in  1609  Galileo  Galilei  of 
Florence,  constructing  a  telescope,  directed  it  toward 
the  sky,  and  speedily  became  able  to  demonstrate  the 
truth  of  the  Copernican  system,  which  Bacon  had 
rejected  with  a  sneer  of  contempt.  He  showed  con- 
clusively that  the  sun  was  the  centre  of  the  cosmic 
universe  and  the  earth  but  a  single  member  of  the 
planetary  group  ;  and  also,  that  other  planets  had 
moons  revolving  round  them.  Aristotle  was  proved 
to  be  in  fault  ;  Copernicus  had   maintained  the  truth. 

The  persecution  which  had  consigned  Bruno  to  the 
stake,  and  embittered  the  life  of  Keppler,  was  now 
employed  to  silence  the  utterances  of  Galileo,  First 
came  the  trite  charges  of  atheism  and  blasphemy  ; 
then  a  prohibition  to  announce  his  discoveries  ;  after- 
ward the  dungeon  of  the  Inquisition,  the  peril  of  the 
torture-chamber,  and,  finally,  after  his  death,  the 
denial  of  interment  in  consecrated  ground. 

Copernicus,  a  century  before,  had  been  more  wary. 
Knowing  that  a  similar  fate  would  be  visited  upon 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  197 

him  he  delayed  the  publication  of  his  astronomic 
doctrines  till  the  very  last  hours  of  his  life. 

Mrs.  Partington,  with  her  broom,  failed  to  drive 
back  the  tides  of  the  ocean.  The  proscription  of 
Copernicus  and  his  doctrines,  the  martyrdom  of 
Bruno,  the  persecution  of  Keppler  and  his  mother,  the 
tortures  of  Galileo  and  refusing  of  a  grave,  were  not 
sufficient  to  arrest  the  great  waves  of  light  which 
were  deluging  the  religious  and  scientific  world. 
The  telescope  was  mightier  than  proscription 
enforced  by  the  rack  and  fagot.  Before  half  a  cen- 
tury had  passed  from  the  immolation  of  the  noble 
martyr  at  Rome,  it  became  impossible  to  find  an 
astronomer  in  all  Europe  who  did  not  accept  the  doc- 
trines that  the  sun  was  the  centre  of  the  planetary 
universe,  and  that  the  earth  turned  every  day  vipon 
its  axis  and  made  a  revolution  every  year  around  the 
sun. 

The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected,  had  now 
become  the  head  of  the  corner  ;  and  the  one  described 
by  the  prophet  as  cut  from  the  mountain  and  hurled 
without  hands  to  smite  the  image  of  Serapis  on  its 
feet,  was  now  becoming  a  mountain  to  fill  the  whole 
world. 

VAN    HELMONT. 

The  same  movement  and  inspiration  that  had  caused 
science  to  make  a  new  departure  were  also  operative 
in  medicine.  The  peculiar  mystic  and  theosophic 
genius  which  distinguished  Bruno  and  Keppler,  was 
also  characteristic  of  Jan  Baptista  Van  Helmont.  He 
was  a  native  of  Brussels,  and  of  baronial  rank,  holding 
the  titles  of  lord  in  several  fiefs.  He  was  educated  at 
Louvain,  and  began  the   study  of  natural  science  in 


IpS  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  Jesuit  school.  Repelled,  however,  by  their  hard 
and  dry  philosophy,  he  turned  with  avidity  to  the 
mystic  writings  of  a  Kempis  and  Tauler.  Adopting 
the  peculiar  life  there  set  forth,  he  made  over  his 
possessions  to  his  sister,  and  withdrew  entirely  from 
high  society.  He  now  entered  upon  the  study  of 
medicine,  graduating  in  1599.  He  read  carefully  what 
had  been  inculcated  by  the  accepted  authorities,  but 
was  greatly  dissatisfied  both  with  the  methods  and  the 
results.  He  next  took  up  the  writings  of  Paracelsus, 
and  gave  them  his  hearty  approval.  Having  received 
his  degree,  he  followed  the  example  of  his  master  and 
of  the  ancient  philosophic  physicians,  journeying 
through  France,  Italy,  Switzerland  and  England.  He 
finally  married  a  lady  of  wealth  and  engaged  in  prac- 
tice, gratuitously  treating  the  poor,  and  dying  in 
1644. 

Van  Helmont  was  a  diligent  student  and  investi- 
gator, eager  to  ascertain  the  causes  of  all  the  phe- 
nomena of  life.  Hence  his  strong  attraction  for  the 
doctrines  of  Paracelsus  He  was  the  author  of  several 
works — Ortus  MedidncB,  or  the  Origin  of  the  Medical 
Art,  Theory  of  Paradoxes^  Cure  of  Wounds^  Tartar  in  Wine 
God  in  Man.  They  are  replete  with  the  theosophy  and 
mysticism  which  characterized  much  of  the  literature 
of  the  period,  while  at  the  same  time  they  abounded 
with  other  learning  of  acknowledged  worth.  He  was 
a  Platonist,  and  believed  that  essential  and  original 
knowledge  had  been  imparted  to  every  one,  which  was 
perceived  when  external  influences  were  in  abeyance. 
He  inculcated,  accordingly  as  the  Great  Secret,  that 
there  was  an  energy  in  every  one  capable  of  working 
upon  other  objects  through  the  suggestion  and  power 
of  the  imagination,  and   of  so  impressing  itself  upon 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  199 

Others  as  to  continue  thus  operating.     By  virtue  of 
this  energy  and  force  man  ruled  over  physical  nature. 

He  was,  therefore,  of  course,  a  firm  believer  in  ani- 
mal magnetism,  as  well  as  in  the  power  of  the  human 
will  and  imagination  in  the  exercise  of  the  art  of  heal- 
ing. He  regarded  the  common  medical  knowledge  as 
insufficient  for  its  purpose,  and  as  far  removed  from 
the  real  power  which  God  has  conferred  for  healing. 
His  own  presence,  he  declared,  was  often  sufficient  to 
cure  the  sick  without  other  remedies.  He  operated 
through  his  own  will,  he  affirmed,  not  only  upon  indi- 
viduals, but  also  to  impart  a  healing  virtue  to  medi- 
cines. In  his  own  case  he  relied  more  upon  this  agency 
than  upon  physical  means.  He  declared  that  many 
herbs  acquire  an  extraordinary  power  from  the 
imagination  of  the  individuals  gathering  or  manipu- 
lating them.  Nevertheless  he  regarded  the  art  of 
medicine  as  magnetic  and  supra-natural,  rather  than 
as  the  simple  employing  of  drugs. 

He  also  inculcated  that  "  the  sun-tissue  in  the  region 
of  the  stomach  is  the  chief  seat  and  essential  organ  of 
the  soul,"  the  genuine  seat  of  feeling  and  emotion,  as 
the  head  is  of  comparison  and  memory.  From  that 
point  the  light  and  warmth  proceed  and  diffuse  them- 
selves over  the  body,  and  also  the  life  which  prevails 
in  the  organism.  The  will,  however  (the  bias  humanurti), 
is  the  first  of  all  powers,  and  the  fundamental  cause  of 
all  activity. 

As  a  chemist,  many  writers  consider  Van  Helmont 
as  the  greatest  one  living  before  Lavoisier.  He  was 
the  first  to  give  the  name  of  gas  to  aeriform  bodies 
and  he  observed  that  the  application  of  heat  would^ 
disengage  gases  as  well  as  the  dissolving  of  the  various 
carbonates   and   metals   in  acids.     But  for  him,   says 


200  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Deleuze,  it  is  probable  that  steel  would  have  given  no 
new  impulse  to  science.  While,  therefore,  in  these 
materialistic  times  it  is  common  to  pass  over  his 
theosophic  and  psychologic  doctrines  in  silence,  if  not 
with  contempt,  his  contributions  to  chemistry  compel 
respect ;  and  the  propounders  of  later  systems  are  find- 
ing their  discoveries  in  the  departments  of  tabooed 
knowledge  already  set  forth  in  his  works.  In  regard 
to  medication,  he  only  employed  mild  treatment  and 
that  with  admirable  success.  Much  of  his  practice 
however,  as  has  been  remarked,  was  gratuitous. 

THE    ROSICRUCIANS. 

About  the  year  1610  appeared  a  little  book  in  Ger- 
many, entitled  The  Discovery  of  the  Brotherhood  of  the 
Rosy  Cross.  It  announced  the  existence  of  a  secret 
fraternity  of  philosophic  and  benevolent  individuals, 
whom  it  described  as  having  been  instituted  as  a  Temple 
by  Christian  Rosenkreutz,  and  to  be  proclaimed  to  the 
world  in  1608,  a  hundred-and-twenty  years  after  his 
death.  This  book  created  an  immense  excitement ;  it 
was  still  a  time  when  the  stake  and  scaffold  were  in 
fashion,  and  while  some  invoked  fire  from  heaven 
upon  the  unknown  benefactors,  others  recommended 
the  punishment  of  the  wheel. 

The  avowed  object  of  the  fraternity  was  to  amelio- 
rate human  suffering,  to  advance  knowledge  and 
enlightenment,  and  to  promote  charity  among  human 
beings.  Whether  there  was  any  actual  organized 
society  has  been  disputed.  If  it  did  exist  it  kept 
itself  like  the  ancient  Gnostics,  aloof  from  being 
known.  This  much  is  certain,  that  the  red  cross 
which  designated  them  was  the  badge  of  the  Knights 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  20I 

of  the  Temple  ;  and  there  was  a  conventional  language 
extant  among  the  thinking  men  of  Europe,  called  the 
Lingua  Magica  and  the  Lingua  Angelorum,  which  they 
understood  and  the  uninitiated  sciolists  were  never 
able  to  comprehend.  To  this  blundering  we  are 
indebted  for  much  that  is  affirmed  about  the  scientific 
men  and  others  of  the  Middle  Ages.  They  had  suc- 
cessfully obeyed  the  maxim  :  "  Learn  to  know  all,  but 
keep  unknown." 

The  Rosicrucians,  it  was  declared  by  writers,  were 
especially  distinguished  by  their  knowledge  of  the 
medical  art.  They  did  not  employ  charms  and  devices 
to  captivate  the  fancy,  but  made  use  of  simple  reme- 
dies with  extraordinary  success.  In  this  may  be  per- 
ceived their  resemblance  to  the  methods  of  Van 
Helmont. 

Robert  Fludd,  of  Oxford,  in  England,  was  regarded 
as  among  the  most  illustrious  of  the  fraternity.  He 
was  a  physician  of  superior  attainments,  and  passion- 
ately fond  of  study.  He  was  the  author  of  several 
works,  now  preserved  as  curious.  In  his  writings  he 
emphatically  disdains  the  notion  that  men  can  not  be 
philosophers,  except  they  put  their  knowledge  to  some 
ordinary  worldly  use. 

Thomas  Vaughan,  also  an  Oxonian,  seems  to  have 
been  regarded  as  a  Master  in  the  Brotherhood.  He 
also  was  a  physician,  and  wrote  much,  using  the  pseu- 
donyms of  Cosmopolita  and  Eugenius  Philalethes. 
Vaughan  wrote  particularly  about  the  elixir  of  life, 
and  many  seem  to  have  believed  that  like  another 
Mejnour,  he  survived  into  the  later  centuries. 

The  doctrine  was  taught  that  an  aura,  magnetic 
virtue,  etherial  spirit  or  fire  exists  in  all  natural  sub- 
stances,   making   them    more    or   less    sensitive    and 


202  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

animate,  according  as  they  were  freed  from  material 
obstruction.  Thus,  all  minerals,  by  virtue  of  this 
principle,  have  the  rudimentary  possibility  of  becom- 
ing plants  and  growing  organisms  ;  thus  all  plants 
have  rudimentary  sensitives  which  may,  in  the  course 
of  ages,  enable  them  to  perfect  and  transmute  into 
new  creatures,  lesser  or  higher  in  their  grade,  nobler 
or  meaner  in  their  functions.  In  regard  to  gold,  it 
was  affirmed  that  it  was  constituted  from  sunbeams 
and  light  suffused  into  a  material  matrix,  and  that  it 
had  a  strong  tendency  to  transfuse  other  materials 
into  itself. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  Basil  Valentine,  as 
well  as  other  alchemists,  wrote  in  this  style  ;  and 
whether  the  language  should  be  interpreted  literally 
or  metaphorically,  or  in  both  senses,  the  intelligent 
reader  may  judge.  Whether  Van  Helmont,  Keppler, 
Paracelsus,  Jakob  Boehmen  and  others  of  that  time, 
who  may  be  supposed  to  have  entertained  like  senti- 
ments, were  Rosicrucians  is  also  to  be  answered  as  we 
best  are  able.  Certainly  many  notions  now  current 
in  learned  circles  had  been  then  anticipated.  A  phy- 
sician, professing  to  be  a  member  of  the  mystic 
brotherhood,  bearing  the  name  of  Chaos,  came  to 
Vienna,  where  he  acquired  a  fortune.  The  Emperor, 
Ferdinand  III.,  admitted  him  to  the  nobility,  and  he 
afterward  devoted  his  property  to  the  founding  of  an 
orphan  asylum. 

SYMPATHETIC     POWDER. 

Nostrums  represented  as  having  been  prepared  by 
Rosicrucians,  were  offered  in  profusion  to  the  public, 
and  much  imposture  and  charlatanry  became  current 
under  that  name. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  203 

About  this  time  Sir  Kenelm  Digby,  of  Montpellier, 
gained  fame  by  a  remedy  known  as  "  Sympathetic 
Powder."  It  was  not  applied  to  the  wounded  or 
affected  part,  but  to  weapons  inflicting  the  hurt,  which 
were  sprinkled  with  it  and  dressed  with  salve  several 
times  a  day.  Meanwhile  the  wound  itself  was  washed, 
bound  up  closely  and  left  with  no  further  attention. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  explain  why  wounds  under 
this  treatment  generally  healed  more  readily  than 
under  the  too  common  practice  of  frequent  disturbing 
of  the  sore. 

HARVEY    AND    HIS    DISCOVERY. 

Despite  the  work  of  Keppler  and  Galileo,  and  the 
other  grand  achievements  of  this  period,  the  discovery 
of  the  circulation  of  the  blood  must  be  enumerated 
among  the  most  important.  It  effected  a  revolution 
not  simply  in  the  current  views  of  physiology  and 
pathology,  but  in  every  scientific  theory  which  was 
allied  to  them.  Although  it  did  not  exalt  medicine  to 
the  rank  of  an  "  exact  science,"  it  was  an  active  factor 
in  sweeping  from  it  an  immense  number  of  illusive 
notions. 

William  Harvey  had  been  a  student  at  Padua  in  the 
last  years  of  the  sixteenth  century.  He  learned  from 
his  preceptor,  the  celebrated  anatomist,  Fabricio,  of 
the  existence  of  valves  in  the  veins,  and  himself  tested 
the  matter  by  experimental  inquiry.  He  had  also 
become  familiar  with  the  exploration  of  the  lesser 
circulation,  as  given  by  Servetus  and  Colombo.  Com- 
bining these  facts  together,  he  prosecuted  the  subject 
till  he  had  fully  demonstrated  the  existence  of  the 
general  circulation  from  the  left  side  of  the  heart  by 


204  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  aorta  and  its  subdivisions  to  the  right  side  of  the 
heart  by  the  veins. 

Meanwhile  he  returned  to  England,  in  1602,  and 
became  physician  to  James  I.,  continuing  in  that  func- 
tion under  Charles  I.  He  also  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  professor  in  the  College  of  Physicians  in 
London  1615,  where,  in  1619,  having  perfected  his 
demonstrations,  he  made  known  his  discovery  of  the 
general  mechanism  of  the  circulation.  The  storm 
which  he  encountered  was  fierce  and  threatening. 
Medical  men  are  generally  conservative  and  constitu- 
tionally averse  to  innovations  which  cast  their  notions 
and  methods  into  the  shade.  Hume,  the  historian, 
remarked  accordingly,  the  significant  fact  that  no 
physician  in  Europe  who  had  reached  forty  years  of 
age  ever  to  the  end  of  his  life  adopted  Harvey's  doc- 
trine of  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  It  ran  the  gant- 
let of  the  schools,  was  severely  attacked  on  every  side, 
and  the  promulgator  himself  personally  denounced 
for  obtruding  it  upon  the  public  attention.  When  a 
scientific  fact  cannot  be  successfully  met,  dishonest 
adversaries  usually  vent  their  spite  upon  the  person 
who  brought  it  to  view.  Then  the  pretense  is  made 
that  the  discovery  or  invention  is  of  no  value,  involv- 
ing it  and  its  discoverer  in  a  common  odium.  This 
failing,  the  next  expedient  is  to  assert  that  it  really  is 
not  new,  that  some  one  of  their  own  number  has  dis- 
covered it,  or  at  least  introduced  it,  so  that  the  merit 
is  claimed  as  all  their  own. 

Such  is  the  course  followed  in  our  later  times, 
especially  in  the  medical  world  ;  such  was  literally 
the  experience  of  William  Harvey.  After  he  left 
Padua  the  great  theme  of  discussion  was  in  respect  to 
'■'■the  Harvey  Paradox."     The  Faculty  of  Medicine   in 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  205 

Paris  led  off  in  the  attack.  Leichner,  in  1646,  entitled 
an  essay  of  his  own  :  "  De  Motu  Sanguinis,  Exercitatio 
Anii-Harveiana,''  Concerning  the  Motion  of  the  Blood, 
a  Discourse  against  Harvey.  Even  Zacharia  Silvius, 
in  1648,  in  a  preface  to  Harvey's  Exercitatio  Anatomica 
denominated  the  theory,  a  new  and  unheard-of  opinion 
respecting  the  motion  of  the  heart  and  circulation  of 
the  blood. 

The  demonstrations,  however,  proved  too  much  for 
the  opposition.  Jean  Riolan,  of  Paris,  who  seems  to 
have  always  been  on  the  alert  to  cast  unworthy  impu- 
tations upon  doctrines  not  emanating  from  approved 
sources,  was  the  most  violent  adversary  of  the  new 
theory.  He  was  compelled,  in  this  controversy,  to 
meet  the  evidences  which  Harvey  had  adduced,  by 
others  of  equal  force  and  plausibility.  This  was 
impossible,  and  finally,  yielding  the  argument  he 
embraced  the  new  doctrine  and  became  its  most  zeal- 
ous apostle. 

Italian  writers,  however,  were  not  willing  to  con- 
cede the  merit  of  original  discovery.  The  leading 
medical  authorities  of  Europe  having  accepted  the 
theory  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  they  promptly 
hastened  to  the  next  resort  common  in  such  cases, 
and  denied  the  claim  of  its  novelty.  They  boldly 
declared  that  the  same  discovery  had  already  been 
made  in  Italy  the  previous  century,  by  Andrea 
Cesalpino,  a  Tuscan  savant  of  distinction.*  This  was 
in  1593,  five  years  before  Harvey,  then  but  twenty 
years  old,  had  become  a  student  at  the  University  of 
Padua.  They  accordingly  accused  him  of  having 
falsely  claimed  for  himself  in  his  book  published  in 
1628,  the  credit  of  first  bringing  to  light  this  moment- 

*  See  page  184. 


206  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ous  truth,  and  only  award  to  him  the  doubtful  merit 
of  "  carrying  on  successfully  a  conflict  against  igno- 
rance and  prejudice  by  divulging  this  great  discovery 
which  Cesalpino  had  made." 

The  general  consensus  of  opinion  now  concedes  the 
honor  to  Harvey.  Our  attention  is  directed  accord- 
ingly to  the  results  of  the  great  discovery.  It  placed 
physiological  knowledge  upon  new  foundations,  and 
opened  the  way  for  explorations  in  new  directions. 

MICROSCOPIC    ANATOMY. 

The  doctrine  of  the  circular  motion  of  the  blood  was 
finally  adopted  as  affording  the  most  satisfactory 
explanation  of  many  facts  in  regard  to  the  structure 
of  the  body  which  had  not  been  before  understood. 
Immediately  research  took  a  fresh  impetus,  and  the 
literature  of  the  profession  was  enriched  by  valuable 
contributions  from  prominent  investigators.  Malpighi, 
of  Bologna,  afterward  physician  to  Innocent  XII.,  was 
among  the  first  to  employ  the  microscope  in  his  inves- 
tigations. This  brought  down  upon  him  the  disap- 
proval of  his  associates,  who  declared  that  the  study 
of  microscopic  anatomy  was  adverse  to  the  true 
interests  of  medical  practice.  Malpighi  practiced 
vivisection,  opening  the  bodies  of  living  animals,  and 
he  made  many  of  his  most  striking  discoveries  in  this 
way.  He  demonstrated  the  course  of  the  corpuscles 
of  the  blood  in  the  minute  vessels,  thus  corroborating 
the  fact  of  the  communication  between  the  veins  and 
the  arteries.  Harvey  had  proposed  the  theory  of 
capillary  circulation,  and  four  years  after  his  death, 
Malpighi  demonstrated  its  truth.  The  latter  also  dis- 
covered the  plan  of   structure  of  the  secreting  glands, 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  207 

the  vesicular  structure  of  the  lungs,  the  lower  struct- 
ure of  the  epidermis,  the  cortex  of  the  kidneys,  and 
the  follicular  bodies  of  the  spleen  to  which  his  name 
has  been  affixed.  He  was  the  first  to  investigate  the 
gray  matter  of  the  brain,  which  he  considered  as 
glandular  in  structure,  and  that  its  function  was  to 
secrete  the  "animal  spirits."  This  opinion  was  also 
entertained  by  Leeuwenhoek,  from  whom  it  was  after- 
ward quoted  by  Emanuel  Swedenborg. 

Discoveries  in  anatomy  by  means  of  the  microscope 
became  numerous.  Gaspardo  Asellio  in  1627  demon- 
strated the  existence  of  the  chyliferous  vessels  ;  Men- 
tel,  following  Eustachio,  observed  the  thoracic  duct  : 
Wesling  of  Vienna,  in  1634,  gave  the  first  delineation 
of  the  lacteal  vessels;  Highmore  distinguished  between 
them  and  the  mesenteric  veins;  Wirsung  and  Pecquet, 
in  1647,  discovered  the  common  trunk  of  the  lacteals 
and  lymphatics  ;  and  Jolyffe  of  England,  simultane- 
ously with  Olaf  Rudbeck  of  Sweden,  ascertained  the 
distinction  between  the  lacteals  and  lymphatics  and 
the  termination  of  the  latter.  Thomas  Wharton  was 
first  to  give  a  general  description  of  the  glands,  and 
Glisson  distinguished  himself  by  a  minute  description 
of  the  liver,  with  an  account  of  the  stomach  and  intes- 
tines. 

Later  in  the  century  Meibomius  published  a  treatise 
on  the  anatomy  of  the  eyelids;  and  Peyer,  in  1677, 
discovered  the  agminated  glands  which  bear  his 
name. 

The  innovation  of  employing  men  instead  of  women 
in  obstetric  practice  was  introduced  by  Julien  Clement 
in  1676.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  practitioners  did 
little  more  than  copy  the  work  of  Eucharius  Rhodion, 
entitled  The  Byrthe  of  Mankynde,  first  published  in  1540, 


2o8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Hugh  Chamberlain  distinguished  himself  by  the 
invention  of  the  obstetric  forceps  in  1672,  keeping  the 
secret  for  his  own  profit. 

Drelincourt,  of  a  Huguenot  refugee  family  in  Hol- 
land, endeavored  to  set  forth  the  changes  induced  in 
the  uterus  by  impregnation,  and  also  to  elucidate  the 
development  of  the  foetus.  Regnier  De  Graaf  made 
an  investigation  of  the  pancreas,  and  also  of  the  struct- 
ure of  the  sexual  organism,  recording  many  impor- 
tant observations  ;  but,  unfortunately,  his  labors  were 
cut  short  prematurely  by  death  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
two. 

NEUROLOGY. 

Duverney,  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at 
Paris,  distinguished  himself  by  giving  the  first  accu- 
rate account  of  the  organism  of  hearing.  He  appears 
to  have  been  the  first  who  demonstrated  the  fact  that 
the  cerebral  sinuses  were  the  nervous  receptacles  of 
the  brain,  receiving  the  veins  of  that  structure,  and 
emptying  into  the  jugular  veins.  He  was  ver)^  accu- 
rate in  his  explanations  of  the  ganglia,  the  medulla 
oblongata  and  its  pyramids,  the  formation  and  dis- 
tribution of  the  intercostal  nerve,  the  spinal  cord,  and 
the  process  of  ossification. 

Raymond  Vieussens,  also,  in  his  great  work  on  neu- 
rography, in  1684,  made  important  additions  to  what 
was  then  known.  He  gave  new  light  in  regard  to  the 
configuration  and  structure  of  the  brain,  spinal  cord 
and  nerves  ;  and  presented  the  views  in  regard  to  the 
sympathetic  nerve  and  ganglionic  system,  with  the 
formation  and  connections,  which  were  generally 
adopted  by  anatomists. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  209 


The  most  distinguished  writer  upon  anatomy  in  the 
seventeenth  century  was  Thomas  Willis.  He  was  one 
who  felt  able  to  afford  to  give  due  credit  to  those  who 
aided  him  ;  and  he  accordingly  acknowledged  his 
obligations  to  Wren  and  Millington,  and  in  a  more 
marked  degree  to  Richard  Lower.  His  candor  was  as 
meritorious  as  his  contributions  to  science.  His 
anatomy  of  the  brain  and  nerves  was  minute  and 
elaborate  above  all  who  preceded  him.  He  made  the 
arrangement  of  cranial  nerves  now  in  common  use, 
and  described  the  various  structures  of  the  encephalon, 
the  striate  bodies,  the  optic  thalami,  the  four  orbicular 
eminences,  the  peculiar  appearance  of  the  cerebellum, 
and  in  particular  the  remarkable  anastomosis  of  the 
vertebral  and  carotid  arteries  forming  the  "  Circle  of 
Willis."  To  him  particularly,  as  well  as  other  writers 
of  celebrity  at  that  period,  the  world  is  indebted  for 
aid  to  comprehend  the  physiology  as  well  as  structure 
of  the  nervous  system. 

SURGEONS. 

The  advance  in  surgery  is  less  noted  by  writers. 
Professional  pique,  doubtless,  was  a  principal  reason  ; 
the  art  being  still  associated  with  the  calling  of  the 
barber  and  other  crafts  characterized  by  skill  with 
mechanics'  instruments.  The  increase  of  anatomic 
knowledge,  however,  compelled  more  diligent  atten- 
tion to  the  modes  of  operating  ;  and  naturally  as  well 
as  necessarily,  this  tended  to  exalt  the  surgeon's 
vocation.  Thus  in  France,  it  was  usual  for  the  demon- 
stration in  anatomy  and  surgery  to  be  given  by  a 
physician;   but   in    1671,    the   king   decreed    that  the 


2IO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

lectures  should  be  delivered  by  a  surgeon.  In  Ger- 
many, likewise,  were  surgical  authors  and  prac- 
titioners of  note  ;  among  whom  were  most  eminent, 
Fabriz  von  Hilden,  the  introducer  of  the  tourniquet ; 
Schneider,  Heister,  and  Rau  of  Leiden.  The  latter 
was  distinguished  as  "  the  most  successful  lithotomist 
that  ever  lived."  He,  however,  refused,  even  to  his 
own  pupils,  to  divulge  his  method  of  operating.  The 
operation  by  the  lateral  method  came  to  great  perfec- 
tion in  the  hands  of  Jaques  Beaulieu.  The  experiment 
of  crushing  the  stone  in  the  bladder  was  likewise 
attended  with  success. 

Transfusion  of  blood  was  also  performed,  and  several 
members  of  the  Royal  Society,  such  as  Boyle  and 
Lower,  took  much  interest  in  it.  The  success,  though 
somewhat  encouraging,  was  not  so  much  so  as  to  jus- 
tify persistence  in  the  practice. 

Richard  Wiseman  is  called  the  "  Father  of  English 
Surgery,"  and  the  "  Pare  of  England."  He  was  sur- 
geon to  James  L  and  Charles  L,  taking  the  part  of  the 
Royalists  in  the  Civil  Wars,  and  accompanying  Prince 
Charles  in  his  exile.  After  the  Restoration  he  held 
the  office  of  Sergeant-Surgeon  to  Charles  IL  and  James 
n.  He  was  the  first  to  advocate  amputation  before  the 
setting  in  of  fever,  in  cases  of  gunshot  wounds  and 
other  injuries  of  the  limbs.  He  introduced  the  prac- 
tice of  treating  aneurism  by  compression,  and  improved 
the  method  of  procedure  for  hernia.  His  work.  Seven 
Chirurgical  Treatises,  first  appeared  in  1676  ;  and  related 
to  tumors,  ulcers,  anal  diseases,  scrofula,  wounds, 
fractures,  luxations,  and  syphilis.  Several  editions 
were  published. 

Trephining  was  freely  employed  ;  Philip  William, 
Prince  of  Orange,  is  said  to  have  undergone  the  opera- 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  211 

tion  seventeen  times.  Other  operations,  which  had 
been  anciently  common,  seem  to  have  been  again 
called  into  use.  Flap-amputation,  which  the  Roman 
surgeons  practiced,  was  again  introduced  by  Lowd- 
ham,  of  Oxford,  in  1679.  Another  author,  however, 
gives  the  credit  to  James  Young  of  Plymouth,  who 
also  advised  limited  compression  of  the  main  artery 
while  operating.  In  short,  it  appears,  the  principal 
endeavor,  at  this  time,  was  to  perfect  the  surgical  art 
as  it  was  already  known,  and  make  good  use  of  the 
skill  already  in  hand,  rather  than  to  launch  out  into 
new  fields. 

LATER    SCHOOLS    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  new  theory  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and 
other  causes,  did  not,  at  first,  produce  apparent  results 
upon  the  current  practice  of  medicine.  Indeed,  there 
has  been  a  tendency  to  accommodate  theories  to  the 
methods  and  remedies  in  vogue,  rather  than  to  modify 
the  methods  to  meet  the  new  light  and  conditions. 
The  ancient  dogmas  were  not  eliminated,  but  attempts 
were  made  to  reconstruct  medicine  upon  a  physiologi- 
cal basis.  Several  schools  thus  came  into  existence, 
which  continued  till  another  century. 

Borelli,  of  Naples,  was  teacher  of  mechanics  and 
anatomy  at  Pisa.  He  was  a  zealous  believer  in  the 
mathematical  and  mechanical  doctrines  taught  by 
Keppler  and  applied  to  the  laws  of  motion,  and  he 
entertained  the  conviction  that  the  motions  of  animals 
were  thus  controlled  Bellini  was  a  student  at  Pisa, 
and  adopted  these  opinions.  The  human  body,  they 
taught,  was  a  collection  of  tubes  forming  an  hydraulic 
medicine  ;  and  they  actually  estimated  the  force  of  the 


2  12  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

circulation  of  the  blood  and  other  fluids  through  the 
vessels.  They  did  not,  however,  regard  the  propelling 
force  as  solely  mechanical,  but  rather  as  proceeding 
from  the  fermentation  of  the  blood,  which  thus  disen- 
gaged the  vital  spirits,  and  by  their  agency  forced  the 
blood  through  the  body.  The  sole  object  of  respira- 
tion, Bellini  held,  was  to  push  the  blood  through  the 
capillary  vessels  with  an  adequate  amount  of  force. 
The  movement  of  the  bones  and  muscles  was  explained 
by  the  theory  of  the  lever  ;  digestion  was  considered 
as  essentially  a  process  of  trituration  ;  and  nutrition 
and  secretion  were  set  forth  as  dependent  upon  the 
tension  of  the  vessels.  Fevers  were  also  explained  by 
the  hypothesis  of  mechanical  action.  Nevertheless, 
the  theories  of  disease  led  to  no  radical  or  important 
change  in  therapeutics. 

These  doctrines  were  favorably  received  in  all  the 
universities  of  Europe.  In  Italy,  Germany,  and  Eng- 
land they  were  accepted  by  the  leading  practitioners. 
Steno,  Lower,  Baglivi,  and  Cole  of  England  were 
among  the  champions,  and  Pitcairn,  for  many  years 
professor  at  Leiden,  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
exponents  of  the  system.  Even  Boerhaave  adopted 
the  theories  respecting  secretion  and  inflammation. 

GERMAN    ECLECTICS. 

About  this  period  there  appeared  a  school  of  medi- 
cine in  Germany,  known  by  the  title  of  "Eclectic 
Conciliators."  Conspicuous  among  them  was  Daniel 
Sennert,  a  professor  of  the  University  of  Wittemberg, 
It  was  an  attempt  to  harmonize  the  conflicting  doc- 
trines, by  a  system  embodying  the  principal  teachings 
of  Hippokrates  and  his   successors,   the  psychic  and 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  213 

magnetic  views  of  Paracelsus,  and  the  "  new  learning" 
of  the  age.  The  century  was  what  is  now  denominated 
credulous,  and  we  need  not  be  surprised,  therefore, 
to  learn  that  these  Eclectics  believed  in  witchcraft, 
actual  communion  with  diabolic  powers,  the  alchemic 
theory  of  transmutation,  and  the  doctrines  promul- 
gated by  Van  Helmont  and  his  distinguished  son. 

THE    CHEMIATRIC    SCHOOL. 

Francis  de  la  Boe  succeeded  the  younger  Van  Hel- 
mont, as  an  exponent  of  the  "chemical"  school.  He 
was  the  son  of  a  French  Huguenot  sojourning  in  Hol- 
land, and  for  fourteen  years  held  the  position  of  pro- 
fessor of  medicine  at  Leiden.  He  was  a  man  of 
superior  learning,  and  on  intimate  terms  with  Leibnitz 
and  other  eminent  scholars.  While  accepting  many 
of  the  doctrines  of  Van  Helmont  and  Paracelsus,  he 
took,  in  many  respects,  an  independent  position,  more 
in  consonance  with  the  new  views  of  pathology  and 
chemistry. 

The  "humoral  pathology"  was  the  orthodox  theory. 
It  was  held  that  disease  was  produced  by  the  abnormal 
condition  of  the  fluids  of  the  body,  and  also  that  medi- 
cine acted  through  their  agency.  The  "  chemical 
school  "  discarded  this  notion,  substituting  in  its  place 
the  theory  of  chemical  disturbances.  The  principle 
which  characterized  this  school  was  not,  as  many  have 
unwittingly  imagined,  the  employing  of  chemical,  and 
especially  mineral  medicines,  in  opposition  to  the  cur- 
rent "  Galenic  remedies."  The  great  stress,  instead, 
was  laid  upon  pathology,  the  causation  of  disease.  De 
la  Boe  endeavored  to  construct  the  whole  theory  of 
medicine  over  upon  the  new  views  of  chemistry  and 


214  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  doctrine  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  He  made 
account,  therefore,  of  anatomic  as  well  as  chemical 
changes.  In  his  conception,  fermentation  played  an 
important  part  in  the  vital  processes;  and  "acridities," 
or  chemical  disturbances  of  these  processes  were  the 
cause  of  fever  and  other  diseases.  Sometimes  the  dis- 
turbing agencies  that  predominated  in  the  fluids  and 
secretions  of  the  body  were  acid  and  sometimes  alka- 
line. Nervous  diseases  were  supposed  to  be  induced 
by  disturbances  of  the  "vital  spirits."  Accordingly, 
the  remedies  employed  by  this  school  were  sometimes 
chemical  and  sometimes  Galenic.  De  la  Boe  was  far 
more  moderate  in  the  practice  of  blood-letting  than 
physicians  of  later  schools. 

Students  from  all  parts  of  Europe  thronged  his  lect- 
ures ;  and  his  doctrines  were  widely  spread  over 
Holland  and  Germany.  The  School  of  Paris,  under 
the  influence  of  Riolan  and  Guy  Patin,  made  a  fierce 
war  upon  them  ;  but,  at  a  later  period,  they  were  dis- 
seminated over  France  and  Italy. 

Thomas  Willis  himself  promulgated  them  in  Eng- 
land. He  was  in  full  harmony  with  De  la  Boe,  and 
accepted  the  doctrines  of  Paracelsus.  He  regarded  all 
bodies,  organic  and  inorganic,  as  constituted  from  the 
mystic  elements,  "  spirit,  sulphur,  and  salt,"  and  that 
ferment,  or  the  "  intestine  movement  of  particles," 
was  the  explanation  of  many  of  the  processes  of  life 
and  disease.  The  sensible  properties  and  physical 
attractions  of  the  animal  fluids  and  solids  depended 
upon  the  different  proportions,  movements,  and  com- 
binations of  these  particles.  These  views  were  elabo- 
rately set  forth  by  him  in  his  treatise,  Pharmaceutic^ 
Rationalis,  or  Rational  Pharmacy.  The  changes  in  the 
medical  creed  have  relegated  this  work  to  oblivion, 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  215 

but  his  description  of  nervous  diseases,  and  his  account 
of  diabetes,  the  earliest  on  record,  are  acknowledged 
as  "  classical  contributions  to  scientific  medicine." 
Mr.  Willis  died  in  1675. 

SYDENHAM. 

The  next  great  luminary  in  the  medical  horizon  of 
England,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  was  Thomas 
Sydenham.  This  "  English  Hippokrates,"  as  his  later 
admirers  call  him,  had  entered  the  university  of 
Oxford  in  1642,  but  belonging  to  the  Roundhead  party, 
he  soon  afterward  abandoned  his  books  to  take  a  com- 
mand in  the  army  of  the  Parliament  against  Charles  I. 
He  graduated  at  Oxford  in  1648  a  Bachelor  of  Medi- 
cine, and  it  is  supposed  also  pursued  the  study  at 
Montpellier.  Fifteen  years  later  he  passed  the  exami- 
nation of  the  College  of  Physicians,  and  was  licensed 
"to  practice  medicine  in  Westminster  and  six  miles 
around."  Finally,  in  1676,  he  received  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  from  the  university  at  Cambridge, 
his  son  being  at  the  time  an  undergraduate.  Perhaps 
this  last  fact  had  some  influence  in  the  matter. 

The  fame  of  Sydenham,  like  that  of  most  superior 
men  who  are  benefactors,  was  chiefly  posthumous. 
Making  little  display  of  his  learning,  yet  boldly  strik- 
ing outji  course  for  himself  which  was  not  according 
to  the  approved  methods,  though  well  acquainted  with 
the  works  of  the  ancient  physicians,  and  closely  follow- 
ing Hippokrates,  he  was  described  as  "not  a  profound 
man  of  science."  He  was  greatly  blamed  for  not  using 
the  professional  jargon.  To  the  day  of  his  death,  and 
for  years  afterward,  he  and  his  followers  were  stigma- 
tized  by   the  orthodox  practitioners   of  the   time   as 


2l6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

"sectaries."  The  College  of  Physicians  cherished 
little  affection  for  him  ;  at  least,  it  never  reached  far 
enough  from  the  heart  to  warm  the  shoulder.  In  a 
letter  to  Robert  Boyle,  written  in  1688,  the  year  before 
his  death,  Sydenham  thus  remarks  :  "  I  have  the 
happiness  of  curing  my  patients — at  least  of  having  it 
said  that  few  miscarry  under  me  ;  but  cannot  brag  of 
my  correspondency  with  some  others  of  my  Faculty," 

His  writings  comprise  about  six  hundred  octavo 
pages  in  Latin.  He  published  a  treatise  on  his  Method 
of  Curing  Fevers  in  1666,  adding  two  years  later,  a 
chapter  on  the  Plague,  and  a  revised  edition  in  1676  ; 
a  Letter  on  Epidemics,  and  a  second  on  Lties  Vejierea, 
addressed  to  two  Cambridge  professors,  in  1680  ;  and 
a  Dissertation  in  1682,  setting  forth  the  treatment  of 
small-pox  and  hysteria  ;  a  tract  on  Podagra  and  Dropsy; 
and,  finally,  the  Processus  Integri,  an  outline  sketch  of 
pathology  and  practice.  Twenty  copies  only  were 
originally  printed  in  1692  ;  but  it  has  been  several 
times  reprinted. 

He  made  as  little  as  possible  of  the  dogmas  and 
traditions  of  his  craft.  His  predominant  idea  was  to 
take  up  diseases  as  they  presented  themselves  in 
nature.  Most  forms  of  ill  health,  he  insisted,  had  a 
definite  type  comparable  to  the  types  of  animal  and 
vegetable  species,  and  the  conformity  of  type  in  the 
symptoms  and  course  of  a  malady  was  due  to  the  uni- 
formity of  the  cause.  He  dwelt,  nevertheless,  upon 
the  "evident  and  conjunct  causes,"  the  morbid  phe- 
nomena, not  seeking  after  causes  that  were  remote. 
Acute  diseases,  like  fevers  and  inflammations,  he 
regarded  as  a  wholesome  conservative  effort  of  the 
organism  to  meet  the  blow  or  shock  of  some  injurious 
influence  operating  from  without  ;  following  in  this 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  217 

the  Hippokratic  teaching,  as  he  likewise  did  the 
method  laid  down  by  the  illustrious  Ionian,  of  watch- 
ing and  aiding  the  natural  crises.  Chronic  diseases, 
however,  were  attributed  by  him  to  a  depraved  state 
of  the  fluids  of  the  body,  which  was  due  principally 
to  errors  of  diet  and  manner  of  life.  "  Acutos  dico,  qui 
ut  plurimum  Deuin  habejil  author  em  siciit  chrouici  ipsos  nosT 
Nevertheless,  he  introduced  the  practice  of  bleeding 
in  fevers  and  inflammations  to  a  degree  that  had 
before  been  unexampled  ;  and  in  this  he  was  followed 
at  a  later  period  by  men  like  Bran,  Rush,  Broussais, 
and  the  great  body  of  practitioners  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  till  the  lancet  of  the  physician  became  a  more 
deadly  weapon  than  the  arms  of  the  soldier.  Honor- 
able and  praiseworthy  as  was  his  career  in  other 
respects,  a  greater  misfortune  than  this  innovation 
entailed  can  hardly  be  cited.  It  made  the  so-called 
art  of  healing  an  art  fearfully  destructive  to  human 
life.  Yet  Sydenham  himself  was  awake  to  the  vices 
of  the  depletive  treatment,  and  as  he  remarked  humor- 
ously but  over-truth  fully,  he  sometimes  consulted  his 
patient's  safety,  as  well  as  his  own  reputation,  by 
doing  nothing  at  all. 

In  the  treatment  of  small-pox  he  seems  to  have 
encountered  the  severest  criticism.  The  stimulating 
regimen  then  in  vogue,  and  most  disastrous  in  its 
results,  he  utterly  discarded,  and  instituted  for  it  cool 
air  and  saline  medicines,  with  a  success  that  at  that 
time  was  rare. 

He  declared  that  there  was  an  "epidemic  constitu- 
tion "  peculiar  to  every  year  and  season,  which  he  con- 
ceived to  depend  upon  atmospheric,  but  more  essen- 
tially upon  inscrutable  telluric  causes.  The  prevalent 
type  of  the  acute  disease  he  observed  to  vary  accord- 


2l8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ing  to  the  year  and  season,  and  he  held  that  the  right 
treatment  could  not  be  ascertained  till  the  type  was 
known. 

For  a  time  he  was  regarded  with  vague  esteem 
among  practitioners  for  his  successful  treatment  of 
small-pox,  his  employment  of  laudanum  and  his  advo- 
cacy of  the  use  of  Peruvian  bark  for  quartan  agues. 
Some,  however,  of  the  ablest  and  most  talented  men 
of  the  time,  not  hampered  by  narrow  professional 
jealousy,  were  awake  to  his  intrinsic  worth.  Boer- 
haave,  of  Leiden,  was  wont  to  speak  of  him  to  students 
as  the  Phoebus  of  the  art,  and  the  true  type  of  a  Hip- 
pokratic  man.  Haller,  when  arranging  a  Scheme  of 
Medical  Progress  through  the  Ages,  marked  one  of 
the  epochs  as  beginning  with  Sydenham.  The  College 
of  Physicians  in  1810  built  him  a  monument.  "I 
believe,"  says  his  biographer,  R.  G.  Latham,  "  that 
the  moral  element  of  a  liberal  and  candid  spirit  went 
hand  in  hand  with  the  intellectual  qualifications  of 
observation,  analysis  and  comparison."  To  this 
eulogy  Dr.  Charles  Creighton  adds  :  "  He  is  indeed 
famous  because  he  inaugurated  a  new  method  and  a 
better  ethics  of  practice,  the  worth  and  diffusive 
influence  of  which  did  not  become  obvious,  except 
to  those  who  were  on  the  same  line  with  him- 
self." 

Among  the  correspondents  of  Sydenham  were  Mor- 
ton, Robert  Boyle  and  John  Locke.  The  great  philoso- 
pher was  himself  a  physician  of  thorough  training, 
and  his  hearty  sympathy  with  the  "English  Hippo- 
krates."  He  took  occasion  in  a  letter  to  W.  Molyneux 
to  compare  the  several  methods  then  in  vogue,  and  to 
give  the  preference  distinctly  to  the  now  famous  Eng- 
lishman. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY.  219 

"  You  cannot  imagine,"  he  remarks,  "  how  far  a  little 
observation  carefully  made  by  a  man  not  tied  up  to  the 
four  humors,  [like  the  Galenists,]  or  to  sal,  sulphur  or 
mercury,  [like  the  alchemists  and  followers  of  Para- 
celsus]— or  to  acid  and  alcali,  which  has  of  late  pre- 
vailed [with  the  disciples  of  Willis] — will  carry  a  man 
in  the  curing  of  diseases  though  very  stubborn  and 
dangerous  ;  and  that  with  very  little  afid  common  things, 
and  almost  no  medicine  at  all." 

It  is  perfectly  natural,  however,  to  seek  for  knowl- 
edge and  methods  which  shall  be  ample  for  every 
exigency.  It  was  therefore  creditable  to  the  medical 
investigators  of  the  seventeenth  century  that  they 
endeavored  to  develop  theoretic  systems  which  should 
comprise  the  sum  of  what  was  beneficial  for  human 
suffering.  There  may  have  been  then,  as  we  find  it 
now,  a  love  of  ruling  which  impelled  selfish  men  to 
lord  it  over  their  fellows,  and  to  seek  by  arbitrary 
ethics,  and  even  by  intrusive  legislation,  to  silence 
and  crush  those  who  did  not  subscribe  to  their  require- 
ments. Yet  dogma  is  essential  to  an  intelligent  grasp- 
ing of  facts,  and  a  physician  without  a  theory  is  little 
else  than  a  sorry  empiric. 

Sydenham,  it  is  true,  had  a  profound  contempt  for 
the  book-learning  of  his  time,  and  actually  recom- 
mended a  person  desirous  to  study  medicine,  to  read 
Don  Quixote  as  a  valuable  work.  Nevertheless  he  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  various  systems  of  practice 
extant  and  only  attempted  to  substitute  for  them  the 
better  method  of  studying  the  natural  processes  and 
their  normal  and  abnormal  manifestations.  Simple 
treatment  rather  than  complex  prescriptions,  he  held, 
was  generally  most  successful  in  restoring  deranged 
functions   of    the    body    and    restoring    the    normal 


220  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

activity.  Yet  he  had  his  theories,  as  any  one  can  per- 
ceive, and  he  sometimes  made  complicated  prescrip- 
tions. But  he  followed  the  Sokratic  and  Platonic 
method,  to  develop  from  the  facts  at  hand  the  causes 
and  conclusions,  and  to  act  as  each  case  required,  with- 
out regard  to  the  symmetry  of  his  theoretic  views,  or 
even  consistency  between  his  practice  and  avowed 
sentiments.  He  did  what  he  judged  best  at  the  time 
for  the  patient,  leaving  the  matter  of  dogma  and 
hypothesis  to  be  adjudicated  by  itself. 

The  seventeenth  century  which  had  been  introduced 
by  such  men  as  Keppler  and  Galileo,  was  concluded 
with  Isaac  Newton.  Medical  theory  kept  in  step  with 
their  advance,  and  itself  entered  upon  a  new  epoch. 
When  therefore,  we  begin  with  the  succeeding  cent- 
ury, we  notice  a  continuation  of  the  same  notions, 
explorations,  and  schools  of  thought  as  characterized 
its  predecessor ;  and  indeed  we  must  arrive  beyond  its 
first  decades  before  perceiving  any  essential  changes. 
It  is  so,  however,  in  all  ages  ;  we  can  find  few  mile- 
stones in  human  progress  to  enable  us  to  take  a 
reckoning,  yet  when  we  survey  mankind  from  age  to 
age,  we  are  not  long  in  discovering  that  the  world 
does  move. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
MEDICINE  IN  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

The  new  doctrines  and  scientific  discoveries  which 
had  disputed  the  ascendency  of  the  former  time-worn 
dogmas  and  theories,  continued  to  agitate  the  world 
during  the  earlier  years  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
This  period,  in  fact,  was  little  else  than  a  supple- 
mentary chapter  to  the  volume.  It  was  characterized, 
like  the  previous  century,  by  innovation,  controversy, 
and  revolution.  Materialism  in  science  as  well  as  in 
ethics  was  pitted  against  supersensualism,  the  flesh 
lusting  against  the  spirit  and  each  seeming  to  triumph 
in  its  turn. 

The  history  of  medicine  exhibited  the  same  pecu- 
liarities. At  Leiden  the  physical  and  mathematical 
doctrines  were  preponderant ;  at  Halle  the  attempt 
was  made  to  establish  the  animistic  doctrine  as  suffi- 
cient to  account  for  all  that  related  to  physiology, 
pathology,  and  the  whole  art  of  healing.  European 
practitioners  were  divided  in  their  allegiance  between 
the  respective  teachers. 

John  RadclifiEe,  who  had  followed  closely  after 
Sydenham  in  avowed  contempt  for  the  book-learning 
then  extant,  disavowed  all  the  medical  systems  of  the 
time,  remarking  that  he  belonged  only  to  the  school 
of  common  sense.     He  is  described  as  both  a  popular 


222  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  sagacious  practitioner  gifted  with  rare  insight,* 
and  he  stood  at  the  head  of  his  profession  in  London. 
Like  other  despisers  of  literature  he  left  no  memorial. 
He  was  evidently  willing  to  learn  and  profit  selfishly 
from  the  labors  of  others,  contributing  nothing  valu- 
able in  return. 

His  friend  and  disciple,  Richard  Mead,  attained  to 
greater  distinction.  He  was  the  son  of  a  Non-Con- 
formist minister  at  Stepney  and  attended  school  at 
Utrecht,  but  having  decided  to  study  medicine  he 
repaired  to  Leiden  where  Herrmann  and  Pitcairn 
were  the  principal  lecturers.  In  1695  he  graduated  at 
Padua  as  Doctor  of  Philosophy  and  Medicine,  and 
returned  to  Stepney  to  begin  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. In  1703  he  was  elected  physician  to  St. 
Thomas'  Hospital,  and  appointed  lecturer  at  the  Sur- 
geons' Hall,  On  the  death  of  Radcliffe,  in  17 14,  he 
was  recognized  as  the  principal  medical  man  of  Lon- 
don ;  attending  Queen  Anne  on  her  death-bed,  and 
serving  the  Prince  of  Wales  (afterward  George  II.)  in 
1727  as  his  physician.  Mead  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
mental  activity  and  an  ardent  champion  of  the 
"mathematical  doctrines"  as  taught  at  Leiden.  "It 
is  very  evident,"  he  says,  "that  all  other  means  of 
improving  medicine  have  been  found  ineffectual  by 
the  stand  it  was  at  for  two  thousand  years  ;  and  that 
since  mathematicians  have  set  themselves  to  the  study 
of  it,  men  already  begin  to  talk  so  intelligently  and 
comprehensively,  even  about  abstruse  matters,  that  it 

*  He  was  sent  for  in  December,  1694,  to  visit  Queen  Mary,  then  ill  with  small- 
pox. On  arriving  at  the  palace  he  first  inquired  of  the  court  physicians  what  their 
treatment  had  been.  They  described  it  minutely.  Radcliffe  immediately  said  : 
"Gentlemen,  the  Queen  is  a  dead  woman;  I  wish  you  good  morning."  Then 
taking  his  hat  he  went  away  without  even  seeing  her.  His  diagnosis  of  the  treat- 
ment was  correct  ;  in  a  very  short  time  the  Queen  died. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  223 

is  to  be  hoped  that  mathematical  learning'  will  be 
the  distinguishing  mark  of  a  physician  and  a 
quack." 

Nevertheless,  despite  his  tenacity  of  opinion  and 
unseemly  readiness  to  apply  an  opprobrious  term  to 
those  who  differed  from  his  views,  Mead  was  not  suc- 
cessful in  his  own  endeavors  to  make  use  of  the  New- 
tonian and  mathematical  principles  for  the  explanation 
of  bodily  functions,  and  to  show  that  atmospheric 
pressure  and  the  influence  of  the  sun  and  moon  were 
the  chief  causes  of  disease.  In  1702  he  published  a 
treatise  on  Poisons^  explaining  them  as  acting  only  on 
the  blood.  This  hypothesis,  however,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  modify  ;  and,  accordingly,  in  1708,  in  a  later 
edition,  he  ascribed  the  disturbances  produced  to  the 
"nervous  liquor,"  which  in  turn  he  explained  as  a 
quantity  of  the  "universal  elastic  matter"  (or  lumini- 
ferous  aether)  that  is  diffused  through  the  universe. 

James  Keill  also  endeavored  to  apply  the  same  prin- 
ciples to  the  explanation  of  bodily  functions,  and  with 
a  great  degree  of  success. 

None  of  these  men  founded  a  School  of  Medicine. 
There  were  no  medical  colleges  in  England  of  a  char- 
acter to  compare  with  the  universities  upon  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe  ;  and  experience  showed  then,  as  it 
does  now,  that  for  a  physician  to  take  high  rank  in 
the  medical  world,  an  academic  position  of  rank  was 
necessary.  He  must  be  a  teacher  if  he  would  be  a 
leader  of  his  age. 

BOERHAAVE, 

Fortunately  for  his  influence  and  celebrity,  Boer- 
haave  was  fully  equipped  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in 


224  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

his  profound  learning  and  extensive  information.  He 
had  also  been  a  student  of  theolog}-,  and  having 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from  a 
humble  institution  in  Guelderland,  he  immediately- 
engaged  with  ardor  in  the  studies  belonging  to  the 
profession.  In  1701  he  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of 
Institutes  of  Medicine  at  Leiden.  He  retained  his 
connection  with  the  university  many  years,  succeed- 
ing Hatton  as  lecturer  on  Botany  and  Medicine,  Bidloo 
in  the  chair  of  Practical  Medicine,  and  afterward 
adding  to  these  the  professorship  of  Chemistry,  and 
discharging  also  the  office  of  Rector.  In  this  way  he 
worked  incessantly,  lecturing  five  hours  each  day  and 
performing  professional  service.  He  was  the  organ- 
izer of  the  modern  plan  of  clinical  instruction  ;  and 
the  hospital  at  Leiden,  though  having  but  twelve  beds, 
now  became  the  centre  of  medical  influence  in  Europe. 
Many  of  the  leading  physicians  of  England  also  took 
their  degrees  at  the  university,  and  the  reputation  of 
Boerhaave  surpassed  that  of  his  predecessor  De  la  Boe, 
as  well  as  those  who  followed  him. 

In  his  inaugural  address  he  praised  Hippokrates  as 
the  model  of  the  physician,  but  he  avowedly  followed 
the  methods  of  Sydenham  ;  from  whom,  however,  he 
widely  differed  in  the  importance  which  he  attached 
to  ancient  dogma,  as  well  as  modern  discovery. 
Indeed,  he  aimed  to  form  a  system  which  should 
include  the  principal  features  of  all  the  great  teachers, 
taking  the  Hellenic  teachings  for  the  groundwork, 
and  making  the  scientific  acquisitions  of  his  age 
available  as  the  superstructure.  Thus  selecting  his 
doctrines  from  the  current  notions  of  his  age,  he  has 
been  generally  styled  "  an  Eclectic,"  while  at  the  same 
time  his  accepting  of  the  theory  of  humoral  pathology 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  225 

also  won  for  him  the  title  of  "  the  Modern  Galen."  In 
the  language  of  his  panegyrist,  "  he  with  wonderful 
address  assimilated  the  Galenic  doctrine  of  humors  to 
his  chemical  doctrine,  and  gave  them  a  specific  char- 
acter founded  upon  their  chemical  relations.  The 
mechanical  philosophy  then  attracting  universal 
attention,  added  to  the  fabric  ;  the  vessels  were  cones 
and  cylinders  ;  and  the  fluids  consisting  of  various 
particles  adapted  only  to  given  apertures,  were  at 
times  forcibly  impelled  and  impacted  in  vessels  to 
which  they  were  not  fitted,  and  consequently  pro- 
duced numerous  complaints." 

Futile  and  even  injurious  as  we  now  would  consider 
a  treatment  founded  on  such  a  hypothesis,  Boerhaave, 
nevertheless,  was  everywhere  popular,  Peter  the 
Great,  of  Russia,  often  attended  his  lectures  ;  and  a 
Chinese  mandarin  wrote  him  a  letter.  He  was  not 
simply  a  physician  made  by  books  and  teachers,  but 
was  endowed  with  an  intuition  which  enabled  him  to 
perceive  and  describe  distempers  before  others  could 
find  any  symptoms  at  all.  He  was  simple  in  his  man- 
ner, methodical  and  precise  in  his  instructions,  elo- 
quent in  language  and  graceful  in  delivery.  He  was 
often  lively  in  his  lectures,  fond  of  mirth,  but  never 
coarse  or  satirical.  In  his  profession  he  was  diligent 
and  condescending  and  his  great  skill  enabled  him  to 
acquire  wealth.  He  died  with  a  fortune  of  two  million 
florins. 

One  of  his  disciples.  Van  Swieten,  carried  his  doc- 
trines to  Vienna  and  founded  a  school  there  ;  and  his 
nephew,  Kaauw  Boerhaave,  engaged  in  a  lucrative 
practice  at  St.  Petersburg.  The  latter  was  the  author 
of  a  treatise  upon  the  Influence  of  the  Nervous 
System. 


226  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 


HALLER. 


Another  disciple  of  Boerhaave  was  the  distinguished 
Albrecht  von  Haller,  sometimes  called  the  "  Father  of 
Modern  Physiology."  He  was  an  incessant  student 
and  investigator,  surpassing  Boerhaave  himself  in  his 
encyclopaedic  information,  and  more  profoundly 
acquainted  with  the  literature  and  biography  of  medi- 
cine than  any  other  man  living  before  or  since. 
Graduating  at  Leiden  he  accepted  the  professorships 
of  Medicine,  Anatomy,  Botany  and  Surgery  in  the 
university  at  Gottingen,  then  just  founded  by  George 
II.,  as  elector  of  Hanover.  He  was  a  brilliant  experi- 
mentalist and  a  most  prolific  writer,  composing  eighty- 
six  books  and  twelve  thousand  reviews  of  books  in 
seventeen  years,  besides  poetry.  He  was  in  many 
senses  an  innovator  upon  the  doctrines  in  vogue 
among  medical  teachers.  From  the  first  he  had 
accepted  the  theory  of  generation  known  as  epigenesis, 
propounded  by  William  Harvey,  that  the  forming  of 
the  new  organism  takes  place  by  the  successive  differ- 
entiation of  a  relatively  homogeneous  rudiment  into 
the  various  parts  and  structures.  To  this  theory, 
Malpighi  had  opposed  the  doctrine  which  Harvey 
styled  metamorphosis — that  the  new  being  exists  as  an 
entirety  in  the  ovum  antecedently  to  the  process  of 
growing,  and  that  all  that  occurred  during  gestation 
or  incubation  is  the  sim^ple  expansion  or  unfolding  of 
organs  that  already  exist.  He  had  been  led  to  this 
conclusion  by  observing  with  his  microscopes  that  the 
body  of  a  chick  was  seen  in  the  Qg'g  before  th.e punctum 
sanguineum  makes  its  appearance.  This  was  contrary 
both  to  the  theory  of  Harvey,  and  also  to  the  ancient 
opinions  of  Aristotle  that  still  dominated  the  schools  ; 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  227 

and  the  study  of  microscopic  anatomy  was  denounced 
accordingly  by  the  old  physicians,  who  did  not  scruple 
to  heap  invective  and  calumny  upon  the  head  of  Mal- 
piglii.*  After  a  time,  however,  Haller  accepted  the 
new  hypothesis,  and  his  reputation  as  the  first  physi- 
ologist of  Europe  was  powerful  to  secure  its  adoption. 
He  also  introduced  the  doctrine  of  irritability  instead 
of  that  of  an  animal  spirit,  to  account  for  involuntary 
muscular  and  nervous  activity,  explaining  by  it  the 
various  phenomena  of  the  body. 

His  views  were  severely  criticized  all  over  Europe  ; 
but  Faber  of  Paris  adopted  them,  and  other  writers, 
like  Cullen,  appear  to  have  been  influenced  by  them. 
He  has  since  been  overshadowed,  but  he  certainly 
made  the  university  of  Gottingen  one  of  the  most 
famous  in  Germany. 

STAHL    AND     HOFFMAN. 

The  university  at  Halle  was  founded  in  1693,  by 
Frederick  I.,  and  speedily  became  celebrated  from  the 
distinction  acquired  by  its  professors.  The  medical 
systems  which  they  promulgated  were  accepted  for 
many  years  by  practitioners  in  Germany,  and  deserve 
attention  for  their  prominent  characteristics. 

George  Ernst  Stahl  was  a  graduate  at  Jena,  and 
became  physician  to  the  duke  of  Weimer  in  1687. 
Seven  years  later,  at  the  earnest  suggestion  of  his 
friend  and  fellow-student,  Hoffman,  he  was  made 
professor  of  medicine  at  Halle,  and  in  17 14  was 
appointed  physician  to  the  king  of  Prussia,  dying  at 
Berlin,  May  14,  1734.  His  first  publication,  Theoria 
Medica  Vera — the  True  Theory  of  Medicine — appeared 

♦  His  brother  fought  a  duel  over  the  controversy,  killing  his  antagonist. 


228  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

in  1707,  It  is  a  zealous  protest  against  the  material- 
ism which  was  becoming  prominent  among  teachers 
and  writers  upon  medicine.  "  His  principal  title  to 
glory,"  says  Renouard,  "is  for  having  recalled  the 
attention  of  his  contemporaries  to  the  natural  tenden- 
cies of  the  animal  economy  to  the  reaction  of  the  vital 
forces  (or  the  soul)  in  diseases — a  reaction  and  tend- 
encies which  physico-chemical  doctrines  too  much 
lost  sight  of."     {^History  of  Medicine,  page  534.) 

Stahl  accepted  the  humoral  pathology  on  the  ground 
that  the  health  of  the  body  consists  in  the  conserva- 
tion and  maintenance  of  the  fluids  in  a  state  of 
integrity  and  perfect  mixture.  vSuch  a  condition,  how- 
ever, can  be  regarded  only  as  an  effect;  and  the  funda- 
mental cause,  therefore,  must  be  the  immaterial  and 
rational  soul.  He  believed  with  Des  Cartes  that  all 
motion  implies  and  requires  the  aid  of  a  spiritual 
motive  agency.  All  voluntary  muscular  motions  are 
of  this  character,  as  none  of  the  muscles  are  a  force, 
but  only  the  instrument  of  a  force.  It  is  equally  true 
that  the  unconscious  and  invisible  physiological  move- 
ments and  processes  are  effects,  of  which  the  soul  or 
spirit  is  the  producing  cause. 

Stahl  recognized  two  morbid  conditions  ;  the  one  a 
plethora  or  over-fullness,  the  other  a  cacochy/nia,  or 
depressed  condition  of  the  fluids.  He  taught  that 
every  pathologic  affection  was  produced  from  the 
reaction  of  the  soul  against  the  morbific  agent,  and 
that  the  totality  of  the  symptoms  of  any  given  case  of 
disease  only  represented  and  indicated  the  succession 
of  vital  movements.  Hence  the  physician  should 
either  do  nothing,  or  direct  his  effort  to  aid  the  soul, 
which  is  the  actual  vis  medicatrix  naturce,  to  restore  the 
bodv  to  a  normal  and  healthy  condition.    This,  as  will 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  229 

be  perceived,  is  the  "expectant  method,"  so  much 
employed  by  the  French.  Stahl  and  his  followers 
were  largely  in  favor  of  placebos,  and  strenuously 
opposed  to  the  use  of  active  drugs,  like  opium  and 
Peruvian  bark  ;  while  bleeding,  emetics  and  such  like 
"remedies"  were  regarded  by  them  with  little 
favor. 

This  psychal  principle,  the  soul  or  anima,  corresponds 
closely  with  the  archeus  or  ruling  force  of  Van  Hel- 
mont,  and  somewhat  with  the  "  nature "  to  which 
Sydenham  so  strenuously  referred  his  causes.  To  it 
may  be  attributed  many  actions  which  are  denomi- 
nated instinctive,  and  those  which  are  considered 
intuitive.  Stahl  was  the  reviver  of  anifuism  in  Ger- 
many. The  theory  was  also  adopted  in  France,  but 
with  modifications.  Stahl  had  treated  of  no  inter- 
mediary principle  between  the  soul  and  the  body,  but 
Barthez  propounded  the  theory  of  the  vital  principle  or 
formative  force,  intermediate  between  the  superior 
intellective  element  and  the  body.* 

It  is  usual  to  skim  over  these  theories  with  an  air  of 
indifference,  as  though  they  were  too  fanciful  for 
serious  inquiry,  and  hence  they  have  been  silently 
excluded  from  the  medical  curriculum. 

Frederich  Hoffman  was  also  a  professor  at  Halle  for 
almost  fifty  years,  and  owed  much  of  his  celebrity  to 


*  Paul  Joseph  Barthez  was  a  native  of  Montpellier,  where  he  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  when  he  had  only  attained  eighteen  years  of 
age.  He  was  distinguished  for  having  held  numerous  appointments  and  testi- 
monials in  other  professions.  He  became  consulting  physician  to  Louis  XVI.  in 
1780,  and  to  Napoleon  I.  in  1802.  He  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  in  Europe  but  not 
among  English-speaking  people.  His  principal  work  was  the  Nouveaux  EU- 
mens  de  la  Science  de  V Homme  — New  Elements  of  the  Science  of  Man,  and  in  it 
he  unfolds  his  animistic  doctrine  of  the  vital  or  formative  force.  He  was  one  of 
the  strongest  opponents  of  the  theory  which  would  explain  the  phenomena  of  life 
by  physical  or  mechanical  laws. 


230  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

that  fact,  apart  from  his  great  industry  and  talent. 
He  belonged  to  a  family  that  had  been  engaged  in 
medicine  for  two  hundred  years.  He  was  born  in 
1660 — the  same  year  as  Stahl,  graduated  at  Jena  about 
the  same  time  as  his  famous  colleague,  and  accepted 
the  position  of  professor  of  medicine  in  1693.  He  was 
reputed  as  a  skillful  physician,  having  the  Emperor 
Charles  VI.  and  Frederick  of  Prussia  for  patients;  and 
he  emulated  the  archiatrists  of  Rome,  Greece  and 
Egypt  in  rendering  professional  services  gratuitously, 
and  subsisting  upon  his  professional  stipend.  He  was 
an  accomplished  pharmacist  as  well  as  chemist,  and 
both  made  and  sold  remedies,  keeping  the  formulas 
secret.*  At  his  death  he  made  them  over  to  the 
Orphanage  at  Halle,  which  continues  to  derive  an 
income  from  them  at  the  present  time.  The  Anodyne 
is  still  vended  in  this  country,  as  well  as  other  secret 
medicines  under  his  name.  Through  his  recommen- 
dation, many  of  the  mineral  springs  of  Germany  came 
into  repute  as  health  resorts. 

Hoffman  was  a  philosopher  of  the  school  of  Leib- 
nitz, the  alchemist  and  supposed  Rosicrucian,  who 
inculcated  the  dogma  of  a  "  preestablished  harmony 
between  the  soul  and  body."  He  imitated  his  great 
master  by  an  endeavor  to  construct  a  system  of  medi- 
cine in  analogy  with  this  doctrine,  which  should  har- 
monize the  animistic  and  spiritual  views  of  Stahl  with 
the  materialistic  dogmas  of  other  teachers.  After  the 
common  manner  of  the  time,  he  based  his  medical 
tenets  upon  a  complete  theory  of  the  universe.  The 
source  of  life  he  taught,  was  the  ether,  which  pervades 
all  things.     It  is  breathed  from  the   atmosphere,  and 

r 
*  A  maxim  of  his  probably  helped  to  involve  him  in  disfavor  in  professional 

circles  :    "  Avoid  medicines  and  physicians  if  you  value  your  health." 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  231 

keeps  all  animate  beings  alive.  It  assimilated  in  the 
brain,  forming  the  pneuma  or  "  nervous  fluid  "  by  which 
the  body  is  sustained. 

In  regard  to  pathology  Hoffman  agreed  substantially 
with  his  colleague  ;  teaching  that  health  depended 
upon  the  maintenance  of  a  proper  tone  in  the  body, 
and  that  some  diseases  were  sthenic,  or  resulting  from 
excess  of  tone  or  "spasm,"  and  others  were  asthenic 
or  produced  by  atrophy  or  want  of  tone.  His  reputa- 
tion stood  very  high,  and  his  work  upon  Systematic 
Rational  Medicine,  written  in  Latin,  was  translated  and 
passed  through  several  editions. 

MORGAGNI. 

Pathologic  Anatomy  as  a  distinct  branch  of  medical 
study  originated  with  Giovanni  Battista  Morgagni. 
He  was  a  native  of  Forli,  and  belonged  to  a  family  in 
good  circumstances.  He  early  displayed  extraordinary 
talent,  and  in  1698,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  began  as  a 
student  of  philosophy  and  medicine  at  Bologna,  gradu- 
ating with  both  Faculties  as  Doctor  three  years  later. 
He  next  became  prosector  to  Valsalva  who  had  been 
a  pupil  of  Malpighi,  and  succeeded  him  soon  after- 
ward as  demonstrator  of  anatomy  at  the  university. 
His  reputation  at  this  early  age  stood  high,  and  in  his 
twenty-fourth  year  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
Academia  Inquietarum,  one  of  the  associations  of  learned 
men  and  inquirers,  with  which  Italy  abounded.  He 
signalized  his  management  by  discouraging  the  tend- 
ency to  abstract  speculation,  then  so  general,  and  by 
enforcing  exact  anatomic  observation  and  reasoning. 
He  published  his  discourses  to  the  Academy  in  a 
volume  which  established   his  reputation  throughout 


232  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Europe.  Resigning  his  post  at  Bologna  he  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Forli,  where  he  soon 
attracted  a  large  body  of  patrons.  His  eulogist 
describes  him  as  displaying  the  highest  qualities  of 
the  physician  :  "  in  observando  atientus,  in  prcedicendo 
caiitus,  in  curando  felix" — careful  in  observing,  cautious 
in  predicting,  fortunate  in  curing. 

He  soon  tired,  however,  of  professional  work,  and 
again  sought  employment  as  an  instructor.  The  death 
of  his  friend  Guglielmini  at  Padua  made  this  attain- 
able, and  in  17 12  he  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of 
theoretic  medicine.  He  held  the  position  with  the 
highest  honor  till  his  death,  sixty  years  later.  Three 
years  after  this  appointment,  he  was  promoted  by  the 
Venetian  Senate  to  the  chair  of  anatomy,  a  place  which 
had  been  filled  by  Vesalius,  Fallopius  and  other  illus- 
trious teachers.  He  appears  to  have  enjoyed  uninter- 
rupted prosperity.  He  received  a  bountiful  stipend  ; 
he  was  highly  esteemed  by  his  fellow-professors  ;  he 
enjoyed  the  friendship  of  distinguished  senators  and 
the  highest  ecclesiastic  dignitaries  ;  students  from  all 
parts  of  Europe  attended  his  lectures  ;  he  was  elected 
into  the  Academies  of  Europe  and  the  Royal  Society 
of  England  ;  and  no  person  of  any  eminence  in  learn- 
ing came  to  Padua  without  visiting  and  conversing 
with  him,  while  all  were  charmed  with  his  polished 
manners,  his  character  and  teaching.  He  was  a  many- 
sided  man,  writing  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  classic, 
historic  and  antiquarian,  as  well  as  medical.  Indeed, 
he  seems  to  have  been  diffident  in  setting  forth  his 
own  professional  attainments.  He  edited  and  pub- 
lished the  works  of  Valsalva  and  Guglielmini,  adding 
biographic  sketches  and  commentaries  of  his  own, 
noted   for  their  exquisite   elegance   of  style  ;  but  he 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  233 

waited  long  before  entering  the  field  with  his  own 
productions. 

Only  two  or  three  writers  had  attempted  to  describe 
the  anatomy  of  diseased  organs  and  parts  of  the 
human  body.  Many  had  deplored  this  omission  ; 
Harvey  himself  remarking  that  more  was  to  be 
learned  from  the  dissection  of  one  person  dying  with 
consumption  or  other  chronic  malady  than  from  ten 
that  had  been  hanged.  Theophile  Bonet,  of  Neuchatel, 
indeed,  had  written  the  Sepukhretufn,  a  work  which 
Haller  praised  as  being  a  pathologic  library  in  itself. 
But  it  was  prolix,  often  inaccurate  and  sometimes  even 
misleading  from  its  ignorance  of  normal  anatomy. 
Apparent  accident  led  Morgagni  to  take  up  the  sub- 
ject. He  had  just  finished  his  edition  of  Valsalva  in 
1 741,  and  was  taking  a  respite  from  work  with  a  young 
friend  in  the  country.  They  were  discoursing  together 
upon  the  Sepulchretum  and  its  defects,  when  the  young 
man  suggested  that  Morgagni  should  put  his  own 
observations  upon  paper.  It  was  arranged  accord- 
ingly that  he  should  write  a  series  of  letters  for  his 
friend's  perusal.  Seventy  of  these  were  prepared,  and 
finally  in  1761  were  published  as  a  systematic  treatise, 
in  two  folio  volumes,  entitled  :  De  Sedibus  et  Causis 
Morborum  per  Anatomen  Indagatis — the  Seats  and  Causes 
of  Disease,  revealed  by  Dissection. 

The  work  was  arranged  in  five  books,  each  of  which 
was  dedicated  to  a  representative  of  one  of  the  five 
learned  societies  of  which  Morgagni  was  a  member. 
It  embraced  the  record  of  six  hundred  and  forty  dis- 
sections, and  gives  a  description  of  the  morbid  con- 
ditions of  the  body  through  its  entire  extent.  The 
symptoms  during  the  course  of  the  malady  are  pre- 
fixed, and  discussed  from   the  point  of  view  presented 


234  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

by  the  conditions  after  death.  All  ranks  of  life,  from 
peasant  to  cardinal,  furnished  subjects  for  these 
letters.  Many  were  cases  of  Morgagni's  own  early 
observation  ;  others  were  from  unpublished  records  of 
Valsalva  and  Albertini. 

This  treatise  was  the  collected  observations,  experi- 
ences and  acquired  knowledge  of  his  lifetime.  He  was 
in  his  eightieth  year,  when,  as  Creighton  elegantly 
remarks,  "  he  brought  out  the  great  work  which,  once 
for  all,  made  pathological  anatomy  a  science,  and 
diverted  the  course  of  medicine  into  new  channels  of 
exactness  or  precision."  It  was  not  only  famous  at 
the  time  from  its  author's  great  reputation,  but  to  the 
present  time,  it  is  acknowledged  that  it  was  the  begin- 
ning of  an  era  of  progress  in  pathologic  knowledge 
and  practical  medicine.  "  Although  Morgagni  was 
the  first,"  adds  Mr.  Creighton,  "  to  demonstrate  the 
absolute  necessit)^  of  having  diagnosis,  prognosis  and 
treatment  on  an  exact  and  comprehensive  knowledge 
of  anatomical  conditions,  he  made  no  attempt  (like 
that  of  the  Vienna  School  sixty  years  later),  to  exalt 
pathological  anatomy  into  a  science  disconnected  from 
clinical  medicine  and  remote  from  practical  needs. 
His  orderliness  of  anatomical  method  (implying  his 
skill  with  the  scalpel),  his  precision,  his  exhaustive- 
ness,  and  his  freedom  from  bias  are  his  essentially 
modern  or  scientific  qualities  ;  his  scholarship  and 
high  consideration  for  classical  and  foreign  work,  his 
sense  of  practical  ends  (or  his  common  sense),  and  the 
breadth  of  his  intellectual  horizon  prove  him  to  have 
lived  before  medical  science  had  become  largely  tech- 
nical or  mechanical.  Symptoms  from  this  time  ceased 
to  be  made  up  into  more  or  less  conventional  groups, 
each  of  which  was  a  disease  ;  on  the  other  hand,  they 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  235 

began  to  be  viewed  as  *  the  cry  of  the  suffering  organs,' 
and  it  became  possible  to  develop  Sydenham's  grand 
conception  of  a  Natural  History  of  disease  in  a  catho- 
lic or  scientific  spirit." 

THE     EDINBURGH     SCHOOL. 

According  to  Sir  Robert  Christison  the  first  chair 
of  medicine  was  instituted  in  the  University  of  the 
city  of  Edinburgh  in  1685,  "  through  the  energy  and 
influence  of  three  of  the  most  remarkable  medical 
men  of  the  day  in  Scotland,  Sir  Andrew  Balfour,  Sir 
Robert  Sibbold  and  Dr.  Pitcairn."  The  latter  was  the 
instructor  of  Mead  and  Boerhaave,  at  Leiden.  He  had 
been  somewhat  undecided  in  his  choice  of  a  profession, 
applying  himself  in  turn  to  divinity,  law,  and  mathe- 
matics ;  finally  entering  on  the  study  of  medicine  at 
Edinburgh,  then  pursuing  it  further  at  Paris  and 
graduating  at  Rheims.  He  began  practice  in  Edin- 
burgh, but  in  1692  became  professor  of  medicine  at 
Leiden.  Having  returned  home,  however,  to  fulfil  an 
engagement  of  marriage,  the  father  of  the  bride 
objected  to  her  residence  abroad  ;  and  Pitcairn  settled 
once  more  at  Edinburgh. 

He  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  jovial  temper 
fond  of  drink  and  disputations.  He  was  often  engaged 
in  violent  quarrels,  both  with  physicians  and  clergy- 
men ;  with  the  latter  from  his  hatred  of  Calvinism, 
and  with  the  former  from  professional  rivalry. 
Desirous  of  procuring  subjects  for  dissection,  he 
applied  for  the  unclaimed  bodies  of  paupers.  This 
proposition  the  chief  surgeons  of  Edinburgh  opposed, 
but  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  necessary  per- 
mission   from     the  Town   Council,    thus    laying    the 


236  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

foundation  of  the  "  Edinburgh  School  of  Medical 
Learning." 

He  was  a  determined  adversary  of  philosophic 
explanations  as  well  as  of  the  iatro-chemical  doc- 
trines, and  an  avowed  champion  of  the  scientific  or 
empiric  method.  "Nothing,"  he  declared,  "more 
hinders  physic  from  being  improved  than  the  curi- 
osity of  searching  into  the  natural  causes  of  the  effect 
of  medicines.  The  business  of  man  is  to  know  the 
virtues  of  medicines  ;  but  to  inquire  Whence  they  have 
that  power  is  a  superfluous  amusement  since  nature 
lies  concealed.  A  physician  ought,  therefore,  to  apply 
himself  to  discover  by  experience  the  effects  of  medi- 
cine and  diseases,  and  reduce  his  observations  into 
maxims,  and  not  heedlessly  fatigue  himself  by  inquir- 
ing into  their  causes,  which  are  neither  possible  nor 
necessary  to  be  known.  If  all  physicians  would  act 
thus,  we  should  not  see  physic  divided  into  so  many 
sects." 

As  has  already  appeared,  parties  and  rival  schools  of 
medicine  were  as  numerous  and  rancorous  as  in  later 
periods  ;  each  faction  tugging  at  its  own  corner  of  the 
blanket  and  striving  with  all  its  might  to  pull  it  away 
from  the  others.  Although  governments  were  more 
arbitrary  and  despotic  then,  the  expedient  of  establish- 
ing one  party  in  medicine  absolute  and  supreme  over 
others  had  not  been  adopted  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

Major  Pitcairn,  who  commanded  the  firing  of  the 
first  volley  at  Lexington,  in  the  American  Revolution, 
was  a  descendant  of  the  Scotch  professor. 

Alexander  Monro,  the  first,  became  professor  of 
anatomy  at  Edinburgh  in  1720.  His  principal  fame 
rests  upon  the  fact  that  he  was  the  first  to  hold  the 
place,  and  was  the  author  of  works  upon  osteology  and 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  237 

comparative  anatomy.  His  son  and  namesake  was 
appointed  joint  professor  in  1756,  and  appears  to  have 
been  an  investigator  of  much  merit  and  originality. 
He  made  many  important  contributions  to  our  ana- 
tomic and  histologic  knowledge.  His  son  succeeded 
to  this  professorship  but  was  not  so  famous  as  his  two 
ancestors.  He  did  his  part,  nevertheless,  in  maintain- 
ing the  reputation  of  the  school. 

WILLIAM    CULLEN. 

Scotch  medicine,  however,  in  the  eighteenth  cent- 
ury, boasted  of  William  Cullen  as  one  of  its  brightest 
jewels.  He  was  a  native  of  Hamilton,  in  Lanarkshire, 
and  began  his  career  as  a  surgeon's  apprentice  in 
Glasgow.  Here  he  had  access  to  an  extensive  medical 
library  and  attended  several  classes  in  the  University. 
At  the  end  of  his  apprenticeship  he  became  surgeon  to 
a  merchant  vessel  and  afterward  settled  as  a  practi- 
tioner in  a  rural  parish.  In  1734,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
four,  he  made  his  way  to  Edinburgh,  then  becoming 
somewhat  distinguished  for  its  medical  school,  and 
spent  two  winter  sessions.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Royal  Medical  Society  and  Students' 
Association  in  that  city.  Leaving  Edinburgh  he  set- 
tled in  Hamilton,  where  he  soon  gained  a  high  repu- 
tation and  was  employed  by  the  leading  families, 
including  that  of  the  Duke  himself.  At  this  time 
William  Hunter  became  his  pupil,  remaining  with 
him  three  years.  In  1740  Cullen  took  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  from  the  University  of  Glasgow, 
and  from  that  time  confined  himself  to  the  practice  of 
physic,  relinquishing  surgery  to  a  partner.  Four  years 
later  he  removed  to  Glasgow.     The  medical  school  of 


238  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  university  was  as  yet  but  imperfectly  organized 
and  Cullen  became  a  lecturer  on  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  medicine,  botany,  materia  medica  and  chemis- 
try. His  ability  as  an  instructor,  his  facility  in 
imparting  knowledge  upon  difficult  subjects  and  his 
ardent  enthusiasm  attracted  students  and  made  him 
very  popular.  In  1751  he  received  from  the  king,  at 
the  instance  of  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  the  appointment 
of  professor  of  medicine,  but  he  continued  to  lecture 
upon  chemistry,  of  which  he  was  passionately  fond. 

In  1756  he  received  from  the  town  council  of  Edin- 
burgh, the  appointment  of  joint  professor  of  chemistry 
in  the  university  of  that  city,  and  held  the  chair  for 
ten  years.  Four  years  later  he  delivered  a  course  of 
lectures  on  materia  medica,  which  were  surreptitiously 
published  in  London  and  widely  circulated.  He  was 
afterward  appointed  professor  of  the  institutes  of 
medicine,  and  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  John  Gregory, 
gave  lectures  upon  the  practice  of  physic.  He  died  in 
1790. 

CuUen's  fame  appears  to  have  rested  upon  his  ability 
as  a  teacher,  rather  than  upon  the  speculations  which 
he  promulgated.  He  took  exception  to  the  doctrines 
of  Boerhaave,  then  universally  taught  in  the  schools, 
and  strongly  opposed  the  humoral  pathology.  He 
was  equally  dissatisfied  with  the  conceptions  of  Stahl, 
because  they  gave  no  countenance  to  the  heroic  prac- 
tice which  he  inculcated  and  pursued.  His  theory 
placed  disease  in  the  solid  structures  of  the  body,  and 
he  divided  the  various  forms  into  four  classes  :  pyrexia, 
or  fevers  ;  neuroses,  or  nervous  disorders  ;  cachexice,  or 
depraved  conditions,  as  in  scurvy  ;  and  locales^  or  local 
complaints  like  cancer.  He  taught  the  doctrine  of 
spasm  or  debility,  attributing  to  it  all  the  phenomena 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  239 

of  febrile  disorders.  He  referred  rheumatism  to  spasm 
of  the  muscular  fibres  arising  from  an  incessant  flow 
of  blood  to  the  origin  of  complaint,  and  gout  to  atony, 
especially  of  the  organs  of  digestion.  He  rejected  the 
notion  of  a  peculiar  morbific  matter  in  these  diseases, 
but  in  his  explanation  of  scrofula  and  several  others, 
he  adopted  the  hypothesis  of  an  acrimony  of  the  fluids. 
He  laid  great  stress  upon  the  agency  of  the  vis  inedi- 
catrix  naturce,  and  taught  the  existence  of  a  nervous 
fluid  and  vital  principle.  He  also  ascribed  a  peculiar 
faculty  to  the  brain,  which  he  denominated  "  irrita- 
bility of  the  sensorium  "  and  declared  that  it  excited 
the  muscles  to  action  independently  of  the  mind  and 
will.  Upon  this  hypothesis  his  system  was  princi- 
pally founded.  The  circulation  of  the  blood,  there- 
fore, would  not  be  explained  by  mechanical  laws,  the 
angles  at  which  the  arteries  divaricated  were  repre- 
sented as  exercising  little  influence,  and  lentor, 
viscidity  and  acrimony,  whether  acid  or  alkaline,  were 
regarded  as  having  no  tendency  to  produce  diseases. 
The  whole  was  resolved  by  him  into  motions  regulated 
by  the  vital  principles,  and  chiefly  induced  by  the 
activity  or  torpor  of  the  extreme  arteries. 

THE    GREGORIES. 

John  Gregory,  the  colleague  of  Dr.  Cullen,  belonged 
to  a  family  remarkable  for  hereditary  genius.  Sixteen 
of  their  number  held  professorships  in  British  univer- 
sities. David  Gregory,  of  Kinardie,  practiced  medicine 
among  the  poor  gratuitously.  He  was  passionately 
fond  of  scientific  pursuits,  and  having  procured  a 
barometer,  he  became  involved  in  difficulty.  He  pre- 
dicted  changes   in   the   weather,   and  was  arraigned 


240  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

before  the  presbytery  of  Aberdeen  on  the  charge  of 
witchcraft,  but  succeeded  in  proving  his  innocence. 
His  death  took  place  in  1720.  His  brother,  James 
Gregory,  was  the  inventor  of  the  telescope  which  bears 
his  name,  and  published  several  mathematical  works. 
From  him  descended  the  professors  of  medicine  who 
contributed  to  the  reputation  of  the  school  at  Edin- 
burgh as  well  as  other  institutions  with  which  they 
were  connected. 

The  son  and  namesake  of  James  Gregory  occupied 
that  position  at  King's  College  in  Aberdeen,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son,  James,  who  died  in  1755.  The 
younger  brother  of  the  latter,  John  Gregory,  com- 
pleted his  literary  course  at  Aberdeen,  and  then 
attended  the  medical  classes  at  Edinburgh  University. 
In  1745  he  went  to  Leiden  to  complete  his  studies,  and 
while  there  received  from  the  college  at  Aberdeen, 
without  having  made  application  for  the  honor,  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  Returning  home  he 
was  made  professor  of  philosophy,  but  resigned  it 
because  it  interfered  with  his  practice  as  a  physician. 
In  1755  he  succeeded  his  deceased  brother  as  professor 
of  medicine  at  King's  College.  Nine  years  afterward 
he  removed  to  Edinburgh,  in  the  hope  to  enlarge  his 
business  as  a  practitioner,  and  was  made  professor  of 
physic  in  the  University. 

James  Gregory,  his  oldest  son,  accompanied  him  to 
Edinburgh,  and  there  went  through  the  course  of 
classic  and  literary  study,  afterward,  in  1774,  gradu- 
ating in  medicine.  Two  years  later  the  father  died, 
and  he  succeeded  to  the  vacant  chair.  In  1790  he  was 
made  joint  professor  of  medicine  with  Doctor  Cullen, 
who  died  soon  after,  leaving  him  in  sole  occupancy. 
He   became   the    author    of   various  philosophic   and 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  241 

literary  works,  and  was  generally  acknowledged  as 
standing  at  the  head  of  the  medical  profession  in 
Scotland.  His  classes  increased  in  size  from  year  to 
year  till  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1821.  Dr.  William 
Gregory,  the  late  Professor  of  Chemistry  at  Edin- 
burgh, was  his  son. 

THE    "BRUNONIAN    SYSTEM." 

John  Brown,  of  Scotland,  has  sometimes  been  styled 
the  last  systematizer  of  medicine.  He  was  truly  a 
"son  of  the  people."  His  father  liad  been  a  day- 
laborer  in  the  parish  of  Bunkle,  in  Berwickshire,  and 
he  was  born  there  in  1735.  Young  Brown  was  destined 
for  the  trade  of  a  weaver,  but  his  schoolmaster,  per- 
ceiving him  to  be  a  youth  of  promise,  persuaded  his 
parents  to  let  him  study  for  the  pulpit.  Accordingly, 
at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  made  his  way  to  Edinburgh, 
and  entered  the  classes  at  the  university,  support- 
ing himself  by  private  tuition.  Presently,  however, 
he  abandoned  theology  for  medicine,  and  having 
attracted  the  notice  of  Dr.  Cullen,  was  employed  by 
him  as  a  tutor  in  his  family,  and  on  some  occasions  as 
an  assistant  in  lecturing.  A  chair  becoming  vacant 
in  the  university.  Brown  aspired  to  fill  it.  Suspecting 
Dr.  Cullen  to  be  insincere  or  indifferent  in  regard  to 
his  claims,  he  broke  off  friendly  relations  and  soon 
afterward  undertook  an  independent  course  of  lectures, 
promulgating  doctrines  of  his  own  in  opposition  to 
those  of  his  former  patron. 

He  seems  to  have  taken  his  cue,  nevertheless,  from 
Cullen.  The  latter  taught  that  the  strength  or  debility 
of  the  bodily  organism  depended  upon  a  certain  state 
of  excitement  or  collapse  of  the  brain  and  nervous 


242  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

system.  Brown  based  his  theory  upon  the  hypothesis 
of  excitability.  He  inculcated  that  the  whole  phe- 
nomena of  life,  health  as  well  as  disease,  consist  in 
stimulus,  and  nothing  else.  The  exciting  powers  were 
set  forth  by  him  as  a  joint  activity  of  external  forces 
and  the  functions  of  the  system  itself.  These  call 
forth  the  vital  phenomena — "  sense,  motion,  mental 
function  and  passion."*  Diseases  were  classed  as 
sthenic  and  asthenic,  the  result  of  an  excess  or  deficiency 
of  excitement  and  requiring  treatment  accordingly. 
The  remedies  for  the  former  condition  were  bleeding, 
low  diet  and  cathartic  drugs  ;  for  the  latter,  stimula- 
tion. To  his  credit  it  must  be  added,  that  he 
regarded  ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  the  complaints  as 
of  the  debile  and  asthenic  character. 

A  theory  so  simple  attracted  followers,  and  both  in 
Scotland  and  upon  the  continent  of  Europe,  the 
"  Brunonian  system "  was,  for  a  time,  cordially 
received.  The  fact  that  it  formed  a  milder  mode  of 
treatment  than  the  common  method  was  a  great 
recommendation,  and  Brown  appears  to  have  been  the 
first  advocate  of  the  feeding  treatment  in  fevers.  He 
was  sagacious  enough  to  perceive  that  convulsions 
and  deliriums,  then  commonly  regarded  as  symptoms 
of  inflammation,  were  very  generally  actual  signs  of 
weakness. 

In  England,  where  ideas  or  innovations  from  a 
foreign  country  or  a  subject  province,  are  seldom 
willingly  accepted,  the  new  doctrine  met  with  little 


*  Bonnet,  of  Switzerland,  living  in  the  last  century,  published  a  work  entitled 
Palingenesie  Philosophique^  setting  forth  the  same  doctrine,  which  was  then  cur- 
rent in  Europe.  All  knowledge,  according  to  his  theory,  originates  in  sensations; 
sensations  follow  vibrations  in  the  various  nerves  appropriate  to  each  ;  and  lastly, 
the  nerves  are  made  to  vibrate  by  the  action  of  outward  objects  upon  them.  Ideas 
were  described  as  sensations  in  condition  only. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  243 

favor.  In  Scotland,  Brown's  own  home,  he  had 
numerous  partisans  among  medical  students,  and 
many  personal  conflicts  took  place  between  them  and 
those  opposing  his  views.  In  Italy,  he  received 
enthusiastic  support.  Rasoni,  of  Pavia,  became  a 
champion  of  the  new  doctrine,  but  afterward  adopted 
in  place  of  the  theory  of  stimulation,  his  own  notion 
of  counter-irritation.  Joseph  Frank,  also  a  professor 
at  Pavia,  was  likewise  a  believer  in  the  Brunonian 
theory,  and  upon  his  removal  to  the  university  of 
Vienna,  taught  it  to  his  classes.  Girtanner  first  pro- 
claimed it  in  Germany,  but  had  not  the  manliness  to 
give  the  source.  Weikard  was  their  avowed  champion. 
Roeschlaub  promulgated  them  in  a  modified  form. 
The  students  at  Gottingen  were  zealous  in  their 
advocacy  ;  indeed,  the  enthusiasm  was  as  great  in 
Germany  as  in  Italy  or  Scotland. 

Broussais  evidently  belonged  in  the  same  category. 
When  lecturing  at  the  Military  Hospital  of  Val-de- 
Grace  in  Paris,  he  promulgated  views  similar  to  those 
of  Brown,  declaring  the  principal  cause  of  disease  to 
be  over-irritation,  which  from  being  at  first  local, 
extended  itself  through  sympathy  to  different  parts  of 
the  body.  He  published  an  Examen  of  his  doctrines  in 
1816,  which  drew  upon  him  the  hostility  of  the  whole 
orthodox  medical  profession  in  Paris.  In  time,  how- 
ever, he  was  triumphant.  The  leading  physicians 
adopted  his  opinions.  Even  the  Medical  School  of 
Paris  itself  taught  them,  and  Broussais  became  the 
professor  of  pathology.* 


*  Blood-letting  was  a  conspicuous  feature  of  this  mode  of  practice  ;  and  Brous- 
sais uttered  as  a  maxim  :  "  Bleed  the  patient  till  he  is  white."  It  became  also  the 
ruling  practice  in  America,  and  is  still  continued  in  countries  of  Europe. 


244  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ERASMUS    DARWIN. 

Whether  we  are  ready  or  unwilling  to  accept  his 
hypothesis,  Erasmus  Darwin  is  deserving  of  respect- 
ful mention.  He  was  a  graduate  of  medicine  at  Edin- 
burgh, and  followed  the  practice  of  his  profession  at 
Lichfield,  removing  in  1781,  at  the  age  of  fifty,  to 
Derby,  where  he  finished  his  career.  He  was  of  broad 
scholarship,  full  of  ardent  scientific  enthusiasm,  and 
novel  if  not  bizarre  in  many  of  his  notions.  Like 
many  of  the  medical  writers  of  the  Middle  Ages,  he 
recorded  his  ideas  in  verse.  In  his  treatise  entitled 
Fhytologia  he  declared  his  opinion  that  plants  possess 
will  and  sensation.  The  work,  however,  which  con- 
tains the  most  significant  of  his  views  on  medical  sub- 
jects is  the  Zoonotiiia,  or  Laws  of  Organic  Life,  published 
in  1794.  It  contained  both  a  system  of  pathology  and 
a  treatise  on  generation.  In  the  former,  he  followed 
in  the  footsteps  of  Hoffman  and  others  who  had 
already  noticed  the  peculiar  sympathy  or  consensus 
which  subsists  between  particular  organs  of  the  body. 
He  went  further,  however,  and  demonstrated  that 
their  chief  error  consisted  in  the  partial  views  taken 
of  the  physical  economy.  The  living  system  had  been 
considered  as  a  simple  whole,  without  a  proper  con- 
sideration of  the  reciprocal  influence  of  the  different 
organs  upon  each  other.  He  further  perceived  that 
disease  is  generated  and  unfolded  into  form,  as  well 
as  removed,  by  the  same  organic  laws  and  forces  by 
which  the  body  itself  is  developed  and  preserved. 
Taking  this  as  his  starting-point  and  adding  the 
observations  of  his  predecessors,  illustrated  and  con- 
firmed by  his  own  experience,  he  deduced  a  system 
of  pathology  and   therapeutics  which  he  regarded  as 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  245 

founded  upon  the  general  laws  of  animated  nature. 
For  example,  he  rejected  the  explanations  which 
former  writers  had  given  of  febrile  disorders,  assign- 
ing them  to  chemical  and  mechanical  causes,  and 
attributed,  instead,  the  succession  of  symptoms  to 
irregular  actions  of  the  nervous,  vascular  and  absorb- 
ent systems  ;  setting  forth  how,  in  consequence  of  the 
intimate  relationship  of  the  several  organs  and  the 
influence  possessed  mutually  by  each,  the  derange- 
ment of  one  part  is  followed  by  similar  or  opposite 
affections  of  others. 

His  views  of  generation  almost  appear  to  have  been 
taken  from  those  of  the  distinguished  scientist  and 
philosopher  who  is  the  subject  of  the  next  division. 
They  both  taught  "  that  one  and  the  same  kind  of 
living  filaments  is  and  has  been  the  cause  of  organic 
life." 

"Would  it  be  too  bold  to  imagine,"  Darwin  demands, 
"in  the  great  length  of  time  since  the  earth  began  to 
exist,  perhaps  millions  of  ages  before  the  commence- 
ment of  the  history  of  mankind — would  it  be  too  bold 
to  imagine  that  all  warm-blooded  animals  have  arisen 
from  one  living  filament  which  the  Great  First  Cause 
endowed  with  animality,  with  the  power  of  acquiring 
new  parts,  attended  with  new  propensities,  directed  by 
irritations,  sensations,  volitions,  and  associations,  and 
thus  possessing  the  faculty  of  continuing  to  improve 
by  its  own  inherent  ability,  and  of  delivering  down 
these  improvements  by  generation  to  its  posterity, 
world  without  end  ? " 

SWEDENBORG. 

A  speculator  and  investigator  into  the  same  sub- 
jects among  innumerable  others  was  the  celebrated 


246  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Emanuel  Swedenborg.  In  his  Prodromus,  printed  in 
1734,  as  well  as  in  his  tractate  upon  the  Red  Blood  \iQ 
has  prosecuted  a  course  of  study  and  reasoning 
analogous  to  that  of  Darwin  after  him.  Though 
Swedenborg  was  a  scientist  equal  to  the  profoundest 
of  his  time,  he  attached  himself  to  no  class  of  school- 
men— a  circumstance  which  gave  later  writers  a  pre- 
text to  ignore  him  altogether.  He,  nevertheless, 
accepted  the  discoveries  which  had  been  made  as 
means  to  enable  him  to  develop  the  ulterior  principle 
of  things.  His  studies  were  without  exclusiveness  ; 
he  explored  every  department  of  learning  and  brought 
away  treasures  from  them  all.  His  genius,  remarks 
Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  began  its  lessons  in  quarries 
and  forges,  in  the  smelting-pot  and  crucible,  in  ship- 
yards and  dissecting-rooms.  He  anticipated  much  of 
the  science  of  the  nineteenth  century  ;  anticipated  the 
views  of  modern  astronomy  in  regard  to  the  genera- 
tion of  planets  by  the  sun;  in  magnetism,  some  impor- 
tant experiments  and  conclusions  of  later  students^  in 
chemistry,  the  atomic  theory  ;  in  anatomy,  the  dis- 
coveries of  Schlichting,  Monro  and  Wilson  ;  and  he 
first  demonstrated  the  office  of  the  lungs. 

He  was  born  when  the  notions  of  scholars  were 
bursting  from  their  cocoons  of  the  previous  centuries, 
taking  new  forms  and  with  them  developing  new 
powers  to  soar,  as  well  as  to  perpetuate  their  kind. 
Harvey  had  taught  the  circulation  of  the  blood  ;  Gil- 
bert, that  the  earth  was  itself  a  magnet ;  Des  Cartes, 
that  vortical  motion  was  the  secret  of  Nature  ;  New- 
ton, the  universal  gravitation  ;  Malpighi,  that  the  all 
of  Nature  subsists  in  its  least  forms  ;  Swammerdam, 
Leeuwenhoek,  Winslow,  Eustachius,  Heister,  Vesalius, 
Boerhaave,    what    they   had    learned   by   scalpel    and 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  247 

microscope.  Swedenborg  made  himself  familiar  with 
all.  He  was  a  very  Viking  in  his  aggressive  experi- 
mentation, thorough  in  his  explorations,  analytic  in 
his  methods,  systematic  in  his  elucidations,  and  "  not  to 
be  measured  by  whole  colleges  of  ordinary  scholars." 
His  scientific  works,  now  translated  into  English, 
though  perhaps  somewhat  obscure  in  their  language 
from  the  employing  of  the  terminology  formerly  in 
use,  are  a  perfect  mine  of  treasure  for  the  earnest 
investigator.  His  accomplished  translator.  Dr.  J.  J. 
Garth  Wilkinson,  of  London,  speaks  in  no  measured 
terms  of  his  physiological  and  other  knowledge. 
"Science,"  he  remarks,  "is  no  tradesman  and  works 
not  for  the  improvement  of  any  calling  ;  but  solely 
because  truth  is  good.  Such  science  for  the  human 
body  has  been  cultivated  by  the  non-medical  Sweden- 
borg." 

Dr.  Wilkinson  likewise  claims  for  him,  with  good 
reason,  the  first  suggestion  of  a  rational  theory  of 
pathology.  "  Strange  as  it  may  appear,"  he  affirms, 
"the  present  science  does  not  present  any  physiologi- 
cal knowledge  of  what  these  pathological  states  may 
be.  The  science  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  pathology 
is  not  yet  opened.  Pains,  aches,  swellings,  and  symp- 
toms generally,  glide  along  the  body  by  terribly  broad 
bridges  of  structure,  of  which  the  anatomist  wots  not. 
Well,  there  is  wanted  somebody  besides  this  prim 
anatomist,  to  unfold  the  case.  Our  Swedenborg, 
Licentiate  of  No-College,  is  one  of  the  men  in  whose 
works  we  have  found  a  beginning  of  instruction  on 
this  subject.  He  has  wonderfully  indicated  for  us 
many  of  the  great  bridges  and  highways  of  vibrations 
and  influences,  and  in  so  doing  has  thronged  with 
living  states  and  forms  parts  which  were  previously 


248  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

dispersed,  lying  in  sand-heaps  of  cell-germs.  To  the 
New  Pathology,  which  chronicles  the  passage  of  states 
through  Man,  he  is  as  yet  the  most  important  con- 
tributor from  the  physiological  side." 

At  the  very  moment,  however,  when  his  learning 
was  in  the  highest  repute  all  over  Europe,  Sweden- 
borg  superadded  to  his  scientific  labors,  the  teaching 
of  novel  religious  and  teleologic  doctrines.  He  even 
declared  with  the  greatest  sincerity,  that  his  spiritual 
senses  had  been  opened,  so  that  he  was  able  to  hold 
converse  with  spirits  and  angels,  and  be  the  witness 
of  spectacles  and  occurrences  in  their  world.  It  may 
be  thought  that  in  his  case,  as  was  affirmed  of  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  and  others,  that  his  long  pursuit  of 
exhaustive  analysis  had  resulted  in  abnormal  mental 
conditions.  Those  who  knew  him  personally  were  of 
a  different  judgment.  His  scientific  works  certainly 
exhibit  no  such  obliquity  or  aberration.  Many  things 
are  recorded  of  him  to  show  that  his  memorabilia  were 
not  all  hallucination  of  disordered  faculties,  but  the 
testimony  of  a  clear-headed  as  well  as  conscientious 
man.  Indeed,  it  may  be  shown,  that  there  have  been 
others  in  the  world  of  medicine  professing,  perhaps, 
with  less  good  reason,  that  they  had  attained  analo- 
gous powers.  "  His  dominant  end  was  spiritual  and 
moral,"  says  his  biographer,  "  and  it  preserved  his 
mind  alive  in  a  long  course  of  physical  studies,  and 
empowered  him  to  see  life  and  substance  in  the  other- 
wise dead  machinery  of  creation." 

The  effect  of  taking  views  so  broad,  profound,  and 
at  variance  with  the  tendencies  of  the  time,  was  that 
his  works  were  very  generally  discredited.  Men  of 
titled  distinction  and  professional  rank  usually  treat 
every    one   entering   upon    their   special    field    as   an 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  249 

intruder.  We  remember  a  clergyman  who  would  not 
read  our  treatise  upon  the  Soul  on  the  pretext  that 
the  writer  was  a  layman.  Another  clergyman  rebuked 
the  late  Gerrit  Smith  for  speaking  in  the  pulpit  on  a 
Sunday,  because  he  had  not  been  formally  ordained. 
So,  too,  the  Protestant  clergy  of  Sweden  and  other 
countries  placed  the  theological  works  of  Emanuel 
Swedenborg  upon  their  index.  His  doctrines,  how- 
ever, now  furnish  much  of  the  material  for  sermons 
and  religious  essays,  great  diligence  being  employed 
to  prevent  any  divining  of  the  source  from  which  it 
was  derived.  Medical  teachers  followed  the  same 
examples.  They  regarded  as  an  arrant  heresy  the 
doctrine,  which  he  had  taught  so  clearly  and  so  con- 
clusively, that  disease  has  no  independent  existence, 
but  is  only  disorder  of  the  organism  of  the  body. 
Indeed,  all  reform  in  the  profession  of  medicine  has 
come,  and  probably  it  must  always  be  introduced,  from 
outside  of  its  ranks.  None  the  less,  however,  is  it 
regarded  by  the  titled  members  as  an  offense  or 
scandal,  and  they  are  ready  and  zealous  to  proclaim 
and  inflict  woe  upon  the  individual  by  whom  such 
offense  shall  have  come.  Yet,  with  them  truth,  though 
not  its  apostles,  is  certain  to  prevail. 

The  works  of  Swedenborg  of  most  interest  to  the 
student  of  medicine  and  physiology,  are  his  treatises 
upon  the  Animal  Kingdom^  the  Economy  of  the  Animal 
Kingdom,  the  Philosophic  Reasoning  Concertiing  the  Infinite, 
the  Red  Blood,  Generation,  etc.  All  these  have  been 
translated  by  Dr.  Wilkinson.  No  candid  and  intelli- 
gent person  can  read  any  one  of  them  without  a  sense 
of  profound  wonder  at  the  breadth  of  the  writer's 
knowledge,  and  the  enlarging  of  his  own  views  and 
conceptions  of  the  subjects  therein  treated. 


250  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 


RISE    OF    MODERN    SURGERY. 


"  More  than  any  other  man,  he  made  us  gentlemen," 
is  the  tribute  which  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  pays  to  Johrw 
Hunter.  Before  the  eighteenth  century  surgery  had 
been  an  art  in  low  repute.  The  Council  of  Tours  had 
denounced  it  as  unworthy  of  a  priest  and  beneath  the 
notice  of  a  scholar,  and  it  had  sunk  to  a  mere  handi- 
craft that  any  man  of  mechanical  ability  could  exer- 
cise. Its  practitioners,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  con- 
sisted of  barbers,  farriers,  swine-spayers,  cobblers  and 
tinkers.  Even  Ambrose  Pare  was  a  barber.  In  the 
Prussian  Army  it  was  part  of  the  duty  of  the  regi- 
mental surgeon  to  shave  the  officers. 

The  attempt  was  made  to  exalt  the  calling  once 
more  to  the  rank  of  a  learned  profession.  Of  course, 
in  Continental  Europe  the  Governments  were  relied 
upon  for  the  initiative.  At  Berlin,  in  1714,  Holtzen- 
dorff,  the  surgeon-general,  founded  amedico-chirurgic 
college,  and  a  school  of  clinic  surgery  was  joined  with 
it  in  1728.  Laurence  Heister,  professor  at  Helmstadt 
and  Altorf,  published  a  system  of  surgery  which 
became  a  text-book  all  over  Europe.  The  University 
of  Gottingen  was  established  by  the  Elector  of  Han- 
over (George  II.  of  England),  in  1734,  and  the  cele- 
brated Haller  immediately  received  the  appointment 
of  professor,  to  teach  surgery  in  conjunction  with 
anatomy,  medicine  and  botany.  In  Paris,  M.  Petit  won 
a  high  reputation,  and  his  work  on  diseases  of  the 
bones  obtained  for  him  the  complimentary  title  of 
father  of  that  department  of  pathology.  In  1731  the 
Academic  de  Chirurgie  was  established  with  him  for  its 
head.  It  at  once  set  up  a  very  high  standard  and  was 
characterized  by  great  exclusiveness.    Finally,  in  1743, 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  25 1 

an  edict  of  the  government  abolished  the  Association 
of  Barbers  and  Surgeons,  which  had  been  established 
under  Louis  XIV.,  and  so  removed  the  obstacle  to  the 
exaltation  of  the  latter  calling  in  Paris  to  the  distinc- 
tion of  a  learned  profession.  Later  on,  the  Ecole  Pra- 
tique de  Chiriirgie  was  also  founded,  with  MM.  Chopart 
and  Desault  among  the  first  professors.  The  latter 
made  many  invaluable  contributions  to  operative  sur- 
gery, its  literature  and  apparatus. 

The  corporation  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons 
at  Edinburgh  was  established  by  James  IV.  in  1505, 
with  authority  to  teach  surgery  and  grant  degrees. 
Its  graduates  give  lectures  on  the  various  branches 
of  medicine  and  auxiliary  sciences,  and  these  extra- 
academic  courses  are  recognized  by  the  university.  It 
does  not  appear,  however,  that  the  college  in  earlier 
periods  had  any  great  influence  in  elevating  the  rank 
of  its  pupils.  "In  London  and  Edinburgh,"  says  Dr. 
Charles  Creighton,  "  the  development  of  surgery  pro- 
ceeded on  less  academical  lines,  and  with  greater 
scope  for  individual  effort."  The  elder  Monro  became 
professor  of  anatomy  to  the  Company  of  Surgeons  in 
the  latter  city  in  17 19,  transferring  his  title  and 
services  to  the  university  the  ensuing  year.  As  he 
was  the  first  systematic  teacher  of  medicine  and 
surgery  there  he  is  regarded  as  the  father  of  the 
Edinburgh  Medical  School.  In  both  London  and 
Edinburgh  the  Company  of  Barbers  and  Surgeons  had 
long  been  in  existence  as  one  corporation.  Under 
Henry  VIII.  the  two  professions,  as  both  were  con- 
sidered, were  united  in  one  corporation;  the  barbers 
being  restricted  to  blood-letting  and  the  extracting  of 
teeth,  and  the  surgeons  prohibited  from  "barbery  or 
shaving."     In    1745,   the   two  callings  were  separated 


252  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

by  act  of  Parliament,  and  surgery  then  was  ready  to 
attain  a  higher  eminence  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

WILLIAM    HUNTER. 

Medical  Study,  both  in  England  and  America,  is 
associated  with  William  Hunter  as  in  certain  respects 
a  pioneer.  He  was  a  seventh  child  in  a  Scotch  family 
of  Lanarkshire,  and  began  his  education  for  the  pulpit. 
Religious  scruples,  however,  deterred  him,  and  he 
took  the  advice  of  Dr.  William  Cullen  to  turn  his 
attention  to  medicine.  He  lived  with  Cullen  as  his 
student  for  three  years,  at  Hamilton,  and  thought  to 
go  into  partnership  with  him.  He  repaired  to  Edin- 
burgh for  a  winter,  in  1740,  and  the  next  season  made 
his  way  to  London.  Here  he  was  employed  by  Dr. 
James  Douglas  as  a  tutor  to  his  son  and  as  a  dissector. 
In  1746,  he  delivered  a  series  of  lectures  on  operative 
surgery  to  a  society  of  naval  practitioners,  and  was 
asked  to  include  anatomy  in  his  instructions.  He  was 
eloquent  as  a  speaker,  as  well  as  thorough  in  his 
teachings.*  The  next  year  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Corporation  of  Surgeons.  He,  however,  gradually 
renounced  surgery  for  obstetric  practice.  In  1748  he 
was  appointed  surgeon-accoucheur  to  the  Middlesex 
Hospital,  and  in  1750  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  from  the  University  of  Glasgow — an  honor 
which  he  richly  repaid.  It  would  seem  that  he  was 
honored  on  his  reputation  and  not  on  having  been  a 
student  of  the  institution.  He  also  became  a  licentiate 
of  the  College  of  Physicians  in  1756,  just  after  his 
return  from  a  lecturing  course  in  America.     In  1762 

*At  that  time,  in  Europe,  a  complete  course  upon  anatomy,  comprised  but 
twenty-three  lectures,  and  the  demonstrations  were  made  upon  a  single  cadaver, 
while  to  explain  the  operations  in  surgery  the  carcass  of  a  dog  was  used. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  253 

he  was  consulted  by  the  Queen,  and  two  years  after 
was  made  her  physician-extraordinary. 

His  great  weakness  was  an  inordinate  love  for  con- 
troversy. He  had  a  fierce  dispute  with  the  Monros  as 
to  which  had  first  been  successful  in  injections  of  the 
tubuli  testis.  Unluckily  for  his  reputation  Haller  had 
forestalled  them  both.  He  and  his  partner  Hewson 
also  demonstrated  the  office  of  the  lymphatics,  which 
afforded  a  theme  for  another  contention  with  the  rival 
Scottish  professors.  He  also  disputed  the  discovery 
of  congenital  hernia,  which  Haller  had  already 
described.  His  Medical  Conwientaries  contain  details  of 
these  matters.  At  a  later  period  he  quarelled  with 
his  brother  John  about  the  priority  of  a  discovery,  and 
the  two  became  estranged  for  life.  He  pleaded  in  his 
own  extenuation  that  it  was  a  characteristic  of  anato- 
mists to  be  impatient  of  contradiction,  and  that  others 
ought  to  be  patient  with  them,  because  "the  passive 
submission  of  dead  bodies  "  rendered  the  crossing  of 
their  wills  less  bearable. 

His  great  work  on*  the  Anatomy  of  the  Gravid  Uterus 
was  published  in  1774,  and  will  remain  a  lasting 
memorial  of  his  scientific  ability  and  enthusiasm. 

Private  dissecting-rooms  and  theatres  for  the  teach- 
ing of  anatomy,  managed  by  eminent  practitioners, 
were  the  favorite  resorts  for  surgical  and  other  instruc- 
tion. William  Hunter  applied  to  Lord  Grenville,  then 
prime  minister,  in  1765,  for  the  grant  of  a  plot  of 
ground  on  which  he  might  establish  "a  museum  in 
London  for  the  improvement  of  anatomy,  surgery,  and 
physic,"  offering  to  expend  ^7,000  for  its  erection, 
and  to  endow  a  professorship  of  anatomy  in  connec- 
tion with  the  institution.  He  was  put  off  ;  his  patience 
soon  became  exhausted   and  he   undertook  the  enter- 


254  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

prise  in  his  own  way,  building  a  house  for  himself  in 
Great  Windmill  street,  with  lecture-halls  and  rooms 
for  dissection.  Here  he  placed  his  collections  in 
pathologic  anatomy,  natural  history,  minerals,  shells, 
fossils,  ancient  coins  and  medals.  All  these  would 
have  become  the  property  of  his  contemplated 
museum  ;  but,  as  a  result  of  the  supercilious  neglect 
of  the  British  Minister,  they  were  bestowed  at  his 
death,  together  with  a  classical  library,  which  he  had 
collected  at  great  cost,  and  an  endowment  of  ^8,000, 
upon  the  University  of  Glasgow. 

Hunter  was  passionately  fond  of  lecturing  He  con- 
ceived, as  he  used  to  say,  "  that  a  man  may  do  infinitely 
more  good  by  teaching  his  art  than  by  practicing  it." 
His  lectures  are  described  as  being  of  two  hours'  dura- 
tion,  simple  in  diction,  but  profound  in  matter  and 
minute  in  demonstration,  yet  never  dry  or  tedious, 
and  richly  illustrated  by  anecdote.  In  1754  he  visited 
America  and  delivered  courses  of  lectures  on  surgery 
and  anatomy  accompanied  by  dissections,  at  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  the  first  ever  delivered  in  this  country. 
He  seems,  however,  not  to  have  found  what  he 
regarded  as  sufficient  encouragement,  and  accordingly 
returned  to  England  in  1756,  to  enter  upon  a  more 
brilliant  career.  He  was  thrifty  and  amassed  a  large 
fortune.  Honors  came  to  him.  He  was  made  a  licen- 
tiate of  the  College  of  Physicians  in  1756  ;  he  became 
physician-extraordinary  to  the  Queen  in  1764  ;  he  was 
elected  Fellow  of  the  Royal  University  in  1767,  and  of 
the  Society  of  Antiquaries  in  1768  ;  and  became,  in 
1780,  an  Associate  of  the  Royal  Medical  Society,  and 
in  1782  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Paris. 
Though  infirm  in  health  he  would  not  give  up  lectur- 
ing.    His   last  lecture  was  given,  in  spite  of  protests 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  255 

and  remonstrances,  but  a  few  days  before  his  death. 
He  fainted  at  the  close,  and  was  carried  home  to  die. 
This  event  occurred  March  30th,  1783. 

JOHN    HUNTER. 

"In  this  world,"  says  Goethe,  "there  are  so  many 
voices,  and  so  many  echoes."  True,  the  voices  speak 
into  the  empyrean  and  are  returned  from  it  as  by  the 
photophone  to  those  of  subsequent  periods  having  the 
faculty  to  perceive  as  well  as  hear  ;  the  echoes  are  all 
around  us  and  aspiring  to  drown  the  utterances  and 
silence  the  speaker.  There  are  those  in  learned  pro- 
fessions who  would  disparage  and  even  reject  a  gem 
because  of  its  setting.  We  may  follow  an  eloquent 
tongue  and  popular  doctrine  ;  the  few  and  the  true 
seek  after  real  knowledge. 

John  Hunter  echoed  no  man's  opinions.  Schools 
did  not  make  him  ;  he  made  schools.  The  unconscious 
bias  which  pecuniary  interest  produces  in  others  had 
no  influence  with  him.  He  never  truckled  to  win 
applause.  His  accomplished  brother  loved  knowledge 
as  if  for  the  sake  of  being  able  to  impart  it,  but  he 
prized  it  for  its  own  intrinsic  worth,  willing  to  share 
the  treasure  with  others  as  a  common  benefit,  rather 
than  to  employ  it  magisterially  as  a  means  to  domi- 
nate over  the  minds  of  others.  He  had  no  sympathy 
with  the  empiric  methods  so  much  in  vogue.  He  was 
unwilling  to  resemble  "  the  Chinese  philosopher  whose 
knowledge  consisted  only  in  facts  ;  "  he  aspired  to 
learn  the  principles  on  which  his  art  was  based.  For 
whatever  he  was  to  do  or  teach  he  demanded  the 
reason.  He  had  the  spirit  of  the  philosopher  rather  than 
that  of  the  mere  scientist. 


256  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

His  youth  had  fortunately  been  spent  after  a  man- 
ner which  did  not  impair  the  force  of  his  genius.  He 
was  the  youngest  of  ten  children,  and  by  no  means 
robust  in  physical  constitution  ;  and  so,  not  being 
hurried  to  school,  was  successful  in  avoiding  the  over- 
teaching  and  overtraining  in  those  studies  and  dis- 
cipline which  load  the  memory  but  surfeit  the 
understanding.  In  1748,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he 
made  his  way  to  London  to  enter  his  brother's  class 
in  anatomy,  and  speedily  became  a  skillful  dissector. 
He  next  attended  the  lectures  and  operations  of  the 
celebrated  Cheselden  at  the  Chelsea  Hospital,  and 
afterward  became  a  surgeon's  pupil  at  St.  Bartholo- 
mew's, where  Pott  was  then  engaged.  Already  he 
had  begun  the  career  of  discovery  and  invention 
which  was  his  distinguishing  characteristic.  While 
in  his  brother's  class  he  ascertained  and  demonstrated 
the  descent  of  the  testis  in  the  human  foetus,  the  rami- 
fications of  the  nasal  and  olfactory  nerves,  the  forma- 
tion of  pus  and  the  nature  of  the  placental  circulation. 
This  last  discovery  led  to  a  life-long  disagreement 
with  his  brother  William,  who  some  years  after 
claimed  it  as  his  own. 

In  June,  1755,  he  was  persuaded  to  enter  one  of  the 
colleges  at  Oxford,  but  he  left  in  disgust  two  months 
after,  declaring  that  his  true  instincts  would  not  per- 
mit him  "  to  stuff  Latin  and  Greek  at  the  university." 
His  brother,  after  returning  from  America,  offered 
him  the  place  of  lecturer  in  his  school,  but  his  diffi- 
dence and  lack  of  confidence  in  his  ability  to  speak, 
led  him  to  decline.  An  attack  of  pneumonia,  in  1759, 
warned  him  to  establish  his  health  more  firmly.  He 
procured  a  surgeon's  appointment  in  the  army,  employ- 
ing his  leisure  in   physiological   and   other  scientific 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  257 

researches.  In  1763  he  retired  from  the  service  on 
half-pay,  and  immediately  began  his  career  as  a  sur- 
geon in  London,  eking  out  his  slender  income  by 
teaching  practical  anatomy  and  operative  surgery  to 
a  private  class.  He  made  a  study  of  comparative 
anatomy,  procuring  the  carcasses  of  animals  from  the 
Tower  of  London  for  his  purpose.  A  rupture  of  the 
tendo  Achillis  prompted  him  to  experiment  upon  the 
treatment  of  such  accidents,  and  thus  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  modern  practice.  He  was  elected  a 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  in  1767,  and  became  also 
a  member  of  the  Corporation  of  Surgeons.  He  now 
began  to  take  house-pupils  ;  among  whom  were  Edward 
Jenner,  W.  Guy,  Dr.  Ph)'sic,  of  Philadelphia,  and 
Everard  Howe.  Among  his  students  at  the  hospital, 
who  were,  by  the  way,  never  numerous,  were  Aberne- 
thy,  Cline  and  Astley  Cooper. 

After  1772  he  lived  during  the  autumn  at  a  house 
which  he  had  built  at  Brompton,  where  he  carried  on 
his  biologic  researches.  Jenner  used  to  supply  him 
with  animals  for  his  experiments  ;  but  he  also  pro- 
cured them  from  all  parts  of  the  globe.  Bees,  hornets 
and  wasps  were  diligently  studied  by  him  for  twenty 
years.  No  man  so  busily  engaged  in  professional 
practice  ever  conducted  so  many  physiological  and 
pathological  investigations,  yet  he  was  scrupulous  in 
regard  to  unnecessary  experimentation.  It  was  his 
maxim  that  "experiments  should  not  be  often 
repeated  merely  to  establish  a  principle  already 
known  and  admitted  ;  but  that  the  next  step 
should  be  the  application  of  that  principle  for  useful 
purposes." 

He  also  began,  in  1772,  to  give  lectures  on  the  theory 
and  practice  of  surgery.     His  purpose  was  to  test  his 


258  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

own  knowledge,  and  to  express  his  views  correctly. 
Others  had  misstated  them  and  even  taken  the  credit 
of  them,  his  brother  among  the  number.  For  two 
years  he  delivered  his  courses  free,  but  after  that  he 
made  the  usual  charge  of  five  guineas.  He  surpassed 
other  lecturers  in  the  extent  of  the  work,  speaking  on 
alternate  evenings,  from  October  to  April,  eighty-six 
lectures  in  all.  He  was  unable  to  speak  extemporane- 
ously, but  read  his  lectures  in  an  embarrassed  and 
ungraceful  manner,  hardly  looking  from  the  manu- 
script. His  expressions  were  often  unintelligible  to 
his  pupils.  He  had,  however,  none  of  the  supercilious 
arrogance  which  some  teachers  are  prone  to  exhibit. 
He  would  criticize  freely  his  own  errors  as  well  as 
those  of  others,  often  declaring  that  he  was  likely  to 
think  differently  upon  a  subject  the  next  year.  His 
desire  and  great  incentive  in  lecturing  was  to  be 
understood  and  appreciated  ;  and  he  would,  accord- 
ingly, at  the  close  encourage  and  even  invite  his 
hearers  to  discourse,  without  reserve,  upon  what  he 
had  been  saying.  He  taught  others  that  he  thereby 
himself  might  learn. 

True  surgeon  as  he  was,  John  Hunter  regarded 
operations  as  the  acknowledgment  of  imperfect  skill 
in  the  art  of  healing.  He  would  even  compare  them 
to  "  the  acts  of  the  armed  savage,  who  attempts  to  get 
that  by  force  which  a  civilized  man  would  get  by 
stratagem."  He  aimed  to  dispense  with  them,  wher- 
ever it  was  justifiable,  and  when  unable  to  do  this  he 
sought  to  diminish  their  severity. 

His  ability  was  generally  acknowledged.  After  the 
death  of  Pott,  in  1788,  he  was  recognized  as  the  first 
surgeon  in  England.  Already,  in  1786,  he  had  been 
appointed  Surgeon-extraordinary  to  the  king,  and  in 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  259 

1783  he  was  elected  a  member  of  both  the  Royal 
Society  of  Medicine  and  the  Royal  Academic  of  Sur- 
gery at  Paris.  He  now  built  a  museum  for  his  collec- 
tions, which  at  this  period  had  cost  him  $50,000.  It 
was  the  ambition  of  his  life  to  perfect  it,  fearful  that 
nobody  else  would  continue  his  work.  "  When  I  am 
dead,"  he  remarked  to  a  friend,  "  you  will  not  soon 
meet  with  another  John  Hunter."  Yet  his  biologic 
labors  were  little  appreciated  by  his  contemporaries 
in  England.  They  were  unable  to  divine  his  purpose. 
His  conception  of  morphology  as  the  only  true  basis 
of  systematic  zoologic  classification  was  admitted,  but 
they  regarded  his  investigations  among  the  lower 
animals  as  worthless.  Even  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  then 
president  of  the  Royal  Society,  shared  this  sentiment. 
What  Hunter  did  was,  therefore,  literally  "  without 
the  solace  of  sympathy  or  encouragement  of  approba- 
tion," as  well  as  without  collateral  assistance.  He 
spared  no  expense  to  effect  his  purpose,  but  employed 
his  income  and  exhausted  his  private  fortune  in  the 
endeavor. 

He  seemed  almost  to  do  without  sleep.  He  was 
engaged  at  the  dissection  of  animals  from  six  to  nine 
each  morning  ;  then  he  received  patients  till  twelve, 
visited  out-door  patients  till  four,  when  he  dined.  He 
did  not  drink  wine,  but  fortified  himself  for  his  lect- 
ures by  a  dose  of  laudanum.  After  dinner  he  slept 
an  hour  ;  then  employed  himself  in  superintending 
experiments,  preparing  and  reading  his  lectures,  and 
making  records  of  the  day's  dissections.  He  corrected 
and  transposed  incessantly  whatever  he  wrote.  He 
left  a  prodigious  amount  of  manuscript  at  his  death — 
^'literally  a  cart-load,"  says  his  biographer — all  of 
which,  including  his  eighty-six   surgical  lectures,  his 


26o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

brother-in-law,  Sir  Everard  Home,  remorselessly 
destroyed. 

His  death  seems  to  have  resulted  from  the  endeavor 
of  his  colleagues  to  cross  him.  The  governors  of  St. 
George's  Hospital  had  been  induced,  in  1793,  to  pro- 
mulgate a  rule  that  no  person  should  be  admitted  as 
a  student  unless  he  presented  certificates  of  having 
already  been  educated  for  the  medical  profession. 
This  was  aimed  directly  at  Hunter.  Two  young 
Scotchmen  presented  themselves  without  such  certifi- 
cates, and  he  made  application  to  the  Board  to  relax 
the  rule  in  their  behalf.  While  he  was  talking  one  of 
his  colleagues  interrupted  hiin  with  a  flat  contradic- 
tion. He  retired  immediately  into  the  next  room  and 
fell  insensible.  He  never  recovered  consciousness. 
His  age  was  sixty-five.  His  body  was  privately 
buried,  but  in  1859  it  was  removed  to  Westminster 
Abbey. 

Hunter  was  careless  of  achieving  fame.  "  We  are 
but  beginning  to  learn  our  profession,"  said  he,  to  his 
friends.  He  was  impatient  of  the  adhering  of  his 
fellow-practitioners  to  the  time-honored  errors  of  his 
profession  ;  and  used  to  say  that  if  he  had  promoted 
professional  knowledge  it  was  because  of  his  disposi- 
tion to  distrust  opinions,  and  to  examine  every  subject 
for  himself.  It  was  a  maxim  with  him  that,  "  no  man 
was  ever  a  great  one  who  wanted  to  be  one,"  and  he 
never  overcame  his  diffidence. 

He  is  honored  as  having  established  comparative 
anatomy  as  a  science,  and  for  bringing  to  light  the 
principles  which  after  his  death  became  the  ground- 
work of  the  later  teaching.  He  elevated  the  art  of 
surgery  from  the  rank  of  a  craft  to  that  of  a  profession, 
and  in    the    expressive    language    of    Sir    Benjamin 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  261 

Brodie,  "more  than  any  other  man,  he  helped  to  make 
tis  gentlemen." 

John  Hunter  extended  investigation  over  a  broader 
field,  however,  than  surgery  and  the  various  depart- 
ments of  anatomy.  He  explored  the  realms  of  physi- 
ology, and  sought  to  understand  the  philosophy  as 
well  as  the  phenomena  of  life.  He  did  not  accept  any 
mechanical  or  chemical  theory,  nor  reject  the  existence 
of  the  soul  because  he  did  not  find  it  in  the  human 
cadaver.  He  was  in  no  sense  a  materialist.  "  Mere 
composition  of  matter  does  not  give  life,"  said  he,"  for 
the  dead  body  has  all  the  composition  it  ever  had." 
Being  an  agency  leading  to  modification  of  matter,  but 
not  consisting  of  it,  he  taught  that  vitality  "either  is 
something  superadded  to  matter,  or  else  consists  in  a 
peculiar  arrangement  of  certain  fine  particles  of  mat- 
ter, which  being  thus  disposed  acquire  the  properties 
of  life."  He  probably  favored  the  doctrine  of  arche- 
biosis,  the  genesis  of  living  matter  de  novo  in  the 
absence  of  living  parentage.  There  were,  he  declared, 
neither  positive  proofs  for  it  nor  against  it.  Life 
itself,  he  used  to  say,  could  be  regarded  as  a  fire  or 
something  similar,  and  might  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
tinction be  called  "animal  fire."  He  held  that  the 
blood  possesses  a  vitality  of  its  own,  more  or  less 
independent  of  the  animal  in  whom  it  circulates.  The 
maintenance  of  that  vitality  is  from  the  atmosphere. 
"  Breathing  seems  to  render  life  to  the  blood,"  he  used 
to  say;  "and  the  blood  continues  it  to  every  part  of 
the  body."  Pathologic  phenomena  were  discerned  by 
him  to  be  the  results  of  perturbation  of  those  laws  of 
life  by  which  the  healthy  organism  subsists.  wSuch 
notions  were  too  profound  and  philosophic  for  the 
time  and  country  in  which  he  lived,  but  he  lived  in  a 
world  of  thought  above  and  beyond. 


262  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

BICHAT. 

Another  genius  of  the  eighteenth  century  to  supple- 
ment the  labors  and  discoveries  of  that  period  was 
Francois  Xavier  Bichat.  He  was  a  native  of  Thoirette^ 
and  his  early  instruction  in  medicine  was  begun  by 
his  father.  He  attended  college  at  Nantua,  and  then 
went  to  Lyons  to  prosecute  the  study  of  anatomy  and 
surgery.  The  revolutionary  disturbances  in  that  city 
led  him  to  seek  refuge  in  Paris,  where  he  was  adopted 
by  the  celebrated  surgeon,  Desault,  as  a  member  of  his 
own  family.  Desault  died  in  1795  ^"^  Bichat  repaid 
his  service  in  true  Hippokratic  fashion,  by  editing  his 
works  and  contributing  to  the  snpport  of  his  widow 
and  son  till  his  own  death.  In  1797  Bichat  began  to 
lecture  independently,  first  on  operative  surgery,  and 
afterward  adding  physiology  to  his  course.  He 
speedily  became  a  popular  teacher,  and  the  new  doc- 
trines which  he  put  forth  commanded  the  attention  of 
the  medical  schools  of  Paris.  In  1 799  he  was  appointed 
physician  to  the  Hotel  Dieu,  which  afforded  him  a 
wide  field  for  observation.  He  prosecuted  dissection 
on  a  more  extended  scale,  and  began  a  new  classifica- 
tion of  diseases  and  a  work  on  Materia  Medica.  His 
ardor,  however,  was  greater  than  his  strength.  An 
attack  of  fever  was  increased,  if  not  occasioned  by 
breathing  the  tainted  air  of  the  dissecting-room,  and 
he  succumbed  July  22d,  1802. 

His  new  views  of  physiology  were  published  by  him 
in  three  papers  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Societe  M/dicale, 
to  which  he  belonged,  and  again  in  his  treatise  on  the 
Membranes.  But  in  his  Re'cherches  Physiologiques  sur  la 
Vie  et  surlaMorthQ  defines  them  more  fully,  and  finally 
in  his  Anatomic  Generale  he  sets  them  forth  at  length. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  263 

He  was  the  first  to  simplify  the  study  of  anatomy  and 
physiology  by  reducing  the  complex  structure  of  the 
organs  to  the  simple  or  elementary  tissues  which  enter 
into  them  in  common.  His  R^cherches  were  important 
for  the  distinction  which  they  set  forth  between  organic 
nervous  functions,  and  the  office  of  the  brain  and 
spinal  system.  He  classified  life  as  organic  and 
animal,  and  indicated  the  epigastric  centre  as  the 
starting-point.  "Life,"  he  declared,  "offers  us  two 
remarkable  modifications,  the  one  common  to  vege- 
table and  animal  ;  the  other  belonging  exclusively  to 
the  latter."  The  animal,  therefore,  he  seemed  to 
regard  as  the  outcome  of  the  other.  "  Thus  it  might 
be  said,"  he  remarks,  "  that  the  vegetable  is  only  the 
sketch,  or  rather  the  groundwork  of  the  animal  ;  and 
that  for  the  formation  of  the  latter  it  has  only  been 
requisite  to  clothe  the  former  with  an  apparatus  of 
external  organs  by  which  it  might  be  connected  with 
external  objects."  He  was  very  clear  in  elucidation 
of  the  distinct  features.  He  cited  the  fact  of  two 
hemispheres  of  the  brain,  the  anatomic  character  of 
the  spinal  cord,  and  the  arrangement  of  the  cerebro- 
spinal nerves,  as  suggesting  their  duality  and  divisi- 
bility. The  organic  life,  common  to  plants  and 
animals  alike,  possesses  the  functions  of  nutrition 
essential  to  the  maintenance  of  the  whole  ;  and  these 
in  turn  depend  upon  organic  sensibility  which  "  the 
zoophyte  enjoys  as  perfectly  as  the  most  perfectly 
organized  quadruped.  While,  therefore,  the  one  is 
characterized  by  its  right  and  left  sides,  and  by  its 
periodical  cessations  in  sleep,  the  other  is  simple  and 
individual;  and  soasBichat  remarks,  "we  live  internally 
almost  double  the  time  that  we  exist  externally." 
Nevertheless,  while  thus  penetrating  the  mystery  of 


264  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

physiologic  duality  and  setting  forth  the  constitution 
of  the  cerebro-spinal  organism,  he  seems  not  to  have 
attained  a  concept  as  definite  in  regard  to  the  epigas- 
tric centre.  In  fact,  he  associates  the  liver,  lungs, 
heart  and  stomach  as  jointly  constituting  that  impor- 
tant department  in  the  animal  economy.  There,  in 
his  view,  were  the  seats  of  the  passions.  "  If  in 
general,"  says  he,  "  we  refer  to  the  epigastric  region 
the  sensible  impressions  of  our  affections,  the  reason 
is  that  all  the  important  viscera  of  that  organ  are 
there  concentrated." 

Later  investigators  have  carried  their  explorations 
further  and  demonstrated  the  existence  of  a  distinct 
and  extensive  nervous  system,  having  its  beginning 
and  centre  at  the  solar  or  semilunar  ganglion.  This 
sympathetic  or  ganglionic  system  consists  of  the 
various  ganglia  of  the  viscera  and  spinal  region  with 
the  various  prolongations,  bands  and  fibres  which 
bind  them  to  other  parts  and  organs.  From  the  solar 
or  semilunar  ganglion  as  the  common  centre,  the  rest 
of  the  organism  proceeds  as  a  plant  from  its  germ, 
differentiating  afterward  into  the  various  tissues  and 
structures. 

JENNER    AND    VACCINATION. 

Edward  Jenner  was  the  son  of  a  clergyman  in  Berk- 
ley, England,  and  was  born  on  the  17th  day  of  May, 
1749.  He  received  a  common  English  education,  and 
then  became  an  apprentice  to  ]\Ir.  Ludlow,  a  surgeon 
at  Sodbury,  and  afterward  a  pupil  of  John  Hunter, 
with  whom  he  remained  two  years.  When  Captain 
James  Cook  returned  from  his  first  voyage.  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  who  had  been  the  naturalist  of  the  expedition 
employed  Jenner  to  help  him  in  preparing  his  collec- 
tions. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  265 

Jenner  afterward,  at  Hunter's  request,  prepared 
papers  on  the  habits  of  the  cuckoo  and  hedgehog. 
One  of  them  was  communicated  to  the  Royal  Society, 
and  he  was  elected  a  Fellow.  In  1792  he  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  absence,  from  the 
University  of  St.  Andrew. 

For  more  than  a  century  epidemics  of  small-pox  had 
occurred.  The  disease  had  been  long  known  in  Asia, 
but  its  first  mention  in  England  was  by  Holinshed, 
who  applied  the  name  inaccurately  to  the  visitation  of 
plague  in  1377.*  The  disease  was  observed  to  be  epi- 
demic in  France  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  received 
the  name  of  petite  verole.  It  appeared  afterward  in 
England,  but  not  so  severely  as  to  excite  alarm  till 
1667, 

One  form  of  epidemic  is  usually  succeeded  by 
another  analogous  to  it.  With  the  ceasing  of  the 
plague  in  1667  small-pox  appeared.  Like  its  congener, 
the  Asiatic  Cholera,  it  had  been  chiefly  circumscribed 
to  Asia  ;  but  now,  from  some  occult  cause,  it  broke 
through  its  former  limitations  and  became  of  periodi- 
cal recurrence  in  the  West.  It  was  not,  however,  till 
1667,  that  the  total  of  deaths  from  small-pox  in  Lon- 
don became  a  large  one. 

Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu,  having  accompanied 
her  husband  when  ambassador  to  Turkey  in  17 16, 
became  acquainted  with  the  practice  of  inoculation. 
She  afterward  persuaded  Doctor  Maitland  to  intro- 
duce it  into  England.  But  it  was  observed  that  the 
patients  were  about  as  liable  as  ever  to  contract  small- 


*H.  Strickland  Constable:  Our  Medical  Men.  "An  eminent  physician 
once  said  to  me  that  all  the  Zymotic  diseases  from  nettle-rash  to  Oriental  Plaeue, 
are  probably  only  varieties  of  one  thing,  dove-tailing  into  each  other  wiili  inlinite 
complexity,  like  colors." 


266  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

pox ;  and  several  persons,  among  whom  was  the 
youngest  son  of  King  George  III.,  died  with  the 
disease  thus  produced.  Dr.  Bromfield,  a  surgeon  of 
the  Court,  and  Dr.  Langton,  of  Salisbury,  attacked  the 
practice  in  pamphlets.  All  this,  however,  did  not  con- 
vince practitioners.  As  is  generally  the  case,  a  radi- 
cal change  of  sentiment  requires  a  new  generation  of 
men.  Nevertheless,  many  non-medical  men  became 
very  distrustful. 

It  had  been  observed  among  the  dairy  farms  that 
milkers  sometimes  contracted  a  peculiar  pustular  dis- 
order from  the  nipples  of  milch  cows.  In  1774  a  man 
in  Dorsetshire  named  Jesty  inoculated  his  children 
with  the  purulent  material.  It  produced  a  disease 
which  it  was  conjectured,  might  be  a  preventive. 
Jenner  took  up  the  notion,  but  was  met  with  example 
after  example  in  which  milkers  so  infected  had  after- 
ward contracted  small-pox.  He  propounded  the  hypo- 
thesis that  the  bovine  disease  was  a  form  of  variola. 
He  modified  his  theories  repeatedly,  till  the  efforts  of 
others  led  to  a  more  uniform  statement. 

Dr.  H.  Woodville,  of  Edinburgh,  had  also  become 
interested  in  the  matter,  and  being  a  man  of  tact  and 
energy,  succeeded  in  gaining  more  general  favor  for 
the  new  procedure.  It  was  now  introduced  into 
Europe  and  America,  and  gradually  made  its  way  to  a 
wide  approval. 

In  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  it  has 
been  enforced  very  generally  by  compulsory  legisla- 
tion ;  and  soldiers  in  the  armies,  sailors  in  the  navy, 
pupils  in  the  public  schools,  and  even  members  of 
private  families  are  arbitrarily  obliged  to  submit  to  it, 
often  repeatedly. 

Nevertheless,  compulsory  vaccination  is  nowhere 
popular.      In     Switzerland     the    people     obtained    a 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  267 

referendum  or  plebiscite,  and  defeated  an  enactment 
for  it  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  In  Great  Britain 
the  recent  Parliamentary  Commission  reported  favor- 
ably to  the  removal  of  compulsion,  and  the  Parliament 
in  1899  enacted  that  parents  and  guardians  having 
conscientious  objections  to  the  practice,  their  children 
might  be  exempted.  Similar  dissatisfaction  exists  in 
other  countries.  The  dependence  for  the  enforcing  of 
this  operation  is  chiefly  upon  arbitrary  power,  and 
arbitrary  power  is  always  acquired  at  the  expense  of 
virtue. 

MESMER    AND     MESMERISM. 

If  it  was  a  deserved  tribute  to  Galvani,  Volta  and 
Faraday  to  give  their  names  to  their  scientific  inven- 
tions, a  like  consideration  would  warrant  a  similar 
recognition  to  Anton  Mesmer.  Besides,  the  term  that 
has  been  invented,  hypnotism,  does  not  imply  in  its 
etymology  all  that  "  Mesmerism  "  means;  and  we  hes- 
itate accordingly  to  accept  the  substitute. 

Like  other  knowledge,  the  facts  and  phenomena  of 
Mesmerism  have  been  known  for  ages.  The  Ionian 
and  Hellene  philosophers  comprehended  something  of 
them  ;  priests  in  the  temples  practiced  the  art,  and 
paintings  in  the  tombs  of  archaic  Egypt  represent 
patients  in  the  magic  sleep.* 


♦The  term  magic  anciently  sitjnilieil  everythinj^  venerable  and  scientific,  but 
has  been  later  degraded  to  an  evil  meaning  It  has  been  used  to  decry  skilful 
inventions,  recondite  knowledge,  and  belieis  that  did  not  conform  to  the  presci  ibed 
standard.  The  Roman  Emperor  Valentinian  seems  to  have  set  the  example  ;  and 
since  that  Pagans,  Gnostics,  heretics  and  Jews  have  been  punished  as  guilty  of 
sorcery.  In  France  witchcraft  (or  wisdom-craft)  is  termed  vauderie  o\  Waldensian 
art.  The  first  person  e-xecuted  on  the  charge  in  the  North  American  Colonies,  was 
Margaret  Jones,  of  Charlestown,  Massachusetts.  1656.  Her  real  offense  was  that 
she  denounced  blood-letting  and  kindred  medical  practice,  and  treated  the  sick 
with  vegetable  remedies  In  Danish  law,  the  designation  of  witchcraft  is  quack- 
salverie,  or  use  of  mercury,  and  a  Homoeopathist  was,  not  many  years  ago, 
imprisoned  in  St.  Thomas  on  that  charge.  Hut  the  "  witch-herbs,"  belladonna, 
Veratrum,  aconite,  etc.,  are  now  accounted  official. 


268  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Paracelsus,  occupying  a  middle  place  between  former 
lore  and  the  later  learning,  did  not  hesitate  to  use  the 
term  magic  in  its  genuine  sense  as  denoting  knowl- 
edge of  the  highest  order.  To  him  also  must  be  given 
credit  for  very  explicit  descriptions  of  animal  magne- 
tism. The  "mumia"*  was  defined  by  him  as  the 
"  true  elixir  vitae"  which  contains  within  it  the  potency 
of  the  life  itself.  "  It  may  act  from  one  human  being 
directly  upon  another,"  he  affirms  ;  "  or  it  may  be  con- 
nected with  some  material  and  visible  vehicle,  and  be 
employed  in  that  shape." 

There  is  reason,  however,  to  suppose  that  the  art  as 
explained  had  been  understood  by  others  before  Para- 
celsus. As  much  was  intimated  by  Avicenna  and 
others  of  the  Arabian  School,  and,  indeed,  by  Hippok- 
rates  himself  in  advance  of  all.  It  has  since  been 
set  forth  by  Kircher,  Cornelius  Agrippa,  and  others  of 
later  time. 

In  1758  Joseph  Gassner,  a  priest  in  Swabia,  began 
similar  procedures.  He  taught  that  diseases  arose 
from  obsession  by  evil  spirits  and  employed  parapher- 
nalia and  a  peculiar  manner  influential  to  impress  and 
overawe  the  credulous;  nevertheless,  he  effected  won- 
derful cures,  and  had  a  great  reputation  in  higher 
circles.  From  him  and  by  observing  his  procedures 
Mesmer  derived  many  of  the  conceptions. 

Friedrich  Anton  Mesmer  was  born  at  Weiler,  in 
Switzerland,  in  the  year  1734.  He  studied  medicine 
under  Van  Swieten  and  De  Haen  at  the  University  of 
Vienna,  and   received  his  degree  in    1766.     His  inau- 


*This  term  is  from  the  Persian  and  denotes  an  envelope  or  covering.  It  is 
derived  from  mum  signifying  wax,  and,  as  applied  in  Egypt,  eitiier  relates  to  wax 
used  in  the  embalming  of  the  dead,  or  else  to  the  body  as  enveloping  the  soul. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY,  269 

gural  thesis  was  entitled  :  "  On  the  Influence  of  the  Planets 
Upon  the  Human  Body."  Pursuing  his  investigations, 
he  discovered  the  art  of  inducing  catalepsy  or  artificial 
somnambulism.  Perceiving  that  magnets  were  not 
necessary  in  the  procedure,  he  adopted  for  the  art  the 
designation,  yet  widely  recognized,  of  "  Animal  Mag- 
netism." His  first  attempt  to  make  known  his  dis- 
coveries was  in  1775,  when  he  published  a  little  work 
entitled  :  "  A  Letter  to  a  Foreign  Physician^'  setting  forth 
the  invaluable  results  which  it  afforded  in  medical 
practice.  He  established  a  hospital  in  Vienna  for  the 
reception  of  patients,  but  encountered  bitter  persecu- 
tion, which  compelled  him  to  leave  Germany. 

Coming  to  Paris  he  soon  became  widely  celebrated, 
and  many  noblemen  were  among  his  patrons.  Finally 
in  1784  a  Royal  Commission  was  formed  at  Pans,  con- 
sisting of  four  physicians  and  five  savants  belonging 
to  the  Academy,  to  make  an  investigation  of  the 
claims  of  the  new  Science.  Of  the  number  were  : 
Bailly,  Lavoisier,  the  chemist;  Jussieu,  the  naturalist; 
Dr.  Guillotin  and  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  America. 
M.  Bailly  prepared  the  report,  but  he  came  short  of 
meeting  the  issue,  and  the  report,  so  far  from  pro- 
ducing conviction,  actually  imparted  new  confidence 
to  the  champions  of  the  new  science.  D'Eslon,  Ber- 
gasse,  the  Comte  of  Puysegur  and  others,  continued 
their  investigations  and  experiments,  reporting  results 
which  even  now  seem  visionary  and  fanciful.  Clair- 
voyance and  other  phenomena  were  among  their  dis- 
coveries. France,  ever  since,  has  furnished  the  ablest 
expositors  and  practitioners  of  the  art,  and  it  won 
recognition  from  the  Academy  in  tlie  coming  century. 


270  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINK. 

HAHNEMANN    AND    HOMCEOPATHY. 

The  cardinal  doctrine  of  Homoeopathic  Medicine, 
Similia  similibus  curantur,  or  similars  as  remedies  for 
their  counterparts  in  disease,  had  been  suggested 
many  times  in  former  centuries.  Even  Hippokrates 
himself  made  observations  which  might  have  culmi- 
nated in  a  genuine  Homoeopathic  practice.  The 
alchemists  among  the  Arabian  physicians  had  similar 
conceptions.  Paracelsus  was  positive  in  his  declara- 
tions. ^^  Simile  similis  cura,  non  contraiHum^''  he  boldly 
affirmed:  like  cures  its  like,  and  not  that  which  is  con- 
trary. "  Whoever  will  practice  the  medical  art  with 
merit  may  make  insignificant  things  efficacious,"  he 
again  affirmed.  "  A  fever  is  not  cured  by  a  cold,  nor 
a  cold  disorder  by  heating.  On  the  contrary  a  similar 
often  cures  disorders  of  a  like  character." 

Not,  however,  till  the  latter  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century  was  the  concept  elaborated  into  a  distinct 
method  and  promulgated  as  such  to  the  world. 

Samuel  Christian  Friedrich  Hahnemann  was  born 
at  Meissen  in  Saxony,  April  loth,  1755.  He  pursued 
the  study  of  medicine  at  Leipsic  and  Vienna,  taking 
the  degree  at  Erlangen,  in  1779.  He  returned  to 
Leipsic  in  1789  and  engaged  in  the  translating  of 
foreign  medical  books.  While  employed  in  this  way 
upon  CuUen's  Materia  Medica  he  was  forcibly  ' 
impressed  by  several  of  its  discrepancies  as  well  as  by 
contradictions  which  had  fallen  under  his  own  observa- 
tion. Taking  the  hint  from  Haller,  he  himself  under- 
took a  system  of  experimentation  to  ascertain  the 
effect  of  different  medicines  upon  persons  in  health, 
and  from  the  results  he  deduced  his  conclusions. 

Setting  aside  the  rule  of  "  contraries  "  as  established 
by  Galen,  he  affirmed  the  hypothesis  of  similars  ;  that 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  271 

the  medicine  which  would  produce  a  certain  morbid 
action  upon  a  person  otherwise  in  health  was  the 
proper  specific  remedy  for  diseases  of  an  analogous 
character.  He  propounded  the  dogma  that  a  disease 
is  manifested  by  the  symptoms  ;  that  these  symptoms 
as  a  whole  constituted  the  disease,  adding  that  it  is 
not  caused  by  a  material  substance,  but  is  always  a 
peculiar  derangement  of  the  health.  He  accordingly 
declared  that  diseases  are  spiritual  dynamic  derange- 
ments of  the  spiritual  vital  principle.  The  cause, 
therefore,  would  not  be  perceptible  to  the  corporeal 
senses.  He  attributed  chronic  diseases,  not  so  much 
to  the  contamination  of  morbific  material  as  to  a 
psoric  miasm  ;  excepting  those,  however,  which  are 
due  to  syphilis  or  sycosis.  He  summarily  discarded 
the  practice  of  bleeding  patients,  but  had  a  strong 
faith  in  drugs  when  administered  according  to  his 
theory.  He  regarded  them  as  the  real  curative 
agencies,  and  prescribed  them  according  to  their 
pathogenetic   power. 

It  was  a  doctrine  in  pharmacy  that  the  combining 
of  several  drugs  in  a  prescription  increased  the  effi- 
cacy. Indeed,  scores  of  ingredients  were  often  thus 
included,  sometimes  of  materials  nauseous  and  even 
absolutely  too  filthy  to  name.  Each  drug  was  regarded 
as  auxiliary  to  the  others.  Hahnemann,  on  the  con- 
trary, directed  only  a  single  medicine  at  a  time.  Nor 
did  he  rest  content  with  innovations  that  were  chiefly 
negative.  He  pushed  his  way  into  a  new  field  with 
another  sky  and  atmosphere.  It  is  a  matter  of  history 
that  few  comparatively  have  found  it,  and  a  larger 
part  of  them  have  not  tarried.  Hahnemann  pro- 
claimed the  theory  of  attenuation,  by  means  of  which 
the  body   of  each  drug  should  be  reduced  to  minute- 


272  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ness,  while  the  actual  virtue  as  a  remedy  should 
remain.  This  was  to  be  effected  by  trituration,  suc- 
cussion  and  dilution.  These  processes,  he  insisted, 
brought  into  operation  "the  spiritual  power  which 
lies  hid  in  the  inner  nature  of  medicines." 

Administered  in  bulk  this  would  not  and  could  not 
be,  and  the  condition  of  the  patient,  he  insisted,  would 
be  made  worse.  In  the  new  form,  however,  no  medic- 
inal disease  would  be  produced,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  subtile  cause  of  the  evil  would  be  encountered  on 
its  own  ground  in  the  interior  nature.* 

Hahnemann  continued  to  publish  his  views  and  to 
treat  patients  in  accordance  with  them,  steadily  gain- 
ing adherents.  But  in  Germany,  as  in  America,  there 
arose  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
a  movement  among  the  less  scholarly  but  more 
numerous  grade  of  physicians  to  suppress  rival 
modes  of  practice  by  arbitrary  measures.  Persecu- 
tion was  kindled  against  Hahnemann,  and  finally  he 
was  forbidden  to  prepare  or  dispense  his  own  medi- 
cines. He  accordingly  left  Leipsic  in  1S21  and  became 
physician  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Anhalt-Kothen.  In 
1835  he  removed  to  Paris.  Here  he  was  consulted  by 
patients  of  every  country  and  in  all  walks  of  life. 
His  death  took  place  in  1843. 

EVOLUTION    OF    MODERN    CHEMISTRY. 

The  modern  science  of  Chemistry  appears  to  have 
had  its  inception  in  the  theories  of  the  chemiatric 
school    of   the   sixteenth     century.     De    la    Boe,    the 

*  Dr.  John  B.  Newman,  in  his  work  on  Fascination^  pronounces  Homoeopathy 
a  disguised  form  of  mesmerising.  The  manipulation  of  drugs  he  describes  as  mes- 
merising them,  and  cites  a  direction  of  Hahnemann,  "in  serious  cases  to  strokethe 
patient  down  with  the  palm  of  the  hand  till  relief  is  obtained." 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  273 

founder  of  that  school,  taught  that  zymosis  or  fermen- 
tation was  the  important  factor  in  vital  processes,  and 
that  the  disturbing  of  them  produced  activities. 
From  these  he  held  that  fevers  and  other  disorders 
took  their  rise.  These  activities  were  sometimes  of 
an  acid  and  at  other  times  of  an  alkaline  character. 
He  accordingly  made  use  of  chemical  preparations  for 
remedies. 

These  doctrines  were  enforced  by  him  during  his 
career  as  professor  at  the  University  of  Leiden.  They 
were  further  elaborated  by  others  after  him,  and  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  scientific  concept  of  chemical 
affinity. 

Robert  Boyle  was  the  first  to  contest  the  views  of 
De  la  Boe.  He  was  a  many-sided  man,  and  equally  at 
home  in  theology,  philosophy  and  physical  science 
and  wrote  extensively  on  all  these  subjects. 

It  was  his  belief  that  there  existed  a  "  first  matter," 
parts  of  which  differed  from  one  another  in  certain 
qualities  or  accidents.  He  doubted  whether  all  com- 
pound bodies  consisted  of  the  same  number  of  ele- 
mentary principles.  Like  his  contemporary  scientists, 
Boyle  was  a  believer  in  the  transmutation  of  metals  ; 
and  by  his  influence  the  statute  of  Henry  IV.,  pro- 
hibiting the  making  of  gold  and  silver,  was  repealed. 

Becher  and  Stahl,  however,  were  the  first  to  develop 
the  theory — chemical  action  and  the  constitution  of 
compounds.  They  enumerated  as  the  four  primal 
elements  :  water,  acid,  earth,  and  phlogiston  or  the 
essence  of  fire.  Their  expositions,  curiously  as  they 
may  now  sound,  were  legitimately  deduced  from  the 
premises,  and  seemed  to  account  very  fairly  for  the 
various  changes  in  bodies.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  like- 
wise  contributed   his   researches    in   regard    to    the 


18* 


274  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

nature  of  gases  and  the  method  of  generating  them. 
Dense  bodies,  he  taught,  were  rarefied  by  the  process 
of  fermentation  into  the  several  kinds  of  air.  He  also 
further  observed  that  the  atmosphere  contained  par- 
ticles of  different  nature,  by  which  it  was  fitted 
to  be  the  breath   of  life  to    vegetables  and  animals. 

The  next  long  step  was  taken  by  Dr.  Joseph  Black. 
He  had  been  a  student  of  Dr.  Cullen  at  Glasgow,  under 
whose  instruction  he  acquired  a  superior  skill  in 
chemical  manipulation.  He  made  the  discovery 
which  was  destined  to  overthrow  the  theory  of  phlo- 
giston. He  demonstrated  that  the  caustic  property 
of  alkalies  did  not  depend  upon  the  absorbing  of  a 
suppositious  fire-essence,  but  upon  combining  with  a 
gas  that  was  not  identical  with  the  atmosphere.  This 
gas  he  termed  "  fixed  air,"  as  not  being  found  separate, 
but  combined  with  solid  bodies.  He  also  proved  the 
existence  of  latent  heat. 

Joseph  Priestley  was  the  next  contributor  to  chemi- 
cal knowledge.  He  was  a  native  of  Yorkshire,  and 
his  earlier  education  under  the  Rev.  Philip  Doddridge 
had  been  chiefly  directed  to  theology  and  the  ancient 
languages.  He  became  distinguished  for  extraordi- 
nary proficienc}'^,  and  also  for  heterodoxy  of  belief. 
He  was  at  home  in  every  department  of  learning  and 
speculation.  His  literary  works  embraced  such 
themes  as  mathematics,  grammar,  history,  philos- 
ophy, physiology,  theology,  logic,  the  interpretation 
of  prophecy,  physical  science,  politics  and  sociology. 
He  advocated  the  American  side  of  the  controversy 
in  1775,  and  the  Republican  cause  in  the  French  Revo- 
lution. Thus  he  belonged  to  the  coming  nineteenth 
century,  rather  than  to  the  eighteenth,  and  he 
encountered    the    experiences   of   a    man    living    in 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  271; 

advance  of  his  time.  Making  the  acquaintance  of 
Dr.  Franklin,  he  wrote  a  treatise  on  Electricity,  and 
was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society.  James 
Watt  and  Erastmus  Darwin  were  his  familiar  friends. 

He  was  widely  awake  to  the  necessity  of  scientific 
attainment  as  a  means  to  liberalize  education.  His 
erudition  was  so  extensive  that  it  was  contemplated 
in  1 77 1  to  appoint  him  to  accompany  Captain  Cook 
to  the  South  Sea  ;  but  he  was  rejected  on  account  of 
his  religious  sentiments.  In  1774  he  published  the 
account  of  his  experiments  with  the  carbonic,  chlorine 
and  nitrogenous  gases.  In  this  was  contained  his 
eventful  discovery  of  oxygen,  or  as  he  named  it, 
'' dephlogisticated  air."  The  scientific  world  had  not 
yet  outlived  the  hypothesis  of  phlogiston  ;  but  this 
fact  interfered  rather  with  classification  than  with 
the  results  in  the  field  of  science. 

While  Dr.  Priestley  was  serving  as  preacher  at 
Birmingham,  in  1791,  his  house  and  chapel  were 
burned  by  a  mob.  The  rioters  waded  knee  deep  in 
manuscripts,  the  labor  of  a  lifetime,  and  they  were 
utterly  destroyed.  In  1794  he  emigrated  to  America 
and  made  his  home  at  Northumberland  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  continued  his  researches  ten  years  longer, 
dying  in  February,  1804. 

Henry  Cavendish  in  a  measure  supported  the  work 
of  Dr.  Priestley,  and  earned  the  distinction  of  Father 
of  Pneumatic  Chemistry.  He  demonstrated  the  radi- 
cal difference  between  hydrogen  and  nitrogen,  and 
showed  that  water  which  had  been  regarded  for 
unknown  ages  as  a  single  element,  is  itself  a  com- 
pound. Yet  the  savants  of  the  time  almost  unani- 
mously regarded  the  proposition  as  incapable  of 
defense.  They  could  not  conceive  that  water,  being 
itself  incombustible,  should   have  inflammable  air  for 


A^6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

a  constituent.  Nevertheless  Cavendish  as  well  as 
his  opponents  accepted  the  hypothesis  of  phlogiston. 

At  this  period  every  discoverer  had  recorded  his 
work  and  endeavored  to  explain  the  results  in  con- 
formity with  the  accepted  theories.  These  were  often 
based  on  defective  hypothesis,  and  the  nomenclature 
was  often  so  imperfect  as  itself  to  constitute  a  serious 
difficulty.  The  student  endeavoring  to  master  the 
science  had  need  of  great  acumen  to  keep  from  being 
led  astray.  It  was  time  for  a  man  to  appear  who  was 
able  to  verify  the  several  discoveries,  to  trace  the 
relations  of  the  various  substances,  to  correct  the 
former  errors,  and  to  make  a  classification  of  the 
elements  and  their  compounds  which  would  enable 
the  student  to  perceive    readily   their  constituents. 

Antoine  Laurent  Lavoisier  was  born  in  Paris  in 
1746.  His  father,  a  wealthy  tradesman,  gave  him  a 
thorough  chemical  education,  and  encouraged  him  in 
his  scientific  pursuits.  The  discoveries  of  Black, 
Priestley  and  Cavendish  had  unfolded  the  possibili- 
ties of  Chemistry.  Lavoisier  repeated  their  experi- 
ments, sometimes  contradicting  their  theories  and 
even  somewhat  arrogantly  claiming  their  honor.  As 
early  as  1765,  when  barely  nineteen  years  old,  he  pub- 
lished his  doubts  of  the  theory  of  phlogiston,  and  ten 
years  later  he  described  the  preparations  and  proper- 
ties of  oxygen,  but  made  no  reference  to  the  discovery 
by  Priestley.*  He  next  found  out  the  constitution  of 
the  atmosphere,  and  followed  by  the  theory  that 
"dephlogisticated  air"  was  the  universal  generator 
of  acids  and  metallic  bases.  He  also  abandoned  the 
notion  that  hydrogen  was  the  phlogiston,  which  had 
been  generally  adopted  by  the  chemists  of  all  Europe. 

♦  As  Dr.  Priestley  was  an  Englishman  and  a  Unitarian  in  religion,  Lavoisier 
being  a  Frenchman  and  a  Catholic,  superciliously  ignored  his  existence. 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  2/7 

Liebig  says  of  him  that  "he  discovered  no  new 
body,  no  natural  phenomenon,  that  was  previously 
unknown  ;  but  all  the  facts  established  by  him  were 
the  necessary  consequences  of  the  labors  of  those  who 
preceded  him.  His  merit,  his  immortal  glory  con- 
sisted in  this  :  that  he  infused  into  the  body  of  science 
a  new  spirit  ;  but  all  the  members  of  the  body  were 
already  in  existence,  and  rightly  joined  together." 

Lavoisier,  with  the  aid  of  several  learned  and 
devoted  friends,  was  enabled  to  effect  his  purpose  of 
a  more  perfect  system  of  classification.  In  1787  he 
brought  out  the  Chemical  nomenclature,  consisting 
to  a  great  extent  of  a  new  terminology  comprising 
names  which  assured  a  ready  comprehending  of  the 
constitution  of  the  compounds.  For  a  while  the  inno- 
vation was  hotly  opposed,  and  Lavoisier  was  burned 
in  effigy  in  Berlin.*  Nevertheless  the  new  classifica- 
tion has  been  generally  adopted,  and  is  still  in  use, 
somewhat  modified,  however,  in  later  years.  In  1794 
Lavoisier  was  arrested  and  sentenced  to  the  guillo- 
tine. The  applications  for  mercy  on  the  ground  of 
his  services  as  a  scientist  were  met  with  the  reply  : 
*'  The  Republic  has  no  need  of  savants."  La  Grange 
paid  him  the  tribute  :  "  A  moment  suffices  to  cause 
his  head  to  fall,  but  a  hundred  years  will  not  be  long 
enough  to  produce  another  like  it." 

The  subsequent  history  of  chemistry  belongs 
entirely  to  the  nineteenth  century.  Gay-Lussac, 
Dalton,  Berzelius,  Dumas  and  others  have  extended 
the  field,  and  enabled  the  mode  of  classification  to  be 
greatly  improved.  Oersted,  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  and 
his  great  disciple  Michael  Faraday  have  elucidated 
electromagnetism  and    traced    its    manifestations   in 

*  Some  of  this  feeling  appears  to  still  exist  in  Germany.  The  medicines  pro- 
duced in  the  laboratories  and  especially  those  used  by  Homceopathists,  originally  a 
German  School,  are  generally  named  after  the  former  style. 


2*78  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

chemical  affinity  and  decomposition.  All  these  mat- 
ters, however,  pertain  to  publications  of  a  different 
character.  We  have  only  to  do  with  the  relations  of 
the  science  to  the  medical  art.  From  the  time  of 
Geber,  alchemy  and  the  later  chemistry  have  in  turn 
been  regarded  as  auxiliary  to  the  science  of  heal- 
ing. The  simples,  which  earlier  physicians  chiefly 
employed  became  less  and  less  esteemed,  and  were 
largely  abandoned  to  housewives  and  rural  prac- 
titioners of  modest  pretensions.  Chemistry  almost 
superseded  Botany   in  the  medical    curriculum. 

THE    CLOSING    OF    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

The  eighteenth  century  was  remarkable  as  a  period 
of  transition.  The  political  changes  great  as  they 
were,  had  not  been  the  principal  occurrences.  There 
were  upheavals  in  the  different  countries  from  the 
very  foundations  of  society,  and  new  theologic  opin- 
ions had  begun  to  crowd  into  the  back-ground  the 
dogmas  which  had  been  made  sacred  by  their  age. 
Columbus  adding  a  new  Continent  to  human  knowl- 
edge had  placed  a  fulcrum  for  Arkhimedes  to  over- 
turn former  beliefs,  and  James  Cook  supplemented 
the  work  by  revealing  the  wonders  of  the  Ocean. 

Science  expanded  its  boundaries  and  required  the 
establishing  of  new  departments.  Botany,  Chemistry, 
Astronomy  and  Physics  all  received  new  impulsion, 
which  has  gained  in  force,  increasing  the  scope  of 
human  knowledge,  and  accumulating  discoveries  till 
we  are  hardly  able  to  enumerate  them,  and  it  seems 
almost  impossible  for  the  world  itself  to  contain  the 
books  that  record  them.  Electric  science  had  its 
beginning  with  Franklin,  who  was  speedily  followed 
by  Priestley,  Galvani,  Volta,  Oersted  and  others  ;  and 


MEDICINE    IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.         278-^ 

now  it  is  including  every  field  of  human  enterprise, 
as  though  entirely  competent  to  fulfil  every  want  of 
man.  The  savants  of  the  French  Academy,  however, 
had  not  ceased  to  laugh  at  the  concept  of  moving 
vehicles  and  navigating  by  steam,  but  the  time  was 
near  when  derision  was  to  be  superseded  by  wonder. 
The  Medical  Art,  as  has  been  already  observed,  had 
undergone  many  transformations  in  theory,  variable 
and  somewhat  indefinite,  but  by  no  means  insignifi- 
cant. Surgery  was  removed  from  the  stall  of  the 
barber  and  exalted  into  a  profession  at  its  side,  as 
requiring  both  learning  and  artistic  skill.  The  arena 
of  medical  theory  exhibited  the  spectacle  of  numerous 
hypotheses  and  conjectures,  as  well  as  important  dis- 
coveries. Mear  taught  that  the  sun,  moon  and  stars 
influenced  the  functions  of  the  human  body ;  Stahl 
held  that  phlogiston,  the  essence  of  fire,  was  a  con- 
stituent of  natural  objects,  and  that  the  soul  was  the 
source  of  health  and  disease  ;  Haller  insisted  that  the 
virtues  of  medicines  should  be  ascertained  from  their 
effects  upon  healthy  persons.  Bichat  gave  the  results 
of  his  investigations  in  anatomy  and  neural  physi- 
ology, which  led  the  way  to  the  establishing  of  a  new 
school  of  medicine.  Morgagni  presented  his  investi- 
gations in  morbid  anatomy,  so  essential  to  a  correct 
knowledge  of  pathology.  Fothergill  explained  diph- 
theria and  neuralgia,  forms  of  disease  which  had  been 
before  but  little  comprehended;  Abenbruzzer  invented 
the  art  of  diagnosis  by  percussion  ;  Cullen  ventured 
upon  a  classification  of  diseases  analogous  to  that  of 
classes,  orders,  genera  and  species  in  Botany  ;  Brown 
propounded  the  hypothesis  that  diseases  were  purely 
sthenic  and  asthenic  ;  and  others  brought  forward 
favorite  notions  as  so  many  contributions  to  the  lore 
or  medicine.     Van   Swieten,  under  the  patronage  of 


27»B  HISTORY   OF    MEDICINE. 

Maria  Theresa,  revived  the  Vienna  School  of  Medi- 
cine, which  now  became  the  most  distinguished  in 
Continental  Europe.  Here  Hahnemann  and  Mesmer 
received  the  preliminary  technical  instruction  which 
equipped  them  for  their  respective  undertakings. 

There  were  many  others  who  had  their  concepts  to 
offer  as  additions  to  the  general  stock — numerous 
wand-bearers,  but  few  who  gained  a  place  inside  the 
shrine.  The  common  people  in  many  districts  retained 
the  ancient  prepossession  in  favor  of  a  pure  vegetable 
pharmacopoeia.  The  works  of  Culpepper  had  largely 
fixed  this  sentiment  in  England  ;  and  there  was  also  a 
considerable  literature  of  modest  pretensions  extant 
over  the  kingdom.  We  read  of  Botanic  Gardens  in 
England  and  upon  the  Continent  ;  one  of  these  is 
mentioned  in  the  "  Encyclopaedia  Britannica"  as  hav- 
ing been  maintained  by  a  Miss  Elizabeth  Blackwell. 
In  the  absence  of  schools  for  instruction  in  Botanic 
Practice,  like  the  colleges  of  John  Hunter,  Cheselden 
and  Abernethy,  the  practitioners  taught  the  use  of 
simples  to  their  students.  A  condition  of  affairs 
very  similar,  existed  in  several  parts  of  Europe. 

The  philosophic  element  appears  to  have  been  sub- 
stantially eliminated  in  later  years  from  medical 
study,  and  to  have  given  place  to  methodic  empi- 
ricism. The  crisis  of  the  Century  occurred  in  the 
French  Revolution,  which  changed  the  old  habits  of 
thought,  shook  Society  to  its  foundations,  introduced 
new  principles  of  legislation,  and  gave  new  impulses 
to  intellectual  pursuits.  It  was  to  be  expected  that 
the  medical  art,  despite  the  reluctance  toward  inno- 
vation, should  participate  in  the  transformations. 
Indeed,  so  completely  had  this  been  the  case  that 
when  the  nineteenth  century  began,  it  only  con- 
tinued what  had  been  already  set  in  operation. 


CHAPTER    VII. 
THE   FORMER  YEARS    OF   THE   NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

It  seems  co  be  a  conceit  of  every  period  of  history 
that  it  is  more  enlightened  than  the  preceding  ages. 
Every  generation  of  humankind  appears  to  imagine 
that  it  has  arrived  somewhere  near  the  final  principles 
of  knowledge,  and  that  its  horizon  comes  very  near 
toward  including  all  the  sky  and  all  the  earth.  The 
younger  ones  in  a  community  are  eager  to  exalt 
themselves  by  depreciating  the  attainments  and  ex- 
perience of  others.  Egotism  commingled  with  vanity, 
when  it  is  made  conscious  of  knowledge  and  wisdom 
beyond  its  own  circle  of  vision,  is  very  prone  to  put 
forth  the  effort  to  show  them  not  to  be  worth  the 
possessing  ;  and  when  their  value  cannot  longer  be 
thus  concealed,  then  to  make  the  pretense  that  all 
had  been  possessed  already. 

The  expositors  of  medicine  in  the  Nineteenth 
Century  often  display  these  proclivities  in  their  com- 
pleteness. It  is  common  among  those  who  loudly 
boast  of  belonging  to  an  "  ancient  and  time-honored 
profession."  They  rail  at  the  barbarisms,  the  super- 
stitions, and  the  passion  for  comprehensive  theory 
which  prevailed  among  those  who  preceded  them. 
The  century  was  ushered  in  by  such  a  disposition 
among  those  who  aspired  to  be  the  leaders  in  profes- 


28o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

sional  circles.  Every  writer  seeking  prominence 
appears  to  have  aimed  for  it  by  attacks  upon  others. 

The  French  Revolution  had  been  instrumental  in 
sweeping  the  older  France  out  of  existence,  and  in 
making  it  impossible  to  maintain  the  ancient  order  of 
things  elsewhere.  What  has  taken  place  since  that 
period  has  principally  been  the  passing  away  of  the 
Old  and  the  developing  of  the  New.  In  this  category 
belongs  the  Art  and  Practice  of  Medicine.  Its  fore- 
most teachers  did  not  hesitate  to  talk  like  iconoclasts. 
"  I  am  insensibly  led,"  says  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  "to 
make  an  apology  for  the  instability  of  the  theories 
and  practice  of  Physic.  Those  physicians  generally 
become  the  most  eminent  in  their  profession  who 
soonest  emancipate  themselves  from  the  tyranny  of 
the  schools  of  physic."  Again,  he  exclaims:  "What 
mischiefs  have  we  done,  under  the  belief  of  false  facts 
and  false  theories  I  We  have  assisted  in  multiplying 
diseases;  we  have  done  more,  we  have  increased  their 
mortality."  More  comprehensive  and  confirmatory 
was  the  assertion  in  Lacon  :  "  Physicians  have  been 
tinkering  the  human  constitution  for  about  two  thou- 
sand years  to  cure  diseases  ;  and  the  result  of  all  their 
discoveries  is,  that  brimstone  and  mercury  are  the 
only  two  specifics.  Diseases  remain  what  they  were 
before." 

One  eminent  practitioner,  more  explicit,  affirms 
that,  "  After  the  practice  of  bloodletting  was  intro- 
duced by  Sydenham,  during  the  course  of  one  hundred 
years,  more  died  of  the  lancet  alone  than  all  who, 
in  the  same  period,  perished  by  war."  A  pretty  se- 
vere arraignment  of  medical  practice  in  the  eigh- 
teenth centur)',  and  by  no  means  unjust.  "The 
unhappy  patient  is  bled  until  reaction   occurs,"  says 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.       281 

Dr.  J.  Mason  Good  ;  "there  is  no  longer  any  rallying- 
or  reactive  power  remaining,  and  he  gives  up  the 
ghost  in  a  few  hours  to  the  treatment  of  the  disease." 
Mackintosh  adds  to  this  his  testimony :  "  Many 
patients  are  over-purged  with  drastic  medicines  to 
the  aggravation  of  disease,  while  others  are  bunged 
up  with  opium." 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  practice  of  medicine,  as 
it  existed  at  the  beginning  of  the  century,  was  richly 
deserving  of  the  sweeping  denunciations  which  the 
leading  practitioners  so  unqualifiedly  bestowed.  The 
theories  had  been  changed,  and  continued  to  be 
changed,  yet  under  them  all,  with  little  exception, 
the  same  reprehensible  procedures  were  maintained 
as  the  regular  orthodox  system  that  might  not  be  bet- 
tered, till  the  century  had  approached  its  noon.  All 
this  time  it  was  insisted  that  they  were  scientific,  and 
every  deviation  from  them  was  stigmatized  as  quack- 
ery and  empiricism. 

Yet  this  pretension  was  set  forth  in  all  its  hollow- 
ness  by  able  writers.  "The  object  of  all  science," 
says  Dr.  John  Abercrombie,  "is  to  ascertain  the  estab- 
lished relations  of  things,  or  the  tending  of  certain 
events  to  be  uniformly  followed  by  other  events." 
Dr.  Gregory  emphasizes  this  statement  more  forcibly: 
"The  perfection  of  every  science  consists,"  he  declares, 
"in  the  exact  assignment  of  effects  to  their  causes, 
and  the  expression  of  their  operation  in  intelligible 
language."  He  applies  his  definition  to  the  matter  in 
hand:  "Upon  no  subject  have  the  wild  spirit  and 
eccentric  disposition  of  the  imagination  been  more 
widely  displayed  than  in  the  history  of  medicine." 
Dr.  Good  adds  his  testimony  :  "  The  language  of 
medicine  is  an  unintelligible  jargon." 


282  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

If  it  was  such  when  these  declarations  were  written, 
what  has  it  become  now  when  the  resources  of  the 
Greek  Lexicon  are  taxed  to  their  utmost  to  furnish 
names  for  the  simplest  and  even  the  most  familiar 
things  ?  Apothecaries  stand  aghast,  and  often  aban- 
don in  utter  despair  the  attempt  to  compound  pre- 
scriptions written  in  the  technical  dialect  for  coal-tar 
preparations.  This  practice  may  be  regarded  as  a 
scientific  necessity,  but  it  is  more  probable  that  another 
motive  lies  behind  it.  "  There  is  a  language  of  priests," 
says  Professor  J.  P.  Lesley.  "  Every  language  of 
modern  times  is  stamped  with  this  priest-language  all 
over  the  outside,  is  full  of  it  inside,  in  its  flesh  and 
in  the  marrow  of  its  bones."  The  priesthood  origi- 
nally created  and  constituted  the  medical  profession  ; 
and  now  that  religion  has  become  divorced  and  disas- 
sociated from  medicine,  the  effort  is  made  to  endow  the 
legalized  practitioner  with  the  power,  authority  and 
exclusive  sanctity  which  the  clergy  of  the  Sixteenth 
Century  were  endowed  with.  For  this  reason,  per- 
haps, many  countries  of  Europe  prohibit  the  confer- 
ring of  the  medical  degree,  except  the  candidate  shall 
have  received  the  prescribed  classical  education.  This 
condition  not  being  required  m  the  United  States, 
affords  a  pretext  for  withholding  recognition  from 
American  degrees.  The  alchemist  of  beforetime  had 
his  jargon,  and  medicine  thus  follows  in  its  lead.  We 
may  yet  see  in  our  New  World  a  general  miming  of 
the  Old. 

The  next  generation  and  century  will  probably  have 
occasion  to  pass  judgment  as  to  whether  those  who 
now  judge  the  masters  of  the  former  medical  thought, 
are  not  therein  condemning  themselves  by  doing  sim- 
ilar things.     Animism,  chemiatrics,  spagiric  medicine, 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      283 

the  solidistic  and  humoralistic  pathologies,  are  now 
out  of  fashion,  and  are,  therefore,  convenient  things 
to  sneer  at.  But  the  crudities,  the  credulities,  the 
absurdities  current  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  and 
legitimated  as  scientific  and  orthodox,  are  little  fur- 
ther removed  from  destructive  criticism  than  their 
predecessors.  "  It  is  only  in  the  dark  circle  of  ignor- 
ance," says  Sir  H.  Holland,  "that  knowledge  is 
regarded  as  certain  and  complete."  Sir  William 
Hamilton  adds  :  "  Our  little  dream  of  knowledge  is  a 
little  light  surrounded  by  darkness."  When  the  pos- 
sessors of  learning  modestly  seek  to  give  it  its  true 
value,  we  are  ready  to  render  to  it  the  due  honor. 
But  when  sciolism,  the  partial  knowing,  is  proclaimed 
dogmatically,  and  penal  laws,  as  well  as  social  pro- 
scription, are  brought  into  requisition  to  enforce  it  as 
the  supreme  authority,  it  oecomes  a  degenerate  despot- 
ism, utterly  repugnant  to  an  enlightened  civilization. 

MODERN    EMPIRIC,    OR    POSITIVE    MEDICINE. 

The  Positive  School  of  Medicine  had  its  beginning 
in  France,  almost  immediately  after  the  Revolution. 
Bichat  had  laid  the  foundation  upon  which  Broussais 
and  Bouillaud  erected  their  superstructure  of  "  MMe- 
cine  Physiologiquey  The  doctrines  of  Brown  appear  to 
have  permeated  it  throughout.  Broussais  taught  that 
the  gastero-enteric  region  was  the  cause  of  fevers,  and 
also  of  many  other  maladies  now  classed  as  nervous. 
His  chief  remedy  was  bloodletting,  for  which  purpose 
he  generally  employed  leeches.  He  was  a  professor 
at  the  hospital  of  Val-de-Grace,  where  it  is  reported 
that  he  made  use  of  one  hundred  thousand  leeches  in 
a  single  year.  He  at  first  encountered  fierce  hostility 
from    his    brother   physicians,  but   finally  his   views 


284  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

were  very  generally  accepted,  and  in  183 1  he  was 
appointed  professor  of  pathology  in  the  Academy  of 
Medicine. 

Corvisart  introduced  percussion  and  "  physical 
diagnosis,"  and  Laennec  supplemented  them  by  the 
invention  of  the  stethoscope.  He  also  devoted  him- 
self to  the  investigation  of  pathological  anatomy, 
with  immense  success.  Gaspard  Laurent  Bayle  also 
prosecuted  researches  on  tubercle  and  the  other 
changes  incident  in  consumption.  The  labors  of 
these  men  combined  to  begin  a  new  era  in  clinic 
medicine. 

Another  result  was  the  overturning  of  the  notions 
of  Broussais.  The  credit  of  this  achievement  belongs 
to  Louis,  the  author  of  the  works  justly  celebrated  on 
consumption  and  typhoid  fever,  M.  Louis  also  intro- 
duced what  is  called  the  "  Numerical  and  Statistical 
Method,"  which  his  eulogists  commend  as  aiding  to 
establish  an  exact  science  of  medicine,  and  as  remov- 
ing the  chief  objections  to  regarding  it  as  an  induct- 
ive science.  Gaverret  systemized  his  methods,  and 
Butonneau,  Cruvilhier,  Rayer,  and  the  more  distin- 
guished Trousseau,  were  luminaries  of  the  new  Posi- 
tive School  of  Paris. 

ENGLAND. 

In  England,  however,  medical  study,  for  a  long 
time,  was  almost  stationary.  The  theory  of  Erasmus 
Uarwin,  and  the  teachings  of  the  Hunters,  had  more 
influence,  and  there  was  more  attention  paid  to 
morbid  anatomy.  After  the  overthrow  of  the  first 
Napoleon,  English  physicians  began  to  learn  and  fol- 
low the  methods  of  their  French  contemporaries. 
Sir  John  Forbes  translated  the  works  of  Laennec  and 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.       285 

Avenbrugger,  and  William  Stokes,  of  Dublin,  after- 
ward published  treatises  on  the  use  of  the  stetho- 
scope. Hope  and  Latham  investigated  morbid  anat 
omy,  and  were  followed  by  Bright  and  Addison, 
whose  discoveries  in  diseases  of  the  kidneys  rendered 
their  names  familiar  to  all. 

Dr.  Marshall  Hall,  distinguished  for  his  researches 
on  the  nervous  system,  began  his  career  by  acquiring 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  medical  art,  as  taught  at 
Edinburgh  and  on  the  Continent  ;  after  which  he 
began  practice  at  Nottingham.  He  speedily  became 
popular,  because  of  his  superior  skill  in  puerperal 
cases  and  his  disuse  of  bloodletting. 

Dr.  John  Hughes  Bennett  was  an  innovator,  in 
sympathy  to  some  extent  with  the  School  of  Reformed 
Medicine  in  America.  He  took  his  degree  at  Edin- 
"burgh,  and  then  went  to  Paris,  in  1837,  to  study  clinic 
medicine  and  the  use  of  the  microscope.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Medical  Society  of  Paris,  and 
became  its  first  president.  On  his  return  to  Scotland, 
he  soon  gained  a  high  reputation  as  an  independent 
thinker  and  teacher.  In  1841  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  Professor  of  the  Institutes  of  Medicine  at 
Edinburgh.  He  published  several  works,  the  princi- 
pal of  which.  Clinical  Lectures  and  a  Text-Book  of  Physi- 
ology, went  through  several  editions.  He  seems  to 
have  taken  many  exceptions  to  the  current  medical 
practice.  At  the  meeting  of  the  British  Medical 
Association,  in  1866,  he  procured  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  to  investigate  the  subject  of  mercury  and 
other  reputed  cholagogues.  The  committee  made 
many  experiments  and  observations,  and  finally  re- 
ported in  1869  that  mercury  did  not  increase  the  bili- 
ary secretion  in  any  case,  but  actually  diminished  it 


286  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

whenever  purgation  or  impairment  of  the  health  had 
been  induced.  Dr.  Bennett  afterward  made  the  fol- 
lowing statement  of  his  conclusions  : 

"  I  entirely  agree  with  you  as  to  the  inutility  or 
injurious  character  of  mercury.  As  to  antimony,  I 
long  supposed  it  to  dissolve  the  excess  of  fibrine  in 
the  blood,  but  find  I  do  just  as  well  without  it.  The 
influence  of  arsenic  is  very  doubtful.  I  never  give  it. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  questioned  how  any  chemical  ele- 
ment, which  forms  no  part  of  the  animal  body,  can  be 
of  the  slightest  service  in  curing  or  relieving  the 
morbid  conditions." 

POSITIVE    MEDICINE    IN    GERMANY. 

It  was  at  the  "  New  Vienna  School  "  that  positive 
medicine  had  its  principal  centre  in  Germany.  Its 
chief  luminary  was  Karl  Rokitansky,  the  cele- 
brated writer  on  pathologic  anatomy.'  The  honor, 
however, of  being  the  "regenerator  of  scientific  medi- 
cine," is  given  by  its  disciples  to  Johann  Lukas 
Schonlein.  He  was  a  professor,  first  at  Wurzburg, 
then  at  Zurich,  and  finally  for  twenty  years  at  Berlin. 
He  succeeded  in  establishing  in  Germany  the  methods 
which  were  current  in  France  and  England  ;  and  so 
far  as  his  influence  went,  they  were  adopted  in  place 
of  the  systems  which  had  prevailed  in  his  native 
country.  His  principal  innovation,  however,  in  which 
originality  was  involved,  was  the  promulgation  of  the 
existence  of  a  parasitic  fungus  in  the  disease  called 
favus.  In  fact,  he  may  be  regarded  as  the  originator 
of  the  various  theories  and  researches  pertaining  to 
parasitic  pathology. 

The  other  countries  of  Europe  may  be  passed  over. 
The  field  is  too  large,  and  the  laborers  in  it  are  too 


FORMER  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  28y 

many  to  permit  the  mentioning.  Enough  let  it  be, 
that  those  who  made  themselves  and  their  opinions 
distinguished,  above  others  their  equals,  and  perhaps 
their  superiors,  are  noticed.  The  historian  is  often 
compelled,  even  when  the  purpose  is  strictly  impar- 
tial, to  resort  to  such  makeshifts.  Besides,  a  mode  of 
practice  with  which  a  writer  is  not  in  accord  will  be 
better  described  by  those  who  have  believed  in  its 
efficacy. 

RESEARCHES    IN    PHYSIOLOGY. 

All  intelligent  medical  practice  depends  upon  a 
proper  understanding  of  physiology.  The  aim  of 
philosophic  theories  and  investigations  of  ancient 
periods  was  directed  to  this  end.  It  was  an  exploring 
above  nature  into  metaphysic,  in  order  to  ascertain 
what  constituted  nature.  Students  in  the  later  cen- 
turies directed  their  inquiries  to  the  various  phases 
and  phenomena  of  life  as  exhibited  in  organized 
structures,  animal  and  vegetable.  The  humoral 
pathology  taught  by  Galen,  and  accepted  by  his 
successors  down  to  Stahl  and  Boerhaave,  the  solidism 
of  Fernel,  and  the  school  of  Hoffmann,  were  derived 
from  such  observations.  Early  writers  taught  that  the 
brain,  the  heart,  and  the  blood,  were  the  seat  of  life 
and  sensation.  Harvey,  following  them,  declared 
that  only  the  blood  possessed  vital  properties.  Other 
researches,  however,  threw  doubt  upon  this  proposi- 
tion, and  drew  attention  to  the  entire  nervous  system. 
"  Without  a  nervous  system,"  an  eminent  writer  affirms, 
"  there  is  no  animal — there  can  be  none  ;  without  a 
circulating  one,  there  are  myriads." 

Bichat,  in  his  Kecherches  Physiologiques,  extended  the 
scope  of   this   idea,  setting  forth  that  there  are  two 


288  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

kinds  of  vital  phenomena  ;  and  accordingly  divided 
the  nervous  material  of  the  body  into  two  systems, 
calling"  one  the  nervous  system  of  organic  or  vegeta- 
tive life,  and  the  other  the  nervous  system  of  animal 
life.  The  former  of  these  he  referred  to  the  epigastric 
region  for  its  origin.  Solly,  taking  his  cue  from  the 
correspondence  of  its  anatomic  arrangement  with 
that  of  the  molluscous  animals,  designated  it  the 
"  cyclo-ganglionic  nervous  system."  He  declares  that, 
"although  it  is  difficult,  most  probably  on  account  of 
its  minuteness,  in  many  of  the  lower  animals,  to 
demonstrate  the  existence  of  the  nervous  system  of 
vegetative  life,  as  distinct  from  the  animal  life,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  it  always  exists."  {On  the  Brain,  1836.) 
Dr.  Grant  corroborates  this  opinion  by  the  remark, 
that  the  nerves  of  sensation  and  motion  closely  accom- 
pany each  other,  forming  by  their  union,  cords  or 
columns,  or  a  cet-ebro-spinal  axis  ;  but  that  the  sympa- 
thetic or  ganglionic  nerves  form  a  more  isolated  system. 
To  this  system  Anderson  and  others  assign  the  cell- 
germs,  which  are  the  rudiments  of  organized  beings. 
Every  function  purely  physical,  and  essential  to  life, 
the  animal  warmth,  the  nutritive  process,  instinct, 
emotion,  pertains  to  this  system  of  organic  life. 

The  physiology  and  constitution  of  the  Brain  were 
in  like  manner  described  by  Franz  Joseph  Gall,  of 
Vienna.  His  works  upon  the  Nervous  System  passed 
through  several  editions,  and  wers  highly  esteemed. 
In  1S02,  the  government  of  Austria,  at  the  instance  of 
the  clergy,  forbade  the  teaching  of  his  peculiar  doc- 
trine, as  dangerous  to  religion  ;  but  going  to  France, 
he  found  numerous  sympathizers  among  the  ablest 
professors,  such  as  Broussais,  Andral  and  St.  Hilaire. 
His  disciples,  Kaspar  Spurzheim  and  George  Combe, 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.       289 

further  elaborated  the  new  system,  adopting  for  it  the 
name  of  Phrenology,  and  it  was  accepted  by  Archbishop 
Whately,  Elliottson,  Macnish,  and  others  of  like  prom- 
inence, and  by  Professor  Caldwell,  Dr.  Nathan  Allen, 
and  others  in  the  United  States.  As  a  recognized 
science,  it  has  not  been  actually  received  by  those  who 
profess  to  be  authoritative  ;  it  is  still  in  the  usual 
English  process,  first  to  be  denied  outright,  and  then 
to  be  accepted,  withholding  due  credit  from  the  dis- 
coverer. It  is  true,  however,  that  Unzer  and  Pro- 
chaska  had  already  set  forth  many  of  the  essential 
features  of  the  new  science,  and  that  Bonnet  asserted 
that  every  portion  of  the  brain  has  a  distinct  function 
of  its  own.  Herbert  Spencer  also  affirms  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  phrenology  very  tersely  : 

"  No  physiologist  can  long  resist  the  conviction," 
says  he,  "  that  different  parts  of  the  cerebrum  sub- 
serve different  kinds  of  mental  action.  Localization 
of  function  is  the  law  of  all  organization  whatever  ; 
separateness  of  duty  is  universally  accompanied  with 
separateness  of  structure,  and  it  would  be  marvellous 
were  an  exception  to  exist  in  the  cerebral  hemi- 
spheres. Let  it  be  granted  that  the  cerebral  hemi- 
spheres, are  the  seats  of  higher  psychical  activities  ; 
let  it  be  granted  that  among  these  higher  psychical 
activities  there  are  distinctions  of  a  kind  which, 
though  not  definite,  are  yet  practically  recognizable, 
and  it  cannot  be  denied,  without  going  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  established  physiological  principles,  that 
these  more  or  less  distinct  kinds  of  psychical  activity 
must  be  carried  on  in  more  or  less  distinct  parts  of 
the  cerebral  hemispheres." 

Even  J.  Hughes  Bennett,  while  discarding  the  pecu- 
liar localizations  of  the  phrenologists,  acknowledged 
the   merit   of   the   discoverers  ;  declaring   that    "  the 


290  HKTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

names  of  Gall,  Spurzheim  and  Combe,  ought  ever  to 
be  legistered  among  those  whose  labors  have  greatly 
contributed  to  advance  our  knowledge  of  the  physi- 
ology of  the  brain." 

The  cerebellum,  it  may  here  be  noted,  is  undoubt- 
edly the  organ  for  that  function  which  has  been 
unsuitably  denominated  "  unconscious  cerebration." 
It  is  untiring,  incessant  in  its  activity,  never  resting, 
but  carries  our  thoughts  silently  to  conclusions, 
matures  actions  into  habits,  and  preserves  the  life 
while  the  functions  of  the  brain  are  suspended,  as  in 
sleep. 

Gall  was  the  first  to  describe  the  spinal  cord  as  an 
organism  distinct  from  the  brain,  and  to  prove  that 
it  has  a  specific  and  independent  office  of  its  own,  and 
is,  therefore,  not  conditioned  by  consciousness  or 
volition.  Walker,  following  him,  gave  a  description 
of  the  cord,  its  functions,  qualities  and  peculiar  con- 
formation. After  him  came  the  men  whose  teachings 
are  now  controverted  on  one  ground  or  another. 

Sir  Charles  Bell  has  the  credit  of  having  originated 
the  modern  method  of  studying  physiology.  He 
feegan  with  a  volume  giving  the  anatomy  of  the  nerv- 
ous system  and  the  organs  of  special  sense.  In  1804, 
he  removed  from  Edinburgh  to  London,  and  there 
published  his  remarkable  treatise  on  the  Anatomy  of 
Expression.  It  was  designed  to  show  how  the  influence 
of  the  mind  was  propagated  to  the  muscular  frame, 
and  to  explain  the  muscular  movements  which  usually 
accompany  the  various  emotions  and  passions.  In 
1807,  followed  his  treatise  on  the  Anatomy  of  the  Brain, 
announcing  the  discovery  of  the  different  functions 
of  the  nerves,  corresponding  with  their  relations  to 
different  parts  of  the  brain.     He  likewise  explained 


FORMER  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.   29I 

the  peculiar  arrangement  of  the  spinal  nerves,  also 
set  forth  by  Walker,  that  the  anterior  roots  are  motor, 
and  the  posterior  roots  sensory.  He  was  vividly 
conscious  of  the  importance  of  his  discoveries,  and  in 
his  exultation  wrote  to  a  friend  :  "I  really  think  that 
this  new  Anatomy  of  the  Brain  will  strike  more  than  the 
discovery  [by  John  Hunter]  of  the  lymphatics  being 
absorbents." 

His  expectations  were  abundantly  verified,  and  the 
result  was  a  complete  overturning  of  the  current 
opinions.  For  years  the  notion  was  entertained,  that 
everything  of  the  character  of  a  nervous  system  in 
the  lower  races  of  animals  belonged  to  the  cerebro. 
spinal  axis,  or  some  structure  corresponding  to  it. 

Dr.  Marshall  Hall,  having  removed  to  London,  con- 
tinued to  employ  himself  in  physiological  investiga- 
tions. His  studies  of  the  pernicious  effects  of  blood- 
letting were  of  vital  importance  to  patients.  In  1829, 
he  made  his  grand  discovery  of  the  capillary  circula- 
tion, thus  completing  the  theory  of  William  Harvey. 
He  published  the  account  of  it  in  his  Critical  and 
Experimental  Essay,  showing  that  the  minute  blood- 
vessels between  the  arteries  and  veins  serve  to  bring 
the  blood  into  contact  with  the  various  tissues  of  the 
body. 

The  achievement,  however,  for  which  he  was  most 
distinguished,  was  his  discovery  of  the  reflex  func- 
tions of  the  nervous  system.  His  monograph  on  the 
Reflex  Function  of  the  Medulla  Oblongata  and  the  Medulla 
Spinalis,  in  1832,  excited  great  attention  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe,  particularly  in  Holland  and  Ger- 
many ;  and  M.  Flourens  described  it  as  "  a  great  epoch 
in  physiology."  From  that  time  Nervous  Diseases 
constituted  a  department  in  pathology  and  nosology, 


292  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  Doctor  Hall  became  the  highest  acknowledged 
authority  upon  the  various  derangements  of  health 
resulting  from  abnormal  conditions  of  the  nervous 
system. 

In  1837,  he  published  another  work  entitled  :  "  On 
the  True  Spinal  Marrow  and  the  Excito-Motor  System  of 
Nerves."  It  was  an  endeavor  at  the  classification  and 
explanation  of  the  distribution  of  the  entire  cerebro- 
spinal nervous  system.  He  adopted  the  doctrine 
which  had  been  propounded  by  Gall,  that  the  spinal 
cord  is  an  organic  structure  distinct  from  the  brain, 
endowed  with  a  specific  vitality,  and  having  its  appro- 
priate functions.  These  he  denominated  "  excito- 
motory,"  and  he  attributed  to  them  likewise  the 
phenomena  of  reflex  action.  He  supposed  that  there 
existed  an  additional  set  of  nervous  fibres,  incide7it  and 
reflex,  by  which  the  diastaltic  functions  were  per- 
formed. This  he  believed  to  be  demonstrated  by 
beheading  a  frog  and  removing  its  viscera. 

"  I  beg  leave  to  repeat,"  says  he,  "  the  cerebrum,  the 
centre  of  the  spinal  cord  of  nerves,  and  all  the  gan- 
glionic system,  have  been  removed  from  this  animal  ; 
and  yet  when  I  pinch  the  extremity,  it  moves  so  as  to 
be  obviously  perceptible  at  the  remotest  part  of  this 
theatre.  You  observe  something  remains.  That  which 
remains  I  venture  to  call  the  true  spinal  marrow," 

Dr.  Hall  treats  of  the  several  operations  of  the 
nutritive  functions,  and  also  the  uterine  function,  as 
excito-motor.  Other  experiments  and  observations 
have  since  disproved  this  theory,  and  now  the  phe- 
nomena of  reflex  action  are  ascribed  to  the  ganglionic 
nervous  system.  The  text-books  generally,  however, 
are  comparatively  meagre  in  regard  to  this  depart- 
ment.     While    the   cerebro-spinal    system    and    the 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      293 

nerves  of  sensation  are  diligently  explained  in  all 
their  minute  particulars,  the  ganglionic  system,  which 
underlies  all  that  can  be  known  of  vital  function,  is, 
in  a  great  measure,  overlooked  and  neglected. 

The  Nineteenth  Century  has  been  distinguished  by 
large  contributions  to  Embryology.  The  works  of 
the  great  founder  of  this  science,  Kaspar  Friedrich 
Wolff,  which  had  been  discredited  for  sixty  years 
through  the  influence  of  Haller,  were  now  translated, 
and  their  teachings  followed  up  by  such  investigators 
as  Oken,  Meckel,  Tiedemann,  Panda  ;  and  after  them, 
by  Von  Baer,  now  regarded  as  the  greatest  among 
modern  embryologists. 

The  theory  of  cell-development,  to  the  exclusion  of 
other  hypotheses,  was  zealously  promulgated  by  lead- 
ing histologists,  and  had  the  support  of  the  various 
schools.  All  physical  organization  was  imputed  to 
the  cells,  and  its  beginning  traced  back  to  the  original 
cell  or  cell-substance  of  the  ovum.  Virchow,  the  great 
champion  of  the  dogma,  asserted  that  "  the  cell  is 
really  the  ultimate  morphological  element  in  which 
there  is  any  manifestation  of  life,  and  that  we  must 
not  transfer  the  seat  of  any  real  activity  to  any  point 
behind  the  cell."  * 

To  this  hypothesis,  Dr.  J.  Hughes  Bennett  opposed 
a  bold  denial,  and  affirmed  that  the  basis  of  the  organ- 
ism and  the  seat  of  vital  activity,  was  the  elementary 
molecule.  He  sustained  his  position  by  the  history  of 
the  embryo,  and  the  process  of  nutrition  in  the  glands 
and  nerve-ganglia,  and  in  all  alterations  of  texture. 
He  also  remarked  that  histologists  had  been  unsuc- 

*  This  doctrine  became  current  about  the  middle  of  the  century.  The  first 
lecture  delivered  on  physiology  by  the  writer  was  devoted  to  an  explanation  of  the 
cell-theory,  which  was  then  a  novel  one  to  physicians  as  well  as  students. 


294  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

cessful  in  their  attempt  to  trace  all  tissues  back  to 
cells,  and  accordingly  had  universally  acknowledged 
that  cells  themselves  must  originate  in  the  first  in- 
stance from  a  formless  or  molecular  fluid,  which 
Schwann  has  denominated  blastema.  Even  Virchow 
admitted  the  existence  of  ultimate  granules  ;  and 
other  upholders  of  the  cell-theory  confess  that  the 
potential  part  of  the  cell  is  not  the  wall  or  the  nucleus, 
but  the  contents  or  protoplasm. 

"  The  molecular  theory  of  organization,"  says  Ben- 
nett, "  must  ultimately  constitute  the  basis  for  the 
arts  of  horticulture,  agriculture  and  medicine." 

SURGERY    AND    SURGICAL    PATHOLOGY. 

It  is  a  peculiarity  of  modern  professional  study,  that 
a  greater  desire  is  manifested  for  instruction  in  sur- 
gery than  practical  medicine  and  the  kindred  depart- 
ments of  knowledge.  The  labors  of  John  Hunter, 
Blumenbach,  Dupuytren,  and  their  contemporaries, 
have  been  sedulously  followed  up  all  over  the  civilized 
world.  The  clinic  teaching,  as  exemplified  by  Syme 
and  Lawrence,  resulted  in  a  wide  diffusion  of  surgical 
knowledge  through  all  ranks  of  the  medical  profession. 
The  methods  of  procedure  have  been  largely  changed; 
anaesthesia,  hygienic  appliances,  and  a  host  of  new 
devices  have  been  added.  Dr.  Charles  Creighton  enu- 
merates among  these  the  following,  as  the  more  impor- 
tant, namely  :  the  thin-thread  ligature  for  arteries, 
the  revival  of  torsion  for  arteries,  the  practice  of  drain- 
age, aspiration,  the  plaster-of-Paris  application,  the 
re-breaking  of  badly-set  fractures,  galvano-caustics 
and  ecraseurs,  the  general  introduction  of  re-section 
of  joints,  tenetomy,  operation  for  squint,  successful 
ligature  of  the  external  iliac  artery  for  aneurism  of 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      295 

the  femoral,  ligature  of  the  subclavian,  crushing  of 
stone  in  the  bladder,  removing  of  the  cyst  in  ovarian 
dropsy,  the  discovery  of  the  ophthalmoscope,  the  ap- 
plication of  the  laryngoscope,  and  various  additions 
to  the  resources  of  aural  surgery  and  dentistry. 

Perhaps,  in  the  coming  century,  the  anticipation  of 
enthusiastic  individuals  will  be  realized,  that  there 
will  be  no  incurable  diseases.  Then  much  of  the 
necessity  for  harsh  and  violent  remedial  procedures 
would  be  obviated.  The  maiming  and  mutilating  of  the 
human  body  is  repugnant  to  our  instincts,  and  seems 
almost  like  forms  of  sacrilege.  In  present  conditions, 
however,  we  must  do  the  best  that  we  know.  It  is 
very  certain  that  there  is  often  an  undue  eagerness  of 
surgeons  to  perform  unnecessary,  and  even  dangerous 
operations.  Nevertheless,  the  life  of  President  Garfield 
might  probably  have  been  saved  if  a  courageous  and 
skillful  surgeon  had  ventured  to  make  an  exploratory 
incision  into  the  abdomen,  as  Dr.  J.  Marion  Sims 
suggested.  We  may  also  repeat  the  statement  so  con- 
fidently made,  that  at  the  present  time,  but  nine  per 
cent,  of  all  operations  in  amputation  have  a  fatal  ter- 
mination. It  is  to  be  supposed,  that  those  cases  are 
not  included,  which  are  reported  as  successful,  and  the 
patients  die  afterward  in  consequence  of  the  procedure. 
When  useless  and  unnecessary  operations  shall  no 
longer  be  performed,  the  results  will  be  much  more 
gratifying. 

In  Surgical  Pathology,  there  has  been  a  steady  ad- 
vance. With  the  better  methods  of  living,  and  the 
various  social  improvements,  epidemics  are  less  de- 
structive, and  the  rate  of  longevity  heightened.  vSur- 
gical  diseases  are  more  amenable  to  treatment  and 
far  less  mortal.     The  knowledge  possessed,  and  the 


296  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

improvements  actually  made,  are  of  far  greater  value, 
in  a  scientific  as  well  as  humanitarian  view,  than  those 
of  any  antecedent  period. 

ARTIFICIAL    ANESTHESIA. 

The  general  introduction  of  anaesthesia  as  an  auxil- 
iary in  surgical  operations,  has  been  generally  wel- 
comed by  both  patient  and  operator.  It  takes  rank 
among  the  memorable  discoveries  of  the  century.  It 
is  very  certain,  however,  that  neither  the  conception 
nor  the  art  itself  is  of  recent  date.  Much  had  been 
already  achieved  by  the  peculiar  catalepsis  of  mes- 
merism, and  hopes  were  confidently  entertained  that 
satisfactory  results  would  be  produced,  when  etheriza- 
tion was  brought  into  practice.  This  is  speedier  in 
producing  the  desired  insensibility,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  it  is  infinitely  more  hazardous.  The  greater 
certainty,  however,  has  enabled  it  to  supersede  its 
worthier  rival. 

The  concept  of  deadening  pain  by  artificial  means 
is  very  ancient.  Herodotus,  Pliny  and  Dioskorides 
mention  drugs  that  were  employed  for  the  purpose. 
Mandragora  was  used  by  Italian  physicians.  The 
Skyths  of  olden  time  inhaled  the  vapor  of  hemp  to 
produce  intoxication,  and  we  have  read  of  a  Chinese 
physician  who  anaesthetized  his  patients  with  a  prep- 
aration of  Cannabis,  in  order  to  obviate  the  pains  of 
surgical  operations.  The  Brahmans  understood  the 
art,  and  employed  it  at  satis  to  protect  the  widow  from 
feeling  the  flame  when  on  the  funeral  pyre.  It  has  also 
been  affirmed,  that  physicians  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
who  were  proficient  alchemists,  were  skillful  in  the 
producing  of  insensibility  by  artificial  means,  and 
that  many  of   the    marvellous    exhibitions  of   uncon- 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      297 

sciousness  to  pain  were  the  effect  of  drugs  and  vapors. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  mental  exaltation,  from 
whatever  cause,  will  have  a  similar  result.  Soldiers  in 
the  fury  of  the  battle,  often  scarcely  feel  the  deadly 
wounds  inflicted  upon  them  ;  and  the  accounts  of  the 
religious  martyrs  in  the  hideous  torture-chambers  of 
the  Dark  Ages,  and  even  of  the  victims  burning  alive 
at  the  stake, would  suggest  that  rapture  had  suppressed 
the  sense  of  physical  pain.  We  know  that  with  the 
approach  of  death,  the  patient  is  rendered  oblivious 
of  suffering  ;  and  it  has  even  been  affirmed,  that 
the  art  had  been  taught  of  holding  the  breath  and 
employing  other  means  by  which  to  suspend  pain, 
or  at  least  to  procure  its  mitigation.  The  Convul- 
sionnaires  and  other  enthusiasts  used  to  exhibit  con- 
ditions of  anaesthesia  which  we  know  little  about, 
and  which  some  profess  to  consider  it  a  proof  of 
superior  intelligence  to  discredit  and  deny.  The 
famous  Witch  Trials  brought  out  testimony,  which 
seems  to  be  indisputable  demonstration  of  the 
possession  of  such  an  art.  To  a  reflective  mind, 
unbiased  by  prejudice  or  preconceived  notions,  the 
evidence  must  appear  as  proof  of  a  knowledge  which 
may  have  been  since  forgotten,  although  in  scientific 
circles  so-called,  it  be  unknown  and  ignored.  We  may 
apply  to  the  latter  the  words  of  Humboldt  :  "A  pre- 
sumptuous skepticism  that  rejects  facts  without  exam- 
ination of  their  truth,  is,  in  some  respects,  more  injuri- 
ous than  unsuspecting  credulity." 

Sir  Humphrey  Davy  appears  to  have  been  the  first 
to  comprehend  the  feasibility  of  employing  anaesthesia 
for  surgical  purposes.  He  discovered  that  the  nitrog- 
enic  protoxide  would,  with  comparative  safety,  re- 
move the  sense  of  pain,  and  to  a  great  degree  set  the 


298  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

mental  faculties  free  from  the  bodily  investiture, 
"It  may  be  used  with  advantage,"  he  confidently  de- 
clared, "  in  surgical  operations  in  which  no  effusion  of 
blood  takes  place."  His  great  pupil  and  successor, 
Michael  Faraday,  perceived  similar  effects  from  the 
inhaling  of  sulphuric  ether;  and  several  American 
physicians  demonstrated  this  by  experiment.  Yet  the 
suggestion  remained  unheeded  till  the  century  had 
approached  its  meridian.  Then,  as  though  the  idea 
was  floating  hither  and  thither  in  the  mental  atmos- 
phere, so  that  those  awake  to  such  things  might  simul- 
taneously become  cognizant  of  it.  Dr.  Crawford  W. 
Long,  of  Georgia,  Horace  Wells,  of  Hartford,  and 
William  T.  G.  Morton,  of  Boston,  the  latter  two  being 
dentists,  ventured  to  employ  it  in  their  practice. 
Wells  used  the  nitrous  oxide  and  Morton  sulphuric 
ether.  So  great  was  Morton's  success  that  he  em- 
ployed it  in  the  hospital  where  a  patient  was  to  un- 
dergo removal  of  the  jaw.  The  credit  of  the  discovery 
was  finally  conceded  to  him,  but  not  till  after  much 
opposition  and  legal  conflicts.  These  induced  him  to 
abandon  his  profession,  and  shortened  his  life. 
Abroad  the  discovery  met  with  more  speedy  apprecia- 
tion. Robert  Lister,  the  eminent  British  surgeon,  as 
soon  as  he  had  learned  of  it,  proceeded  to  employ  it, 
and  the  practice  soon  became  general  in  Great  Britain 
and  on  the  Continent.  Since  that  time,  in  the  re- 
versal of  professional  sentiment,  the  physicians  of 
Boston  have  erected  a  monument  to  Morton,  and  in 
Georgia  a  tablet  has  been  set  up  in  honor  of  Dr. 
Long. 

Sir  James  Y.  Simpson,  of  Edinburgh,  was  the  first 
to  employ  anaesthesia  in  midwifery,  and  he  had  the 
gratification   of  annulling  the  fearful  suffering.     He 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      299 

was  obliged,  however,  to  encounter  hostility  from  the 
Scotch  clergy,  who  charged  him  with  atheism  and 
irreligion.  He  was  setting  aside  the  Divine  ordinance, 
they  declared  :  "  In  sorrow  shalt  thou  bring  forth 
children."  The  next  year,  1847,  Simpson  learned  of 
the  efficacy  of  chloroform  and  substituted  it  for  ether. 
From  that  time  the  employment  of  anaesthetics  has 
been  regarded  as  an  essential  feature  in  surgical 
practice. 

GYNECOLOGY. 

The  medical  and  surgical  diseases  of  women  have 
constituted  a  prolific  field  for  investigation  and  ex- 
periment, and  it  has  been  assiduously  cultivated. 
True,  that  Nature,  in  her  mysterious  operations,  has 
always  been  partial  to  the  female  sex  in  all  races  of 
living  beings,  and  has  granted  to  woman  a  greater 
longevity,  as  a  general  rule,  than  she  permits  to  less 
favored  man.  Nevertheless,  as  the  world  now  moves, 
the  various  ailments  peculiar  to  women  make  up  the 
larger  part  of  the  physician's  employment.  We  leave 
it  to  the  educator  and  pathologist  to  explain  whether 
this  fact  is  an  incident  of  their  physical  organization, 
an  unavoidable  concomitant  of  the  abnormality  of  our 
modern  civilization,  the  result  of  imwholesome  per- 
sonal habits  and  social  customs,  or  a  whim  engen- 
dered by  improper  training,  which  has  made  ill  health 
fashionable  and  a  thing  to  be  enjoyed.  Certain  it  is 
that  the  condition  is  very  general,  especially  in  this 
country.  Medical  teachers  and  writers  have  accord- 
ingly differentiated  these  complaints,  and  set  apart  a 
special  sub-division  of  medical  and  surgical  practice, 
giving  it  the  somewhat  incongruous  designation  of 
gynecology.  Properly,  the  term  relates  to  female  human 
beings  as  a  whole,  their  traits  and  peculiarities  ;  in 


300  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

this  connection,  it  indicates  little  besides  their  dis- 
eases  and  surgical  treatment. 

The  obstetric  art,  which  unquestionably  pertains  to 
this  department,  was  universally  regarded  from 
earliest  history  as  the  province  of  women  only.  The 
records  in  the  Bible,  the  inscriptions  and  other  monu- 
mental evidence  obtained  by  archaeologists,  the  litera- 
ture which  has  been  preserved  from  ancient  periods,  are 
conclusive  in  this  matter.  The  midwife  was  a  woman 
who  was  everywhere  held  in  honor.  "  They  feared 
God,"  says  the  author  of  the  book  of  Exodus^  "and  He 
caused  their  households  to  prosper."  The  philosopher, 
Sokrates,  narrates,  with  complacency,  that  he  was  the 
son  of  a  midwife,  and  makes  her  art  an  illustration  of 
his  method  of  teaching.  Pliny  speaks  of  women  who 
were  physicians  as  being  of  the  nobility,  one  of  them 
bearing  the  title  of  "  iatromea*  regionis  su(b  prima" — the 
noblest  female  physician  of  her  district.  The  Arabians, 
through  the  Middle  Ages,  left  the  obstetric  art  with 
the  female  sex.  The  employing  of  men  for  this  office 
is  one  of  the  modern  innovations.  The  "wise 
woman  "  has  been  supplanted  in  this  and  many  other 
countries.  This  fact  is  coincident  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  art  of  gynaecology. 

The  diseases  of  women,  however,  were  under  no 
such  restriction.  Hippokrates,  Galen,  and  Aretaeos, 
discoursed  of  metritis,  induration,  displacements, 
menstrual  irregularities,  leucorrhoea,  ulcerations  of 
the  womb,  etc.,  and  Actios  mentioned  the  speculum, 

*  A  female  physician.  From  latftOS,  a  physician,  and  fxaia, 
a  midwife,  or  nurse.  The  iatromea  of  Rome  and  Italy  were  Greeks,  and 
because  of  their  skill  they  had  been  permitted  to  remain  when  the 
Romans  e.xpelled  their  countrymen  from  the  peninsula.  The  Romans 
left  the  arts  and  professions  generally  to  people  of  the  subject  nations. 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      3OI 

sponge  tent,  sound,  caustics  for  ulcers,  dilatation  of 
the  cervix  uteri,  injections,  hip-baths  and  other  appli- 
ances. Indeed,  the  remark  of  Aristotle  was  abun- 
dantly warranted  in  this  matter,  as  well  as  generally, 
that  "  probably  all  art  and  all  knowledge  have  been 
often  fully  explored  and  again  forgotten." 

M.  Recamier  is  generally  regarded  as  the  founder 
of  the  modern  school  of  gynaecology.  He  is  credited 
with  having  discovered  the  speculum  in  i8or,  but  this 
is  a  mistake.  Both  Astruc  and  Ambroise  Pare  were 
acquainted  with  the  instrument.  Recamier,  however, 
was  the  first  in  making  much  use  of  it  in  his  practice. 
He  also  employed  a  curette.  But  it  was  a  long  while 
before  English  practitioners  overcame  their  prejudice 
against  these  appliances.  Sir  James  Y.  Simpson,  of 
Edinburgh,  was  the  earliest  physician  of  note  among 
them  to  occupy  this  field  of  investigation.  He  wrote 
extensively  upon  uterine  pathology,  describing  pelvic 
cellulitis,  haematocele,  fluxions,  etc.,  and  recom- 
mended the  sound,  sponge  tent,  and  other  means  of 
diagnosis.  Before  him  there  had  only  French  writers 
given  attention  to  these  subjects,  but  now  the  profes- 
sional interest  in  them  became  general. 

Dr.  J.  Hughes  Bennett,  himself  a  student  in  the 
hospitals  of  Paris,  and  deeply  imbued  with  the  senti- 
ments of  Recamier  and  Lisfranc,  also  took  part  in  the 
same  labors.  He  published  his  work  on  XXi^  Inflamma- 
tion of  the  Uterus,  in  1845,  and  was  able  afterward  by 
his  intense  zeal  and  energy  to  arouse  the  attention  of 
medical  men,  not  only  in  Great  Britain,  but  on  the 
continent  of  Europe,  and  in  America.  Many  of  his 
statements  were  disputed  by  contemporary  writers 
like  West  and  Tyler  Smith,  but  the  importance  of  his 
labors  cannot  be  denied.  His  general  theory  described 


302  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

inflammation  as  the  starting-point  in  uterine  affec- 
tions, of  which  menstrual  troubles  and  leucorrhoea 
were  merely  symptoms  ;  the  inflammation  being  con- 
fined, in  most  cases,  to  the  cervical  canal.  Dr.  Smith 
insisted  with  Lisfranc  that,  as  a  result  of  the  inflam- 
mation, the  parenchyma  was  engorged. 

M.  Velpeau  was  the  next  author  of  distinction  in 
this  department,  and  his  theory  of  displacements  as 
being  the  cause  of  most  uterine  affections,  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  leading  physicians  of  Paris.  As  a 
result,  there  was  a  general  inventing  and  applying  of 
pessaries.  The  professional  sentiment,  however,  has 
since  been  changed,  and  the  belief  is  now  commonly 
entertained  that  displacement  is  the  effect  rather  than 
the  cause  of  inflammation. 

Dr.  James  Marion  Sims,  a  physician  of  Montgom- 
ery, Alabama,  made  his  name  memorable  for  his  new 
inventions  and  procedures.  Coming  to  New  York  in 
1853,  he  endeavored  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  his 
professional  brethren  what  he  had  accomplished  in 
operative  surgery  for  lacerations  and  other  injuries 
of  the  female  organism.  The  umpires  of  professional 
opinion,  to  whom  he  communicated  his  discoveries, 
received  him  coldly.  From  Nazareth  or  a  Nazorean 
would  nothing  good  be  recognized.  Those  who  de- 
rived information  from  Francis,  Mott  and  Stevens, 
followed  their  example.  Sims  then  turned  to  others 
whom  they  were  superciliously  ignoring.*  Dr.  Elijah 
Whitney,  a  graduate  of  Union  College,  with  "certain 

♦Dr.  Sims  long  remembered  these  his  first  friends  in  New  York,  for  their  ser- 
vices so  vital  to  his  success.  He  responded  afterward,  by  a  declaration  against 
the  Code  of  Medical  Ethics,  from  which  he  and  they  alike  were  sufferers.  When  he 
became  President  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  at  the  time  of  the  Centen- 
nial Exhibition  in  1876,  he  took  occasion  in  his  address  to  pronounce  against  it  as 
effete  and  moribund,  and  advised  to  "  let  it  die." 


FORMER    YEARS   OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      303 

honorable  women,"  and  a  few  others,  reached  out  to 
him  the  fraternal  hand,  and  opened  the  way  for  him 
to  make  his  discoveries  known  to  the  public,  and  to 
those  who  had  need  of  them.  In  this  way  he  was  en- 
abled to  open  the  Women's  Hospital  of  the  City  of 
New  York.  He  and  his  fellow-laborers  thus  intro- 
duced a  new  era  into  that  department  of  surgery. 
What  Recamier  began  and  Simpson  improved,  James 
Marion  Sims  brought  to  greater  perfection.  While, 
however,  his  procedures  were  adopted  by  those  who 
had  before  scouted  them,  he  himself  encountered 
some  of  the  usual  experiences  of  apostles  and  innova- 
tors. He  was  supplanted  and  superseded  by  those 
who  had  followed  in  his  footsteps,  and  were  thereby 
able  to  secure  for  themselves  many  of  his  honors. 

EXTIRPATION    OF    THE    OVARIES. 

Another  of  the  modern  additions  to  operative  gyn- 
aecological surgery  is  the  extirpation  of  the  ovaries. 
It  has  become  an  operation  of  frequent  occurrence, 
and  is  employed  for  tumor,  dropsy,  and  even  painful 
menstruation.  It  seems  to  have  been  adopted,  like 
other  procedures,  from  the  laity.  The  unsexing  of 
female  domestic  animals  has  been  for  hundreds  of 
years  a  common  practice  in  many  agricultural  dis- 
tricts. The  spaying  of  swine  was  performed  by  the 
herdsmen  of  ancient  Greece,  as  well  as  by  the  mod- 
erns ;  and  milch  cows  were  sometimes  castrated  in 
order  that  the  period  of  lactation  might  be  extended 
for  an  indefinite  period  uninterrupted.  The  Lydians 
unsexed  young  women  for  the  purpose  of  ministering 
to  the  sensual  tastes  of  the  wealthy  and  powerful. 
Later  in  the  ages,  we  have  the  account  of  a  swine- 
herder  in  Hungary  who,  in  a  rage  at  the  lasciviousness 


3°4 


HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 


of  his  daughter,  compelled  her  to  undergo  the 
operation. 

Nobody,  however,  seems  to  have  dreamed  of  it  as  a 
remedial  measure  till  the  eighteenth  century.  Several 
prominent  surgeons  then  began  to  discuss  the  subject 
— Schlenker  in  1722,  Willius  in  1731,  Peyer  in  1751, 
Targioni  in  1752,  and  Delaporte,  who,  in  1758,  formally 
proposed  the  operation  to  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Surgery  of  Paris.  Laumanier,  of  Rouen,  by  accident, 
having  made  a  mistake  in  diagnosis,  actually  removed 
a  diseased  ovary  in  1781. 

In  England,  likewise,  the  proposition  was  urged 
with  great  energy.  John  Hunter  advocated  it  with 
his  customary  boldness,  and  Dr.  Percival  Pott  ven- 
tured to  perform  the  operation  in  a  case  of  inguinal 
hernia. 

D'Escher,  a  student  at  the  University  of  Montpel- 
lier,  read  a  thesis  in  1808,  setting  forth  a  specific 
method  for  the  excision. 

So  far,  however,  it  was  but  preliminary  discussion. 
Public  sentiment,  as  well  as  natural  instinct,  was 
averse  to  such  an  act  of  mutilation,  and  surgeons  had 
not  boldness  or  assurance  to  venture  upon  its  per- 
formance. Indeed,  the  penalties  for  mayhem  and 
malpractice,  so  often  invoked  and  so  inexorably  en- 
forced, were  enough  to  deter  every  one  but  the  most 
resolute. 

Finally,  however,  American  surgeons  proved  suffi- 
ciently temeritous.  Dr.  Ephraim  McDowell,  of  Dan- 
ville, in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  ventured  upon  the 
operation  in  1809.  The  result  was  satisfactory,  and 
the  patient  lived  till  1834.  He  afterward  operated 
thirteen  times,  eight  of  the  patients  surviving.  The 
next   American  to  undertake   the    removing    of   the 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      305 

ovaries  was  Dr.  Nathan  Smith,  of  New  Haven,  meet- 
ing with  like  success. 

Dr.  Walter  Burnham,  of  Lowell,  in  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Professor  of  Surgery  and  Opera- 
tive Midwifery  in  the  Worcester  Medical  Institution, 
became  distinguished  for  his  skill  and  wonderful  suc- 
cess in  this  department  of  surgical  practice.  He  was 
a  man  of  rare  ability,  remarkable  for  presence  of 
mind,  deftness  and  sagacity  ;  and  as  a  surgeon  he  had 
few  equals  in  America.  As  early  as  1823,  when  still  a 
youth,  he  had  heard  Dr.  Smith  describe  the  operation 
to  his  father  ;  and  after  he  had  himself  graduated  in 
medicine,  while  a  practitioner  in  Northern  Vermont, 
he  made  a  careful  study  of  ovarian  tumors  as  he  ob- 
served them  in  necropsies. 

At  that  time,  no  adequate  description  of  these  affec- 
tions had  been  given,  and  Dr.  Burnham  was  obliged 
to  work  out  the  various  problems  for  himself.  He 
found  a  patient  in  1839,  and  made  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  operating,  but  she  died  the  night 
before  the  time  appointed.  His  first  actual  attempt  was 
made  in  185 1,  at  Branford,  Connecticut,  with  gratifying 
results.  A  few  months  later  he  operated  upon  a 
patient  at  Meriden,  removing  a  tumor  weighing  fifty- 
four  pounds.  The  patient,  however,  was  greatly 
debilitated,  and  died  from  peritonitis  a  few  days 
afterward. 

At  this  period  it  was  an  undetermined  question 
among  medical  men  whether  the  extirpation  of 
ovarian  tumors  was  ever  a  justifiable  procedure.  Dr. 
Burnham  was  severely  criticized  on  every  hand  for  his 
venturesome  course.  A  leading  journal  denounced 
the  procedure  as  "barbarity  under  the  name  of 
science."     Bitter    hostility   followed    him    for   many 


20 


3o6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

years.  Twice  he  was  threatened  with  prosecution  for 
manslaughter,  but  the  recovery  of  the  patients  de- 
feated the  malignant  purpose  of  his  enemies.  He  was 
once  actually  arrested  in  Canada  for  having  per- 
formed the  operation,  but  was  speedily  set  free  from 
custody.  A  professor  of  surgery  in  one  of  the  medical 
colleges  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1875,  declared  his 
regret  for  Dr.  Burnham's  success,  as  he  considered 
the  procedure  unjustifiable  ;  and  he  boldly  affirmed, 
in  a  lecture  to  his  class,  that  not  one  such  operation 
in  a  hundred  could  possibly  be  successful,  and  the 
patient  recover. 

Walter  Burnham  attained  his  celebrity  by  his  skill 
and  the  good  fortune  which  attended  him.  He  was  a 
lover  of  his  kind,  upright  and  conscientious,  and  in  no 
way  fool-hardy,  vain  or  conceited.  He  made  no  boast 
of  what  he  accomplished,  nor  was  he  ever  eager  to 
perform  an  operation.  He  acted  from  conviction,  be- 
lieving that  every  case  of  the  kind  was  certain  other- 
wise to  go  on  sooner  or  later  to  a  fatal  termination, 
and  assured  from  actual  experience  that  the  pro- 
cedure was  far  less  dangerous  than  had  been  appre- 
hended. At  the  same  time,  however,  he  declared  it 
to  be  one  of  the  most  dangerous  operations  which  a 
surgeon  is  called  upon  to  perform. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  Dr.  Burnham  had 
few  of  the  facilities  enjoyed  by  the  distinguished 
surgeons  of  later  years,  and  he  was  obliged  to  leave 
his  patients  to  the  care  of  other  practitioners,  and 
such  nurses  as  were  at  hand.  So  bitter  was  the  pro- 
fessional feeling,  that  physicians  of  the  dominant 
school  refused  to  take  charge  when  he  had  performed 
an  operation.  He  finally  yielded,  for  the  sake  of  his 
patients,  severing  his  connection    with    his  former 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      307 

associates  and  affiliating  with  the  other  party.  His 
death  took  place  in  1883,  in  his  seventy-sixth  year.  In 
the  course  of  thirty  years  Dr.  Burnham  performed 
the  complete  extirpation  of  the  ovary  281  times,  hav- 
ing 51  fatal  cases.  Several  of  these  were  from  inci- 
'  dental  causes,  for  which  he  could  not  be  regarded  as 
in  any  way  to  blame. 

Dr.  Lizars  introduced  the  procedure  into  Scotland 
in  1823,  with  the  most  unfortunate  results.  Dr. 
Charles  Clay  afterward  urged  it  upon  the  attention  of 
surgeons  in  England  to  such  acceptance  that  men  like 
Lane,  Wells  and  Tait  took  it  up  and  became  famous 
for  their  skill  and  the  multitude  of  their  operations. 
They  lost  only  about  one  in  three  of  their  patients. 
This  seems  to  be  about  the  general  rule. 

In  Germany^  however,  the  fatality  from  ovarian 
section  was  truly  excessive.  Simon  reported  that  out 
of  sixty-one  cases  only  twelve  completely  recovered; 
and  Scanzoni  speaks  of  the  operation  as  "  a  pro- 
cedure by  which  Langenbeck  has  lost  five  out  of  six, 
and  Kirwisch  four  out  of  five." 

Since  that  period,  nevertheless,  it  has  attained  ex- 
traordinary favor  in  certain  professional  circles, 
especially  in  America.  The  patients  may  be  num- 
bered by  hecatombs.  With  the  sanction  of  the  great 
names  enrolled  in  its  advocacy,  any  one  who  should 
protest,  or  even  question  the  propriety  of  operating 
in  trivial  or  curable  cases,  would  be  virtually  crushed 
into  silence.  He  would  need  very  deep  conviction 
and  heroic  courage  for  the  attempt.  The  fearful 
humiliation  which  is  inflicted,  as  well  as  the  attending 
mortality,  seems  hardly  to  be  taken  into  the  account, 
and  the  procedure  is  so  common  as  to  constitute  one 
of  the  favorite  operations  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 


3o8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Occasionally,  however,  there  has  been  a  word  of 
emphatic  dissent,  even  in  high  places.  Dr.  Abraham 
Jacobi,  of  New  York,  describing  the  many  ways  of 
becoming  or  appointing  professors  nowadays  in  med- 
ical colleges,  suggests,  with  exquisite  irony,  the  fol- 
lowing as  sure  : 

"  Write  a  text-book  while  you  are  young. 
"  Operate  on  two   alleged  lacerations  daily,  and  let 
no  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  die  of  septicaemia. 
"  Prove  that  the  best  place  for  ovaries  is  in  a  jar." 

A  physician  of  Michigan,  when  at  a  post-graduate 
dinner  in  New  York,  was  more  forcible  in  his  utter- 
ances. "  I  would  as  soon  keep  a  powder  house  in  the 
region  of  everlasting  fire,"  said  he,  "as  be  a  woman 
with  ovaries  in  the  city  of  New  York." 

Some  time,  perhaps,  when  a  higher  conscientious- 
ness pervades  the  medical  profession,  and  there  pre- 
vails an  enlightened  and  reformed  public  sentiment, 
there  may  dawn  a  better  day. 

HYSTERECTOMY. 

Walter  Burnham  was  the  first  surgeon  of  modern  time 
who  ventured  upon  the  excision  of  the  womb.  It  was 
upon  the  occasion  of  his  fourth  operation  for  ovarian 
disease,  and  took  place  on  the  26th  of  June,  1854.  He 
had  found,  upon  opening  the  abdomen  of  the  patient 
that  instead  of  an  enlarged  ovary  as  he  had  supposed, 
there  was  an  interstitial  fibroid  attached  to  the  fun- 
dus, and  involving  the  uterus  itself.  The  left  ovary 
was  enlarged,  and  there  was  a  cyst  adhering  to  the 
other,  which  contained  a  dark  sero-albuminous  fluid. 
With  characteristic  promptness.  Dr.  Burnham  decided 
to  remove  the  entire  organ,  with  its  appendages,  clear 
to  the  cervix.     The  recovery  was  very  tedious,  but  at 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      309 

the  end  of  five  weeks  the  wound  had  closed,  all 
morbid  discharges  ceased,  and  the  general  health  was 
good.*  In  his  account  of  this  operation  he  adds  the 
following  statement  of  his  own  position  : 

"  Although  this  case  terminated  favorably,  I  would 
not  easily  be  induced  to  make  another  attempt  to  ex- 
tirpate the  uterus  and  ovaries,  or  even  to  remove  the 
uterus,  under  almost  any  condition  ;  and  the  opera- 
tion should  never  be  attempted  without  due  consid- 
eration of  the  consequences  of  submitting  the  patient 
to  such  formidable  risk." 

This  extraordinary  operation,  with  the  wonderful 
recovery,  was  announced  to  the  entire  medical  pro- 
fession in  the  various  publications,  as  opening  a  new 
field  for gynaecologic  surgery.  The  illustrious  operator 
was  lauded  everywhere  for  his  successful  achieve- 
ment, and  his  name  was  in  a  fair  way  to  become  as 
famous  in  professional  circles  as  that  of  Hunter, 
Pare,  or  Desault.  It  transpired,  however,  that  he 
presided  at  meetings  of  physicians  of  the  Reformed 
School,  and  had  actually  been  elected  President  of 
the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  at  its 
annual  session  at  Worcester,  in  1854.  Then  all  was 
changed,  and  his  skill  and  success  were  consigned  to 
a  significant  silence.  His  patients  were  made  to 
suffer;  it  was  unethical  to  take  charge  of  them,  and 
they  were  liable  to  be  left  to  linger,  and  even  to  die, 
uncared  for.  Such  was  the  bigoted  partisanship  of 
the  members  of  a  profession  claiming  to  be  scien- 
tific, in  a  country  boasting  of  liberal  institutions  and 
an  advanced  Christian  civilizatioA.     Under  this  con- 


*  This  patient  was  thirty-eight  years  old,  and  was  living  in  1884,  thirty  years 
after  the  operation.  The  morbid  discharges  which  Professor  Burnham  describes 
corroded  the  skin  wherever  they  came  in  contact  with  it,  and  their  malignant 
quality  was  only  amelioiated  by  lotions  of  chlorinated  soda. 


3IO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

dition  of  things,  Professor  Burnham  became  again  a 
member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society. 

An  account  of  his  operations  was  read  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  American  Medical  Association  in  1878,  and 
afterward  published  in  the  Transactions.  He  had  per- 
formed the  new  operation  fifteen  times  in  all,  three 
of  the  patients  recovering.  The  cases  were  generally 
those  with  fibroid  tumors ;  the  patient  being  in  low 
health,  without  energy  to  rally  from  the  shock,  and 
sometimes  not  receiving  proper  care.  Under  more 
favorable  conditions,  there  would  doubtless  have  been 
more  fortunate  results.  But  the  truth  undoubtedly 
is,  as  Abernethy  declared,  that  it  is  owing  to  our 
ignorance  that  there  is  any  necessity  for  instruments 
to  cure  diseases  ;  and  we  are,  therefore,  warranted  in 
the  hope  and  expectation  that  remedial  measures 
adequate  to  the  exigency  may  yet  become  known. 

THE    "  NATURAL    BONE-SETTERS." 

During  the  war  of  the  American  Revolution, 
Job  Sweet,  of  Rhode  Island,  became  widely  known 
for  his  expertness  in  reducing  fractures  and  dislo- 
cations. The  French  commander  at  Newport,  Gen- 
eral Rochambeau,  repeatedly  had  his  services  in 
requisition  for  operations  which  the  army  surgeons 
were  unable  to  perform.  Colonel  Aaron  Burr,  several 
years  afterward,  employed  him  to  replace  the  dislo- 
cated hip-bone  of  his  daughter,  after  other  surgeons 
had  not  succeeded. .  This  peculiar  knack  or  faculty 
appears  to  have  been  possessed  by  others  of  the 
family;  Sweet's  father  and  grandfather  having  been 
so  distinguished,  and  their  descendants  still  exercis- 
ing the  art.  It  is  not  easy  to  suppose  it  a  natural  gift 
or  inheritance,  and  yet  some  facts  connected  with  the 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      311 

matter  seem  to  imply  as  m^uch.  The  various  mem- 
bers of  the  family  are  generally  without  a  liberal 
education  and  belong  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life. 
Even  when  very  young,  they  have  reduced  disloca- 
tions with  admirable  deftness,  broken  bones  anew 
which  had  not  been  properly  set  at  first,  and  per- 
formed kindred  operations. 

Old  Job  Sweet  was  accompanied  one  day  by  a 
prominent  physician  of  Boston  to  visit  the  anatomical 
museum.  As  he  passed  by  a  mounted  skeleton  he 
suddenly  stopped,  and  with  the  remark  that  he  had 
never  seen  one  before,  he  pointed  to  a  small  bone  in 
the  foot,  which  he  declared  to  be  wrong  side  up.  This 
was  disputed,  but  when  he  had  changed  its  position, 
it  was  conceded  that  he  was  correct. 

A  son  of  his  was  operating  one  day  upon  the  fract- 
ured femur  of  a  patient.  A  spectator,  knowing  him 
to  be  uneducated,  asked  him  how  he  was  able  to  re- 
place the  bones  so  exactly.  He  replied  that  he  did 
not  know,  but  that  he  was  just  as  certain  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  bones  when  he  operated,  as  though  he  saw 
them  with  the  naked  eye.  William  Sweet,  a  grandson, 
equally  celebrated,  made  the  following  quaint  ex-^ 
planation  :  "  I  see  the  bone  that  I  am  going  to  set 
just  as  plainly  as  if  it  had  no  flesh  upon  it.  I  say 
that  '  I  see  it,'  but  of  course  I  do  not  see  it."  He  evi- 
dently implied  a  mode  of  perception  that  made  the 
matter  plain  to  him,  but  which  he  had  no  command  of 
words  adequate  to  describe. 

Similar  accounts  are  given  of  Ur.  Kittredge,  of 
New  Hampshire.  His  manners  and  methods  appear 
to  have  been  very  similar  to  those  of  the  Sweets  ;  he 
was  equally  famous  in  the  community,  untaught,  but 
possessed  of  great  penetration  and  sagacity. 


312  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Among  wonderful  operations  by  members  of  this 
family  was  one  more  remarkable  than  the  others. 
The  late  Joseph  P.  Hazard,  of  Peacedale,  had  displaced 
the  semilunar  cartilage,  and  on  applying  to  several 
eminent  surgeons  of  Newport  and  Providence,  was 
informed  by  them  all  that  its  restoration  was  beyond 
the  surgical  art  John  Sweet,  a  country  farmer,  was 
next  called,  and  in  a  few  minutes  accomplished  the 
task.  These  testimonies  may  be  multiplied.  The 
wife  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  the  famous  aboli- 
tionist, was  a  patient  of  one  of  the  family,  and  he 
published  a  glowing  description  of  the  matter. 

Members  of  the  family  at  Fall  River,  New  Bedford, 
Hartford,  and  elsewhere,  besides  the  Narragansett 
homestead,  still  practice  the  art.  It  is  said,  however, 
that  Dr.  Reid,  a  physician  of  Rochester,  in  the  State 
of  New  York,  some  years  ago,  obtained  a  knowledge 
of  the  procedure  and  announced  it  to  the  profession 
as  original  with  himself.  In  any  light  that  we  view 
the  subject,  whether  this  art  was  in  some  sense  in- 
tuitive, or  whether  it  has  been  transmitted  as  an  heir- 
loom from  generation  to  generation  through  cen- 
turies, it  is  remarkable. 

TREATMENT    OF    THE    INSANE. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  better  criterion  of  the  civiliza- 
tion and  moral  advancement  of  a  people  than  is 
afforded  by  the  treatment  bestowed  upon  the  insane. 
In  the  Dark  Ages  they  were  virtually  outside  the 
protection  of  the  law,  and  were  abused  worse  than  the 
beasts.  Till  recently,  and  even  now  in  some  common- 
wealths, the  legislation  and  jurisprudence  are  little 
improved.  The  insane  person  is  held  unable  to  trans- 
act business,  but  is  often  hanged  for   capital   crime. 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.        313 

The  facility  is  almost  unbounded  in  many  states  of  the 
American  Union  to-  deprive  individuals  of  their 
liberty  as  by  a  lettre  de  cachet,  wrongfully  as  well  as 
rightfully,  and  to  follow  up  the  measure  by  a  seques- 
tering of  their  property.  There  is  an  unrecorded  his- 
tory of  such  matters,  extending  even  to  the  present 
period,  which,  if  it  should  be  disclosed,  would  excite 
the  popular  indignation  beyond  bounds. 

Slowly,  as  if  reluctantly,  has  progress  been  made  in 
the  care  and  curative  treatment  of  persons  suffering 
from  mental  alienism.  In  this  country,  and  in 
Europe,  the  practice  has  been  to  place  the  most  hope- 
less and  difficult  of  managing  in  the  houses  provided 
for  paupers,  or  in  bedlams,  and  even  to  incarcerate 
them  in  prisons.  The  neglect  and  iii- treatment  which 
they  received,  were  often  little  short  of  atrocious.  In- 
dividuals wrongfully  confined,  and  patients  but  mildly 
deranged  were  rendered  hopelessly  insane.  In  the 
general  deficiency  of  psychic  knowledge,  and  of  nerv- 
ous and  other  disorders  which  directly  effect  a  dis- 
turbance of  the  mental  condition,  a  license  was  per- 
mitted to  keepers  and  attendants  not  greatly  unlike 
that  allowed  to  the  guards  at  a  convict  prison. 

During  the  present  century  there  have  been  many 
attempts  at  amelioration.  Many  of  the  improvements, 
however,  have  been  more  in  form,  than  radical.  It  is 
still  too  easy  to  procure  incarceration  on  a  trumped- 
up  charge  of  mental  incompetency,  and  too  difficult  to 
extricate  a  sane  person  once  in  the  toils  from  the 
power  of  his  enemies.  There  is,  however,  great  im- 
provement in  European  legislation.  In  England,  no 
lunatic  may  be  received  in  an  asylum  for  profit  or  de- 
tained, except  on  proper  evidence  and  on  the  personal 
responsibility  of  the  individual  ordering  the  deten- 


314  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

tion.  Full  opportunity  is  given  to  procure  expert 
examinations  and  discharge  under  proper  conditions, 
from  custody.  In  the  continental  countries,  every 
evidence  offered  is  reviewed  by  an  expert,  before  the 
case  is  decided  by  the  court  having  jurisdiction. 

To  Philippe  Pinel  and  William  Tuke  must  be 
ascribed  the  awakening  of  public  attention  to  this 
matter.  They  had  conceived  the  idea  of  setting  insane 
patients  free  from  arbitrary  restraint,  believing  that 
an  appeal  to  their  moral  nature  would  be  followed 
by  somewhat  of  success  to  resist  and  even  to  overcome 
abnormal  influences.  Both  tried  the  experiment,  the 
former  at  the  Bic^tre  in  Paris,  and  the  latter  at  the 
York  Retreat  in  England.  It  took  long  to  procure 
any  general  adoption  of  this  principle;  but  it  has  gener- 
ally been  very  successful  in  the  way  of  relieving  the 
condition  of  those  hopelessly  insane,  and  enabling 
others  to  recover  their  health  and  return  to  human 
society.  Those  who  reluctantly  assented  to  the  over- 
whelming evidence,  resorted  to  the  makeshift  argu- 
ment that  the  type  of  insanity  had  changed  in  the 
Nineteenth  Century,  whereas  it  was  only  the  type  of 
treatment  that  had  altered. 

Various  experimental  plans  have  been  adopted  in 
France  and  Belgium,  looking  to  the  restoring  of 
patients  to  normal  condition  by  proper  treatment, 
wholesome  employment,  and  the  arousing  of  the 
moral  sensibility  to  proper  activity.  In  Great  Britain 
the  same  general  line  of  procedure  has  been  adopted, 
and  as  a  result  the  violent  forms  of  madness  formerly 
the  theme  of  romantic  stories,  have  almost  disappeared. 
Whenever  in  this  country  or  elsewhere  the  prisons 
and  poor-houses  have  been  exchanged  for  more  com- 
fortable abodes,  the  benefits  and  improvement  have 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.       315 

been  most  marked.  As  neurologic  and  psychologic 
knowledge  shall  be  better  understood,  and  the  path- 
ology of  this  class  of  disorders  is  rationally  and  practi- 
cally studied,  there  will  arise  philanthropic  persons 
equipped  for  their  work,  skillful  both  in  medicine  and 
in  the  applying  of  moral  and  mental  discipline,  energic 
to  "heal  the  sick  and  cast  out  devils,"  if  not  to  raise 
the  dead  outright.  Much  of  a  cheering  character  has 
been  accomplished  in  many  places,  and  due  credit 
should  be  given  to  those  who  have  brought  it  about  ; 
but  there  remains  infinitely  more  to  be  accomplished 
in  other  fields,  and  of  an  aspect  far  from  encouraging. 

HOMCEOPATHY    AND    ITS    PROGRESS. 

During  the  Nineteenth  Century  Homoeopathy  has 
made  very  encouraging  progress  among  the  more  in- 
telligent classes  of  society.  From  being  scoffed  and 
derided  as  a  visionary  practice,  "  the  quackery  of  the 
drawing-room,"  as  distinguished  from  the  Botanic 
practice  affected  by  the  "  plain  people,"  it  has  become 
recognized  in  scientific  circles  as  possessing  actual 
value.  True,  it  has  been  nowhere  inaugurated  like 
its  great  rival,  with  the  rank  and  official  standing  of 
a  National  Established  Church  of  Medicine  ;  and  it  is 
not  able,  therefore,  to  work  hand  in  glove  in  any 
country  with  the  State  Religion,  so  that  it  may,  by 
harsh  and  vindictive  measures,  strive  to  weed  out 
dissent.  Those  accordingly,  who  regard  such  author- 
ity as  indicating  the  true  standard,  and  its  exercise  as 
proper  and  professional,  will  continue  still  to  regard 
Homoeopathy  as  not  successful.  It  little  matters  with 
such  persons  whether  that  which  is  uppermost  be  in- 
trinsically right  or  wrong. 

A  deputation   of    English    Non-Conformists    once 


3l6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

waited  on  Lord  Chancellor  Thurlow  to  propound  their 
grievances  and  asked  to  be  favored  like  the  Estab- 
lished Church.  After  hearing  them  a  little  while  he 
cut  them  off  with  these  words  :  "  Gentlemen,  I  am 
against  you.  I  am  an  upholder  of  the  Established 
Church.  Not  that  I  care  at  all  for  the  Established 
Church  ;  but  I  uphold  it  because  it  is  the  Established 
Church.  Get  your  damned  sect  established  in  its 
place  and  then  I  will  uphold  that." 

Although  Homoeopathy  has  been  proscribed  and 
prohibited  by  the  Civil  Power  in  countries  of  Europe, 
and  excluded  from  fraternal  recognition  by  the  self- 
constituted  umpires  of  medical  sentiment,  because  its 
practitioners  do  not  conform  to  the  Established  Dogma 
of  Regularity,  they  may  derive  comfort  and  assurance 
from  the  observation  made  by  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer, 
that  the  effect  produced  by  arbitrary  measures  usually 
turns  out  to  be  exactly  opposite  to  what  was  intended. 

It  is  not  so  very  long  since  there  were  penal  laws  in 
many  of  the  American  States,  making  the  practice  of 
medicine  outside  the  prescribed  line,  a  misdemeanor, 
punishable  by  fine  and  imprisonment.  Persecutions 
followed  that  were  not  unworthy  of  an  Alva  or  a  De 
Montfort.  Then  was  made  an  appeal  to  the  people, 
and  with  the  dissemination  of  liberal  opinions  the 
obnoxious  statutes  were  everywhere  abrogated.  The 
circle  of  movement  has  been  again  described,  and  the 
former  experience  is  repeated.  Canada  and  England 
set  the  example  for  Americans.  But  Reformed  Medi- 
cine, Homoeopathy,  and  other  advanced  movements 
have  obtained  a  foothold  in  the  Western  Hemisphere 
from  which  they  cannot  be  dislodged,  except  their 
own  supporters  abandon  the  field. 

The  first  physician   who   introduced  Homoeopathy 


FORMER  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.   317 

into  the  United  States  was  Dr.  Johannis  B.  Gram. 
He  began  in  the  city  of  Boston,  in  1825,  but  received 
little  notice  or  favor  except  from  the  German  popu- 
lation. 

In  1835,  Dr.  Detwiler  established  at  Allentown,  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  a  seminary  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  medical  students,  by  the  modest  title  of  the 
"  North- American  Academy  of  Homoeopathic  Medi- 
cine." About  this  time  there  was  a  general  ferment 
in  the  medical  world,  and  public  sentiment  in  the 
United  States  was  setting  in  favor  of  liberty  and 
liberality  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  The  new  insti- 
tution was  successful  in  attracting  attention,  but  re- 
ceived only  a  moderate  support.  It  was  in  no  sense 
American,  and  its  instructions  were  given  in  the  Ger- 
man language. 

Dr.  Constantine  Hering  was  a  participant  in  the  en- 
terprise, and  resolved  to  extend  its  operations.  Re- 
moving some  years  afterward  to  Philadelphia,  he 
procured  from  the  Legislature  in  1848,  an  act  of  incor- 
poration for  the  "  Homoeopathic  Medical  College  of 
Pennsylvania."  This  institution  was  well  under 
headway,  when  it  encountered  an  obstacle  common  in 
the  history  of  medical  institutions,  ambition  for  mas- 
tery, and  dissensions  among  the  patrons  and  instruct- 
ors. In  1867  a  division  took  place  and  the  "Hahne- 
mann Medical  College  "  was  organized.  Better  sense, 
however,  came  to  the  rescue,  and  in  1869,  the  rival  in- 
stitutions were  merged  together  under  the  charter  of 
the  former,  but  adopted  the  name  of  the  latter.  The 
Hahnemann  Medical  College  is  now  the  parent  school 
of  Homoeopathic  Medicine  for  both  hemispheres,  and 
in  its  appointments  and  facilities  it  ranks  fairly  with 
the  first  medical  colleges  of  America. 


3l8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  Legislature  of  Michigan  having  created  a  State 
Univers-ity  at  Ann  Arbor,  a  department  of  Medicine 
was  established  in  it  by  the  Board  of  Regents.  In 
this  were  taught  the  doctrines  of  the  Old  School 
in  the  form  that  existed  at  that  period  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century.  The  Homoeopathic  physicians  of  the 
State  next  contended  for  professorships  of  Homoe- 
opathy. It  was  bitterly  opposed,  but  vigorous  effort 
and  earnest  appeals  to  the  sense  of  justice,  both  of 
members  of  the  Legislature  and  their  constituents, 
effected  the  object.  Much  chagrin  and  rancor  were 
exhibited  for  years  at  this  proceeding,  but  the  step 
was  never  retraced.  The  example  has  since  been 
followed  in  the  universities  of  Iowa  and  Minne- 
sota. 

The  other  Homoeopathic  colleges  are  at  Cleveland, 
Chicago,  St.  Louis,  New  York,  Boston,  Detroit,  Cin- 
cinnati and  San  Francisco.  One  of  the  two  in  New 
York  is  solely  for  the  instruction  of  women.  Most  of 
the  colleges,  however,  are  open  alike  to  students  of 
each  sex.  They  are  generally  prosperous,  and  from 
year  to  year  are  becoming  more  so.  Like  most  col- 
leges in  America  they  are  private  corporations. 

The  Homoeopathists  of  America  are  very  compactly 
organized,  and  cherish  a  warm  esprit  de  corps.  Their 
National  Institute  has  about  two  thousand  mem- 
bers, and  they  have  societies  in  excellent  working 
order  in  thirty-two  of  the  states,  besides  smaller 
associations  in  the  principal  cities  and  districts  of  the 
country.  They  have  also  an  extensive  literature,  and 
all  the  necessary  facilities  for  occupying  a  broader 
field. 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.        319 
HAHNEMANN    AND    THE    LATER    HOMCEOPATHISTS. 

In  his  great  work,  the  Organon,  Hahnemann  set  forth 
disease  as  the  entire  sum  of  the  symptoms  arising 
from  or  consisting  in  a  disturbance  of  the  harmoni- 
ous action  of  the  vital  principle  "  by  the  dynamic 
influence  of  a  morbific  agent  which  is  inimical  to 
life."  He  declares  accordingly  that  "the  physician 
must  avail  himself  of  all  the  particulars  that  he  can 
learn,  both  respecting  the  probable  origin  of  the 
acute  malady  and  the  most  significant  points  in  the 
history  of  the  chronic  disease,  to  aid  him  in  the  dis- 
covery of  their  fundamental  cause,  which  is  com- 
monly due  to  some  chronic  miasm.  In  all  researches 
of  this  nature  he  has  to  take  into  consideration  the 
apparent  state  of  the  physical  constitution  of  the 
patient,  particularly  when  the  affection  is  chronic, 
the  disposition,  occupation,  mode  of  life,  habits,  social 
relations,  age,  sexual  functions,"  etc. 

Thus  Hahnemann  looked  upon  the  perceptible 
phenomena  of  the  disease  as  means  of  arriving  at  a 
knowledge  of  their  generating  cause — which  is,  so  to 
speak,  an  intellectional,  unsensuous  fact,  exclusively 
determinable  by  the  pure  reason,  or  intuition,  anterior 
to  all  sense-perception  and  elevated  into  the  specula- 
tive region  of  the  causative  principles  of  nature.  He 
plainly  rejected  the  materialism  which  pervaded  the 
great  body  of  modern  medical  teaching. 

MEDICAL    TREATMENT. 

Hahnemann  recognized  three  methods  for  the  ac- 
complishing of  cures,  namely  :  the  allceopathic  or  hetero- 
pathic,  the  exanthiopathic^  and  the  homccopathic.  Nature 
he  held  to  be  incapable  of  curing  an  existing  disease 
by  means  of  one  that  is  dissimilar  ;  hence  energetic 


320  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

drugs  administered  upon  the  allasopathic  principle 
are  ineffectual  to  remove  the  disease.  Thus,  for 
example,  the  combination  of  mercurial  and  syphilitic 
symptoms  constitute  a  frightful  and  unmanageable 
disease,  which,  if  not  absolutely  incurable,  yields 
only  to  the  most  careful  and  persevering  treatment. 
The  exantiopathic  method  is  merely  palliative,  and  is 
likely  through  its  alternate  or  reactive  effects,  to 
aggravate  the  original  complaint.  Only  the  homoeo- 
pathic treatment,  therefore,  is  left  to  be  employed. 
The  medicinal  agent  creates  a  medicinal  disease  which 
is  more  intense  than  the  other,  which  usurps  the 
place  of  the  other,  and  is,  in  its  own  turn,  extinguished 
by  the  vital  forces,  leaving  the  vital  principle  in  its 
former  state  of  integrity.  The  efficacy  of  medicines, 
therefore,  depends  upon  their  pathogenetic  character. 

ADMINISTERING    OF    MEDICINES    HOMCEOP ATHIC ALLY. 

A  prominent  feature  in  the  mode  of  administering 
remedies  consisted  in  their  attenuation.  This  was 
for  the  purpose,  Hahnemann  declared,^  of  developing 
the  spiritual  power  jvhich  lies  hid  in  the  inner  nature  of 
medicines.  The  inherent  spirit  and  principle  of  the 
medicinal  agent  is  thereby  set  free  and  is  made  availa- 
ble by  temporarily  connecting  it  with  some  neutral 
body,  as  sugar  of  milk,  alcohol,  or  water.  This  cura- 
tive influence  is  detached  more  readily  from  such 
a  neutral  body  so  as  to  act  promptly  upon  the  disease. 
Hahnemann  and  his  disciples  believed  accordingly 
that  the  medicinal  power  of  a  drug  is  not  only 
developed,  but  is  rendered  more  intense  by  their 
peculiar  mode  of  preparing  the  attenuations.  The 
more  complete  the  attenuation,  the  more  potent  and 
certain,  they  taught,  the  remedial  energy  will  become. 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.        32I 

In  order  then  to  bring  his  system  of  practice  to 
higher  perfection,  Hahnemann  inculcated  the  specific 
mode  of  administering  medicines  and  directed  the 
giving  of  a  single  remedy  at  a  time  for  a  definite 
result.  "  In  no  instance  is  it  requisite,"  said  he,  "  to 
employ  more  than  one  simple  remedy  at  a  time  for  a 
definite  result."  Not  only  did  he  denounce  the  poly- 
pharmacy which  was  in  vogue,  the  employing  of  for- 
mulas including  a  prodigious  number  of  ingredients 
in  a  mixture,  but  he  disapproved  even  of  the  combin- 
ing of  a  small  number  of  remedies  in  a  prescription. 
"  In  no  instance  is  it  requisite,"  said  he,  "  to  employ 
more  than  one  simple  medicine  at  a  time."  Hence 
the  strict  Homoeopathic  physician  never  adds  two  or 
more  medicines  together,  although  he  may  administer 
remedies  in  alternation  at  suitable  intervals. 

FURTHER    REFINEMENTS    OF    HOMCEOPATHIC    DOCTRINE. 

Disciples  of  Hahnemann  appear  to  have  carried  the 
spiritualism  of  his  teachings  even  beyond  the  master 
himself.  Several  of  them  inculcated  that  the  smelling 
of  medicines  is  often  sufficient.  Professor  Joseph 
Rodes  Buchanan  discovered  S5^mptoms  and  results 
actually  produced  by  the  holding  of  medicinal  sub- 
stances in  the  hand  carefully  shielded  from  any  direct 
physical  contact.  M.  Granier,  of  Nimes,  explains  the 
matter  as  follows  : 

"  Medicines  are  fluidic  powers ;  they  are  living 
things  {etres)  that  man  may  create  at  his  will.  I  wish 
I  could  say  that  they  are  occult  powers,  forming  the 
chain  between  the  world  and  the  tomb.  I  am  con- 
vinced in  my  own  mind,  however,  that  our  faculty 
of  observation,  placed  on  the  confines  oi  fiuidic  dynam- 
ism, might  cast  its  scrutinizing  glances  into  the  tin- 
seen  world. 


322  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

It  is  more  than  probable,  nevertheless,  that  Hahne- 
mann did  himself  entertain  similar  conceptions.  This 
seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  facility  with  which  his 
utterances  have  been  adopted  into  different  forms  of 
belief  which  have  appeared  in  later  years.  Dr. 
J.  J.  Garth  Wilkinson,  of  London,  himself  a  receiver 
of  the  "Heavenly  Doctrine  "  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg, 
and  familiar  with  the  magic  and  psychal  phenomena 
of  modern  spirtualism,  declares  that  "  the  practical 
blessings  of  the  new  medicine  are  dependent  chiefly 
upon  the  Science  of  Correspondences,  which,  bringing 
poison  and  medicine  together  with  a  complete  fitness, 
poisons  the  disease  and  kills  it  ;  and  secondly,  upon 
the  smallness  of  the  dose — or  we  would  rather  say — 
the  use  of  the  spirit  and  not  the  body  of  the  drug." 
Given  in  this  way,  he  adds,  they  are  more  like  spirits 
than  material  bodies. 

SCHOOL    OF    SPECIFIC    MEDICINE. 

About  the  year  1820,  the  medical  world  was  agitated 
by  a  general  movement  for  a  higher  scientific  advance- 
ment, and  for  greater  breadth  and  freedom  of  indi- 
vidual judgment.  The  cocoons  were  quick  with  a  new 
life,  and  the  tenants  became  impatient  of  swaddling- 
bands.  Conservatism  had  ruled  with  an  iron  hand, 
but  it  must  give  way  and  forbear  to  check  enquiry 
when  the  time  for  the  new  birth  is  fulfilled. 

The  influences  which  were  active  to  produce  dis- 
integration in  the  various  elaborate  dogmatic  sys- 
tems, were  exhibited  in  their  full  force  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Homoeopathic  school.  Perhaps  this  was  because 
it  was  the  latest,  and  therefore  less  contracted  and 
able  to  withstand  disrupting  influences.  As  early  as 
1820,  there  had  arisen  in  southern  Germany  a  spirit  of 


FORMER   YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.        323 

dissent  from  many  of  the  doctrines  promulgated  by 
Samuel  Hahnemann.  Eminent  physicians  had  given 
his  theories  a  cordial  welcome,  but  felt  conscious  at  the 
same  time  that  the  system  was  still  immature,  and 
required  further  development.  For  a  time,  however, 
they  refrained  from  any  open  questioning.  In  re- 
ligious bodies  there  has  been  a  disposition  to  regard 
any  differing  from  the  standards  as  virtual  apostasy, 
and  individuals  offending  in  that  way  were  exposed 
to  the  treatment  of  renegades.  It  has  been  the  same 
in  the  various  medical  circles.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
not  practicable  to  suppress  honest  conviction  by  the 
despotic  pressure  of  any  consensus  of  leading  opinion. 
Majorities  are  not  the  arbiters  to  determine  what  is 
true,  and  new  wine  cannot  long  be  compressed  into  old 
vessels.  It  was  perfectly  natural,  therefore,  and 
indeed  inevitable  that  men  in  the  Homoeopathic 
ranks  who  had  already  foregone  professional  stand- 
ing and  emolument  for  the  sake  of  what  they 
regarded  as  a  higher  truth,  should  be  desirous  to 
eliminate  from  the  new  doctrine  any  crudeness,  or 
vestige  of  error  that  might  still  inhere.  Accordingly, 
as  early  as  1824,  Doctor  Gottlieb  Ludwig  Rau,  of 
Hesse,  published  a  treatise*  with  the  purpose  to  im- 
press upon  his  fellow  Homoeopathists  the  importance 
of  possessing  more  thorough  scientific  and  technical 
knowledge.  He  disputed  the  authority  of  any  umpire 
to  determine  what  should  be  received  as  true  doctrine, 
and  expressed  distrust  of  the  metaphysic  which 
underlies  the  leading  doctrines  of  Hahnemann. 
"Others  have  felt  the  necessity  like  myself,"  he 
declared  ;  "  they  have  proclaimed  it  without  fearing 


*  Ueber  den    Werth  des  Honibopathischen  Heih<er/ahrens  —  The  Value  of  the 
Homoeopathic  Practice  of  Medicine. 


324  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  reproaches  of  those  who  delight  in  servile  obedi- 
ence, and  have  made  every  endeavor  to  discover 
errors,  to  procure  the  rejection  of  inadmissible  hypo- 
theses, to  submit  dubious  assertions  to  a  severe  criti- 
cism, and  above  all,  to  develop  the  New  Doctrine." 

To  sciolists  and  practitioners  without  thorough 
education,  such  a  proposition  is  never  acceptable.  Able 
men  of  the  Homoeopathic  school  welcomed  the  publi- 
cation as  auspicious  of  a  more  gratifying  condition  of 
affairs.  While  retaining  their  regard  for  Hahnemann 
they  were  reluctant  to  accept  his  notions  in  regard  to 
medical  study,  and  failed  to  appreciate  the  refined 
and  philosophic  theories  which  he  propounded.  They 
acknowledged  the  value  of  medical  systems  to  guide 
in  practice,  measuring  their  correctness  from  the 
application  of  their  principles.  "  Medicine  cannot  be 
studied  like  a  mechanical  trade,"  Rau  declared  ;  "in 
every  school  of  practice  the  physician  must  possess 
the  necessary  preliminary  knowledge." 

These  utterances  presently  met  with  a  hearty  re- 
sponse all  over  Germany.  A  journal  was  established 
in  1836  to  explain  and  defend  them,  and  not  long 
afterward  a  medical  congress  was  held  at  Magdeburg, 
at  which  the  exceptionable  doctrines  of  Hahnemann 
were  formally  repudiated  and  a  platform  was  adopted 
which  affirmed  the  theory  of  Specific  Medicine. 

It  was  necessary  that  a  text-book  should  be  pre- 
pared to  set  forth  dogmatically  the  principles  of  the 
new  movement.  To  meet  this  want.  Dr.  Rau  issued 
his  celebrated  work,  the  Organon  of  Specific  Medication,^ 

*  Organon  der  spectfischen  Heilkunst.  von  Dr.  Gottlieb  Ludwig  Rau, 
Grossherzoglich  Hessischen  Hofrathe  und  Physicus  zu  Giessen  mehrerer  gehlerter 
Gesellschaften  Mitgliede.  Non  qua  itur,  sed  qua  eundon  est.  Leipzig. 
Verlag  von  Ludwig  Schuman.     1838.     Pp.  392. 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.        325 

in  which  he  sets  forth  fully  his  position.     In  his  pre- 
face he  defines  his  sentiments  and  motives  : 

"  Neither  attachment  to  a  system,  nor  party  spirit, 
but  an  ardent  and  profound  conviction  of  the  superior 
importance  of  the  Specific  Art  of  Healing  \Heilmethode\ 
has  inspired  me  for  seventeen  years  to  active  effort 
for  its  promulgation.  When,  after  a  practice  of 
twenty-two  years,  I  became  acquainted  with  its 
principles,  which  had  been  but  imperfectly  developed 
at  that  time,  I  was  led  to  believe  that  it  would 
presently  emerge  from  its  isolated  condition  as  an 
empiricism,  and  take  an  exalted  rank  by  the  side  of 
the  other  schools  of  medicine. 

"  Even  the  sentiment  of  gratitude  to  Samuel 
Hahnemann,  the  founder  of  this  doctrine,  could  not 
prevent  me  from  being  conscious  of  its  imperfections. 
Indeed,  it  was  because  I  fully  appreciated  the  superior 
importance  of  the  Specific  Principle  of  Healing 
\_Heilprinceps\,  that  I  regarded  it  as  a  sacred  duty  for 
me  to  devote  my  energies  to  this  branch  of  knowledge. 
For  this  reason  there  was  nothing  in  the  world  suffi- 
cient to  hold  me  back  from  following  this  conviction — 
neither  the  contempt  which  brainless  partisans  openly 
express  for  every  aspiration  for  higher  attainment 
in  science,  nor  the  coarse  language  which  the  blind 
champions  of  the  old  dogmatism  saw  fit  to  employ  in 
their  unscrupulous  attempts  of  later  years  to  destroy 
the  young  school,  nor  the  propensity  which  has  been 
carried  out  by  certain  authors,  and  especially  by 
several  contributors  to  medical  journals  to  call  its 
adherents  by  nicknames,  the  mere  repeating  of  which 
would  be  an  insult  to  every  sense  of  decency. 

"In  asserting  the  right  to  express  my  judgment  in 
regard  to  the  matter  under  consideration,  I  believe 
that  I  am  abundantly  justified  by  the  purpose  which  I 
have  already  declared  to  make  use  of  all  laudable 
means  to  extend  our  knowledge  so  as  to  avoid  becom- 
ing one-sided.  In  the  course  of  study  which  1  had 
marked  out  for  myself,  other  men  of  eminence  and 
superior  learning  have  gone  beyond  me,  and  others 


326  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

have  taken  their  place  at  my  side.  I  had  hoped,  there- 
fore, that  a  fellow-worker  of  greater  experience  and 
erudition  would  take  up  the  subject  from  the  foun- 
dation and  construct  a  system  of  Therapeutics.  This 
expectation,  however,  has  not  been  fulfilled.  The 
want  of  such  a  structure,  complete  in  its  several  parts, 
has  been  keenly  felt,  and  I  considered  it  high  time  to 
bring  out  a  work  of  this  character  in  order  to  enforce 
on  the  young  practitioner  the  reasons  for  thoroughly 
studying  the  system  in  all  its  essential  principles,  as 
well  as  to  show  adversaries  of  Specific  Medication 
[Het'/kunst]  the  superiority  of  principles  firmly  estab- 
lished to  those  which  are  founded  upon  scientific  con- 
jecture, and  so  to  furnish  to  an  extent,  a  summary  of 
what  has  been  lacking  heretofore  to  make  this  doc- 
trine complete.  For  this  purpose  this  book  has  been 
written. 

"  When  therefore,  I  follow  the  example  of  Hahne- 
mann and  select  the  title  Organon,  let  no  one  charge 
me  with  presuming  to  believe  that  I  was  bringing  to 
perfection  a  doctrine  which  is  still  capable  of  greater 
development.  Instead  of  that  I  must  expect, — indeed 
I  earnestly  desire  and  hope,  that  through  a  more 
liberal  expanding  of  the  human  mind  and  further  ex- 
perience, much  of  what  we  have  so  far  learned  will 
present  a  different  appearance.  But  I  am  likewise 
certain  that  intelligent  investigation  will  establish 
the  conviction  that  what  has,  after  years  of  long  and 
careful  testing,  been  recognized  as  true  and  right,  must 
supersede  what  is  known  only  as  the  belief  of  a  single 
individual.  So  long  as  Truth  is  the  common  property 
of  all  mankind,  it  may  not  be  assumed  that  any  one 
person  holds  it  as  his  exclusive  possession  ;  and  there- 
fore, what  any  one  sincerely  believes  to  be  true  it  is 
the  most  sacred  duty  of  his  life  to  proclaim." 

With  such  convictions,  taking  a  broader  conception 
of  his  calling,  and  refusing  to  be  circumscribed  and 
limited,  even  by  the  authority  of  a  teacher  whom  he 
highly  revered,  Rau  boldly  entered  the  field  with  the 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.        327 

new  form  of  doctrine.  He  had  given  due  credit  to 
those  who  had  preceded  him,  and  he  was  frank  to 
acknowledge  the  probability  that  we  would  never 
arrive  at  a  solution  of  the  problems  of  nature  which 
would  be  perfectly  satisfactory.  He  criticised  the 
theories  then  in  vogue  as  being  views  of  fact  from 
only  one  side.  "When  we  consider  the  narrow  limits 
of  our  physiological  knowledge,"  says  he,  "we  shall 
not  be  astonished  at  the  obscurity  of  pathology  ;  and 
thus  at  once  will  be  made  manifest  the  vagueness  and 
uncertainty  of  our  therapeutic  postulates.  True,  this 
uncertainty  is  denied  by  a  great  number  of  physicians 
— particularly,  by  those  narrow-minded  practitioners, 
who  accord  unlimited  faith  to  the  text-books  and  to 
the  lectures  of  their  teachers  ;  or,  perhaps,  by  those 
who  have  too  high  an  opinion  of  their  own  wisdom  to 
admit  that  the  splendor  of  the  Medical  Art  is  darkened 
by  extensive  spots.  On  the  other  hand,  however, 
many  distinguished  practitioners  and  celebrated 
writers  have  complained  of  the  imperfections  of  our 
knowledge,  and  have  shown  that  those  who  know  the 
most  feel  them  most  keenly." 

Rau  deprecated  the  trend  of  pathology  to  gross 
materialism,  "  There  are  pathologists,"  he  remarked, 
"  who  are  at  the  point  of  overlooking  the  existence  of 
a  vital  activity,  and  who  reject  almost  everything 
which  they  do  not  either  see  or  hear.  The  stetho- 
scope, pleximetre  and  microscope,  are  their  surest 
means  of  diagnosis  ;  and  there  are  physicians  now-a- 
days  who  know  more  about  the  movements  and  cover- 
ings of  the  blood-disks,  than  about  the  mode  in  which 
morbid  conditions  develop  themselves." 

He  also  refers  pointedly  to  the  violent  adversaries 
of  the  Specific  mode   of  treatment,   and    shows  that 


328  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

they  differ  in  opinion  among  themselves  on  about 
every  important  subject.  Finally  he  declares  that 
although  we  possess  a  large  number  of  excellent  de- 
scriptions of  disease,  all  our  knowledge  in  regard  to 
the  causes  of  disease  is  scarcely  anything  but  specu- 
lative, and  a  tissue  of  contradictions. 

With  equal  plainness,  he  reprehended  the  half- 
instructed  disciples  of  Hahnemann.  They  were  not 
able,  he  declared,  to  appreciate  what  had  been  done  to 
render  their  school  more  stable  and  scientific,  but 
ridiculed  every  such  endeavor  with  a  vehemence 
deserving  of  severe  censure.  He  likewise  rebuked 
the  presumption  with  which  they,  after  having  made 
one  or  two  lucky  cures,  were  so  apt  to  consider  them- 
selves perfectly  capable  of  treating  any  disease  suc- 
cessfully. Even  Homoeopathy  itself,  as  promulgated, 
he  believed  to  fall  short  of  the  mark.  "  The  New 
Doctrine,  as  it  has  been  set  forth  by  Hahnemann,  and 
received  as  sacred  by  a  great  number  of  his  disciples, 
does  not,  in  our  opinion,  satisfy  a  just  and  impartial 
criticism." 

The  attempt  to  combine  Homoeopathy  with  the 
other  system,  Rau  declared,  was  certain  to  prove 
fruitless.  The  therapeutic  principles  of  the  Old 
School  are  contrary  to  those  of  the  New  School.  The 
antipathic  or  exanthiopathic  method  has  proved  inade- 
quate ;  the  revulsive  method  has  merit,  but  is  carried 
too  far  ;  the  specific  method,  developed  by  Hahnemann, 
is  more  certain  and  effective.  Dr.  Rau,  accepting  his 
doctrine  of  healing,  nevertheless  criticises  absolute 
rejecting  of  what  has  been  learned  and  discovered 
before  him. 

"  All  that  Hahnemann  requires  is  a  careful  study 
of  the  external  phenomena  of  a  disease.     These,  in 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.     329 

his  opinion,  are  sufficient  to  enable  a  physician  to 
select  the  proper  remedy.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  a 
method,  which  embraces  only  the  external  phenomena, 
cannot  be  anything  else  than  symptomatic." 

Conscientious  believers  of  the  Specific  Method  had 
long  felt,  he  remarks,  that  Hahnemann's  treatment  was 
uncertain.  External  symptoms  are  not  the  only 
indications  of  what  is  required  for  a  cure.  They  con- 
stitute the  reflection  of  some  internal  dynamic  dis- 
order which  only  the  mind  can  apprehend,  but  which 
must  be  known  in  order  to  place  the  treatment  on  a 
safe  basis.  Rau  proposes  accordingly  to  perfect  the 
work  which  Hahnemann  began,  "  by  picking  out  the 
particles  of  truth  in  whatever  system  he  may  find 
them,  and  by  means  of  the  Specific  principle,  arrang- 
ing them  into  one  harmonious  whole." 

The  bold  attitude  which  he  assumed,  as  is  usually 
the  case  with  leaders  of  new  thought,  was  widely  dis- 
tinct from  that  of  other  Homoeopathists.  Indeed, 
there  were  few  ikons  that  he  professed  to  worship. 
His  ground  was  not  very  unlike  that  taken  by  Dr. 
Rush.  "  The  most  successful  and  the  most  celebrated 
practitioners,"  he  affirmed,  "  are  those  who  have  kept 
aloof  from  systems  and  have  been  eclectics." 

He  refused  to  accept  the  psora-theory  in  its  entirety, 
and  declared  that  the  classification  of  diseases  as 
acute  and  chronic,  was  of  very  little  use  in  practice. 
Yet  he  admits  that  the  psora-doctrine  had  had  consid- 
erable influence  in  the  development  of  the  dogma  of 
Specific  Medication,  and  had  led  to  the  discovery  of 
truth,  which  even  the  most  devoted  partisans  of 
Hahnemann  failed  to  perceive.  He  also  affirmed  that 
there  are  a  great  many  diseases,  the  inveterate  char- 
acter of  which  is  owing  to  a  disturbance  of  the  vital 


330  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

action  of  the  vegetative  system,  from  which  proceed 
the  abnormalities  which  are  generally  designated  by 
the  term  dyscrasia.  "  It  is  true,"  he  adds,  "  that 
syphilis,  sykosis  and  psora  occasion  many  disorders, 
and  that  diseases  \krankheiten\  which  are  occasioned 
by  a  contagium,  unless  radically  cured,  frequently 
leave  a  morbific  principle  with  organism,  which  mani- 
fests itself  in  different  forms.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
equally  true  that  diseases  greatly  resembling  one 
another,  and  exhibiting  the  known  forms  of  dys- 
crasia, frequently  arise  from  other  causes  that 
are  equally  obstinate,  without  originating  from  a 
contagion." 

His  theory  of  Life  and  its  Manifestations  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  his  doctrines,  and  should,  therefore, 
receive  careful  attention.  It  reminds  one  of  former 
philosophic  theorems. 

"  Individual  life  cannot  exist  when  contact  with  the 
outer  world  does  not  take  place,  through  which, 
according  to  the  principle  of  Twofold  Causation, 
activity  is  brought  into  existence.  For  life  itself  is 
not  the  energy ;  it  is  the  manifestation  in  active 
form,  and  the  entity  through  this  inner  force,  on 
account  of  which  reactions  against  the  universe 
\makrokosnios\  take  place.  *  *  *  The  reacting 
process  takes  place  in  the  organism,  and  is  an  abnor- 
mal condition  of  the  organism,  but  not  of  a  different 
life.  The  phenomena  which  characterize  the  process 
of  reaction  take  place  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  the 
organic  vitality.  If,  therefore,  disease  is  a  mere 
modification  of  the  reacting  process,  it  is  impossible 
for  the  organism  to  react  against  its  own  reaction." 

Again,  when  treating  of  the  effects  of  drugs,  he 
lays  down  the  postulate,  that  the  vital  process  is  neither 
mechanical,  nor  chemical,  nor  stoichometric,  nor  elec- 
tro-galvanic, but  is  a  higher  energy  which  a«vails  itself 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.     331 

of  these  subordinate  principles  in  the  performance  of 
its  functions. 

He  explains  reaction  as  identical  with  the  natural 
healing  energy  [natur  heilkraft\ — the  power  of  the 
living  organism  to  oppose  harmful  influences.  He 
distinguishes  between  reaction  and  counter -2iQ.X.\.0Ti. 
The  former  he  defines  as  an  energy  of  the  organism 
primarily  excited  by  the  influence  of  an  external 
agent ;  and  the  other  as  synonymous  with  "secondary 
action,"  and  contrary  to  primary  action.  Hahnemann 
regarded  the  latter  as  being  the  real  curative  action, 
whereas  physicians  of  other  schools  consider  botZ^ 
forms  to  be  curative. 

In  the  department  of  Therapeutics,  Dr.  Rau  exhib- 
ited a  like  proclivity  to  discrimination.  Disease,  he 
explained  as  being  a  vital  process,  which  manifests 
itself  to  our  senses  by  symptoms.  In  order  to  know 
these  correctly,  aetiology  and  anamnesis  are  indispen- 
sable ;  the  former  as  upholding  the  causes,  and  the 
latter  as  setting  forth  the  unhealthful  influences 
previously  existing,  which  opened  the  way  for  the 
disease.  There  are  always  two  agencies  cooperating 
in  the  production  of  disease  :  an  external,  which  is 
the  morbific  cause,  and  an  internal,  which  is  the 
organism  itself.  Rau  affirmed  the  doctrine  of  Syden- 
ham and  others — that  the  general  character  of  diseases 
at  any  given  period,  is  determined  by  the  prevalent 
sidereal,  telluric  and  meteorologic  influences.  The 
determining  influence  will  manifest  itself,  more  or 
less,  in  every  single  instance. 

Our  epidemics  generally  illustrate  this  fact.  The 
late  Dr.  John  M.  Scudder,  of  Cincinnati,  remarked  at 
a  meeting  of  the  Connecticut  Eclectic  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, in  1892,  that  he  had  observed  every  recurrence 


332  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

of  Asiatic  Cholera  in  this  country,  and  that  the  type 
on  each  occasion  differed  materially  from  the  others. 
The  medical  treatment,  which  in  one  epidemic  was 
most  successful,  was  in  the  others,  more  or  less,  a 
failure. 

The  statement  of  Hahnemann  in  regard  to  blood- 
letting, that  no  one  has  a  drop  of  blood  too  much,  and 
it  is  wrong  to  shed  it,  took  the  medical  world  by  sur- 
prise. When  he  made  it,  physicians  generally  had 
gone  mad  after  venesection.  Other  gifted  men,  of 
various  periods,  had  taught  the  same  sentiment. 
Chrysippos,  Eristratos  of  Alexandria,  and  Van  Hel- 
mont,  are  of  the  number.  Dr.  Rau,  however,  took  a 
different  view.  "  There  may  be  excessive  secretions," 
said  he,  "  of  mucus,  gastric  juice,  bile,  semen,  cerumen, 
sweat,  urine,  serum  ;  why  not  of  blood  ?  There  is  no 
physiological  reason  why  the  blood  should  be  an 
exception." 

Dr.  Rau  also  disagrees  with  Hahnemann  in  regard 
to  the  mingling  of  several  ingredients  in  a  prescrip- 
tion. He  cites  the  fact  that  mineral  waters  that  have 
wonderful  healing  virtues  are  compound  substances 
and  that  vegetable  remedies  themselves,  and  the 
salts,  are  in  no  sense  simple  elements.  Many  pharma- 
ceutic compounds  are  known  to  possess  therapic 
value,  and  several  have  become  standard  preparations 
in  the  pharmacopoeia.  Among  these  he  names  calomel 
and  opium,  ammonia  and  tartar  emetic,  nitre  and 
lauro-cerasus,  cinchona  and  tartaric  acid.  He  re- 
marks, however,  that  it  is  wrong  to  make  m.edicinal 
compounds,  as  we  sum  up  numbers,  and  to  suppose 
that  the  effect  of  all  the  substances  intermingled  con- 
tains the  effect  of  each  in  its  generic  form.  "  There 
is  no  doubt  whatever,"  he  declares,  "  that  compound 


FORMER  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  333 

prescriptions  may  be  used  with  advantage  in  some 
cases,  provided  that  we  have  previously  ascertained 
their  pathogenetic  effects  upon  the  healthy  organism." 

He  likewise  takes  exception  to  the  refinements  of 
Hahnemann  in  regard  to  dynamisation.  He  asserts, 
positively,  that  the  notion  that  the  medicinal  powers 
of  a  drug  are  developed  by  attenuation,  can  properly 
apply  only  to  the  earths  and  metals,  and  these  virtues 
are  completely  developed  in  the  first  clear,  transparent 
solution.  "  If  that  poiver  were  increased  by  the  attenuating 
process,  every  remedial  agent  would  be  converted  into  a  deadly 
poison." 

He  accepted  the  theory  that  the  dynamic  force  of  a 
drug  may  be  separated  from  its  material  substratum, 
and  transferred  to  the  attenuating  vehicle,  like  the 
electric  fluid  from  the  cylinder  to  the  conductor.  But 
he  objected  strenuously  to  the  use  of  the  term  spiritual 
in  connection  with  dynamised  medicinal  agents.  A 
spiritual  thing,  he  argued,  is  understood  to  be  some- 
thing not  material,  whereas  the  medicinal  agent,  even 
though  it  be  ever  so  minute  in  dimension,  is  still 
matter. 

Plausible  and  conclusive  as  this  reasoning  may 
seem,  we  opine  that  the  vision  of  the  master  has 
transcended  the  logical  faculty  of  the  other.  It  is 
significant,  that  the  division  of  sentiment  and  prac- 
tice in  the  ranks  of  Homoeopathy  had  its  inception  in 
this  very  matter. 

Rau  acknowledged  frankly,  that  all  our  knowledge 
of  pharmaco-dynamics  was  only  fragmentary.  There 
had  been  no  right  system  developed — no  systematic 
arrangement  of  specific  remedies,  with  an  explanation 
of  their  virtues.  Whether  such  a  classification  would 
be  possible  at  a  future  period,  he  did  not  attempt  to 


334  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

predict.  The  physician  must  disentangle  the  chaos 
of  symptoms,  separate  the  essential  and  constant 
effects  from  those  which  are  only  accidental,  and 
obtain  clear  perception  of  the  dynamic  action  of  the 
drug  which  he  proposes  to  employ.  "  Too  many,"  he 
affirms,  "too  many  think  themselves  competent  phy- 
sicians, whose  only  claims  rest  upon  the  possession  of 
a  medicine-case  and  a  Repertory  of  Specific  Medicines^ 

Dr.  Rau  employed  only  the  drugs  more  commonly 
in  use.  He  sought  not  to  add  new  remedies  to  the 
number,  but  to  unfold  their  specific  properties  and 
application.  He,  nevertheless,  sternly  deprecated  the 
violent  medicines  in  vogue  among  other  physicians. 

"  Nature,  the  great  Teacher,  shows  us  the  way  to 
cure  disease  without  the  use  of  cruel  and  dangerous 
drugs,"  he  declares.  The  remedy  should  be  chosen, 
he  insisted,  not  because  it  is  capable  of  producing 
symptoms  which  are  similar  to  those  of  the  disease, 
but  because  the  general  state  of  the  organism  arising 
from  the  action  of  the  drug  is  similar  to  the  general 
character  of  the  disease. 

The  efforts  of  Dr.  Rau  and  those  in  sympathy  with 
him  resulted  in  the  general  reception,  especially  in 
Southern  Germany,  of  the  tenet  of  Specific  Medicine 
differing  in  essential  particulars  from  the  teachings 
of  Hahnemann.  "  Under  the  leadership  of  such  men 
as  Rau,  Griesselich,  Trinks,"  says  Dr.  Charles  Hempel, 
"  they  organized  an  opposition  to  the  Master,  which 
has  completely  changed  the  aspect  of  the  Homoeo- 
pathic School  in  Germany." 

He  further  describes  them  that  they  had  the  courage 
and  the  talent  to  elevate  it  beyond  the  narrow  limits 
of  a  mere  science  of  sensual  symptoms  to  the  exalted 
rank  of  a  rational  and  queenly  Truth,  to  which  chem- 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      335 

istry,  anatomy,  pathology,  and  physiology  became 
subordinate  and  obedient,  but  indispensable  support- 
ers. They  denied  the  fundamental  dogma  that  the 
Homoeopathic  system  was  the  only  method  of  cure, 
and  even  declared  Hahnemann  himself  to  be  wrong 
in  applying  to  the  various  Old-School  systems  the 
collective  name  of  Allopathy. 

Rau  made  choice  of  the  designation  Specific  Medi- 
cation \^Specifischen  Heilkuntz\  because  he  thought  it 
likely  to  attract  more  disciples  and  give  less  offense. 
In  fact  the  difference  between  his  followers  and  the 
physicians  of  the  Old  School  consists  not  so  much  in 
the  means  and  medicines  used  as  in  the  rule  by  which 
they  are  employed.  It  became,  therefore,  the  prov- 
ince of  others  to  establish  a  reform  in  medicinal 
agents  as  well  as  in  the  prevalent  theories. 

The  new  doctrines  appear  to  have  had  a  marked  in- 
fluence upon  medical  sentiment  generally,  both  in 
Great  Britain  and  elsewhere.  There  had  been  an  in- 
creasing ferment  in  opinion  for  years,  bringing  new 
opinions  to  the  surface.  The  Botanic  and  Reformed 
Schools  of  medical  practice  sprung  up  in  the 
United  States,  and  their  distinctive  doctrines  met 
with  warm  sympathy  among  all  classes  in  Eng- 
land. A  Medico-Botanical  Society  was  formed  in 
London  and  continued  for  many  years,  having  for  its 
objects  an  improvement  in  medical  procedures  and 
ulteriorly  a  complete  reformation  in  the  practice  of 
medicine.  Members  of  the  nobility  and  of  the  more 
intelligent  classes,  were  identified  with  the  move- 
ment. The  Royal  Family  signified  an  unequivocal 
preference  for  physicians  whose  sentiments  were 
liberal.  Sir  James  Clark  was  appointed  in  1835  phy- 
sician to  the  Dutchess  of  Kent  and  the  Princess  Vic- 


336  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

toria  ;  and  upon  the  accession  of  the  latter  to  the 
British  throne,  she  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  list  of 
Royal  physicians,  despite  artful  endeavors  to  prevent. 
For  a  time  the  hope  was  confidently  cherished  that 
there  would  be  a  radical  change  in  medical  practice, 
and  a  union  of  enlightened  and  liberal  physicians  of 
various  shades  of  sentiment  upon  a  common  basis. 
The  British  and  Foreign  Medical  Review,  conducted  by  Dr. 
John  Forbes,  afterward  physician  to  the  Prince 
Consort  and  Royal  household,  supported  the  propo- 
sition. Dr.  Balfour,  of  Edinburgh,  visited  Dr.  Fleish- 
man's Homoeopathic  Hospital  at  Vienna,  in  1846,  and 
gave  his  observations  in  a  letter  which  was  published 
in  the  Review.  He  testified  to  the  extraordinary  fre- 
quency of  recoveries  at  the  institution,  but  left  the 
question  open  whether  they  were  the  result  of  the 
treatment,  or  of  the  healing  energy  of  nature  unob- 
structed by  medication.  Dr.  Forbes  commented  at 
length  upon  the  subject,  declaring  that  the  case  had 
not  been  proved  for  Homoeopathy.  He  also  took 
occasion  to  reiterate  the  position  which  he  had  taken 
several  years  before,  upon  the  general  subject, 
namely  : 

"  I.  Nature  is  more  powerful  in  the  curing  of  disease 
than  has  been  commonly  supposed. 

"  2.  Prevailing  notions  in  regard  to  the  curative 
properties  of  medicines  should  be  re-investigated. 

"  3.  Nature  as  a  vis  medicatrix  has  more  to  do  with 
restorative  operations  than  has  been  generally  be- 
lieved ;  and 

"4.  The  Hygienic — the  Eclectic — the  Hippocratic — 
the  Rational  System  of  treating  disease  is  the  only 
one  that  can  be  justified  and  vindicated." 

Sir  Humphrey  Davy  has  justly  remarked  that  there 
are  much  greater  obstacles  in  the  overcoming  of  old 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      337 

errors  than  in  the  discovery  of  new  truths.  It  was 
nut  practicable  to  unite  the  different  schools,  of  medi- 
cine, or  even  to  continue  the  movement  for  a  better 
and  more  enlightened  practice.  The  disciples  of 
Cullen,  Brown,  and  Broussais,  and  the  favored  class 
of  Continental  physicians  were  not  willing  to  harmon- 
ize together  with  those  who  did  not  subscribe  to  their 
dogmas.  The  jealousies  and  antipathies  of  the  latter 
also  were  too  active,  strengthened  as  they  had  been  in 
many  instances  by  the  remembrance  of  willful  injury, 
persecution  and  misrepresentation.  Dr.  Forbes  was 
obliged  to  suspend  the  publication  of  the  Revieiv,  and 
the  endeavor  to  establish  a  School  of  Liberal  Medicine 
was  abandoned. 

Meanwhile  the  radical  changes  which  had  been  in- 
troduced into  the  Homoeopathic  Practice  in  Germany 
were  extended  to  other  countries.  Dr.  Charles  J. 
Hempel  was  the  first  in  America  to  controvert  the 
peculiar  doctrines  of  Hahnemann.  Pie  published  a 
treatise  entitled  the  Organon  of  Specific  Homa-opathy,  in 
which  he  deliberately  charged  Hahnemann  with  hav- 
ing sought  to  foist  upon  the  medical  profession  a  sys- 
tem that  was  both  incomplete  and  partially  unsound. 
Adopting  to  a  great  degree  the  distinctive  sentiments 
of  Dr.  Rau,  he  set  forth  disease  as  being  not  merely  a 
juxtaposition  of  symptoms,  or  subjective  sensations, 
but  a  condition  of  the  organism,  a  disturbance 
of  normal  action — an  inferior  degree  of  health.  The 
intelligent  observer  is  aware,  he  adds,  that  the  phe- 
nomena of  disease  are  as  definite  and  logical  as  the 
phenomena  of  health,  and  that  the  physiological  func- 
tions serve  as  a  basis  to  pathologic  facts  and  symp- 
toms. It  would  therefore  be  impossible  for  a  phy- 
sician to  trace  the  phenomena  of  disease  to  their  point 


338  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

of  beginning — where  the  organism  first  became  in- 
vaded by  the  morbific  principle,  unless  he  possesses 
the  most  accurate  knowledge  of  physiology  and 
pathology.  Without  such  knowledge,  the  art  of 
healing  would  remain  hereafter  the  same  as  it  has 
been  in  a  great  measure  heretofore,  a  system  of  specu- 
lative theories  and  hypothetic  assumptions. 

A  drug,  in  order  to  acquire  the  character  of  a 
remedy  in  a  given  case  of  illness.  Dr.  Hempel  incul- 
cates, must  invade  the  organism  by  the  same  door,  so 
to  speak,  as  the  morbific  principle.  The  similarity, 
which  is  the  essence  of  the  Homoeopathic  dogma,  should 
not  pertain  merely  to  the  outward  resemblance  of  the 
drug-symptoms  to  the  symptoms  of  the  disease.  It 
must  go  deeper  and  apply  to  the  drug-disease  reflected 
by  its  pathogenic  symptoms  and  likewise  to  the  mor- 
bid conditions  or  pathologic  state  of  the  organism. 
He  concludes  accordingly  with  this  important  decla- 
ration : 

"The  formula  should,  therefore,  imply  a  perfect 
CORRESPONDENCE  bctweeu  the  drug-disease  and  the 
natural  pathological  disturbance  ;  and  in  order  to 
leave  no  doubt  that  this  compound  similarity  or  per- 
fect correspondence  is  the  import  of  the  formula, 
a  more  adequate  expression  thereof  would  be  : 
correspondentia  correspondentibus  curantur." 

This  proposition,  it  will  be  observed,  is  in  accord,  if 
it  does  not  denote  an  actual  accepting  of  the  doctrine 
of  Emanuel  Swedenborg,  that  there  exists  a  corre- 
spondence between  all  things  spiritual  or  psychic,  and 
all  things  physical.  Indeed,  there  has  always  been  a 
strong  partiality  of  members  of  the  "New  Church" 
for  this  "  New  Practice  "  of  medicine.  "All  things 
which  bring  harm  to  man  are  called  uses"  says  Sweden- 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      339 

borg  ;  "  but  evil  uses, — because  they  are  of  use  to  the 
evil  for  doing  evil,  and  they  conduce  to  absorb  malig- 
nites — thus  also  to  cures."  The  "  Homoeopathic  law," 
set  forth  by  Hahnemann,  is  not  accepted,  how- 
ever, by  all  New-churchmen.  "An  artificial  disease 
is  not  induced,"  says  Mr.  W.  E.  Payne,  in  the  New 
Church  Repository,  "but  the  operation  is  a  commin- 
gling of  like  spheres  beyond  the  influence  of  the 
law  of  elective  affinity,  and  consequently  a  removal 
of  all  opposing  spheres  beyond  the  circuit  of  the 
action  of  each." 

Dr.  Sharp,  of  Rugby,  England,  reiterates  the  senti- 
ment of  Dr.  Hempel,  namely  :  That  the  doctrine  of 
similars  should  not  have  regard  to  the  symptoms 
merely,  but  likewise  to  the  pathology  of  the  case  ; 
also,  that  the  drug  used  should  be  one  that  shall 
affect  the  very  organism  that  is  disordered.  He  fur- 
ther declared  that  Homoeopathy  cannot  become  a 
science  till  it  shall  be  founded  upon  what  he  calls 
Organopathy\  or  upon  a  more  careful  consideration  of 
the  seat  of  the  disease,  than  Hahnemann  has  incul- 
cated. 

Dr.  Kidd,  of  London,  goes  so  far  as  to  deny  the  ab- 
soluteness of  the  fundamental  dogma  of  the  Homoeo- 
pathic School.  He  taught  that  there  were  two  laws 
of  cure,  both  that  of  similarity  and  that  of  contraries. 
In  his  treatise  on  the  Laws  of  Therapeutics,  he  adheres 
to  the  concept  of  the  relation  between  the  action  of 
medicines  upon  the  healthy  and  their  curative  idea 
in  sickness  ;  but  he  insists  that  in  most  cases  that  this 
relation  is  either  of  similarity  or  of  contrariety.  He 
then  deduces  the  following  principles  : 

"  Looking  to  the  observation  of  facts  apart  from 
theoretic  speculations,    two  prijjiary  laws  of  therapeutics 


340  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

unfold  themselves.  These  two  laws  of  therapeutics 
may  well  be  called  Galen's  Law  founded  upon  the  rule 
of  contraria  contrariis,  and  Hahnemann's,  or  the  Hotnao- 
pathic  Law  founded  upon  the  relationship  of  similars." 

Dr.  George  Wyld,  of  London,  widely  known  as  a 
Homoeopathist,  carried  these  postulates  to  their  log- 
ical conclusion,  and  in  a  letter  to  the  Lancet,  in  1877, 
proposed  the  actual  disbanding  of  the  Homoeopathic 
School,  assigning  for  it  the  following  reasons  : 

"  I.  That  the  views  expressed  by  Hahnemann  are 
often  extravagant  and  incorrect. 

"  2.  That  Hippokrates  was  right  when  he  said  that 
some  diseases  are  best  treated  by  similars,  and  some 
by  contraries  ;  and  therefore  it  is  unwise  and  in- 
correct to  assume  the  title  of  Homxopathist. 

"  3.  That  although  many  believe  that  the  action  of 
the  infinitesimal  in  nature  can  be  demonstrated,  its 
use  in  Medicine  is  practically,  by  a  large  number  in 
this  country  [England],  all  but  abandoned," 

This  assertion  of  Doctor  Wyld  in  regard  to  the  pro- 
fessed Homoeopathists  of  Great  Britain,  is  likewise 
true  of  the  majority  of  the  Homoeopathists  in  America. 
There  are  those,  however,  who  still  adhere  to  the  high 
attenuations  of  medicaments,  and  to  the  dogma  that 
the  causes  of  disease  are  spiritual  or  dynamic.  But 
those  who  are  in  accord  with  the  refinements  and 
high  spirituality  of  the  doctrines  of  Samuel  Hahne- 
mann are  comparatively  few  ;  and  they  are  generally 
regarded  by  the  others  as  visionary,  and  even  as 
ultraists.  Unlike  their  leaders,  Rau  and  his  associates, 
the  latter  class  in  this  country  generally  adhere 
tenaciously  to  the  designation  of  Homoeopathist  and 
subscribe  formally  to  the  doctrine  of  similars.  In 
this  matter,  however,  they  are  no  more  inconsistent 


FORMER  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.   341 

than  is  common  in  other  circles.  Parties  in  politics 
are  seldom  correctly  defined  by  the  names  which 
they  bear.  It  is  almost  universally  the  case  that  sects 
and  schools  cease,  after  a  little  while,  to  adhere  strictly 
to  the  beliefs  which  first  brought  them  into  existence. 
It  is  not  in  the  province  of  this  work  to  handle  the 
problems  which  are  thus  presented.  That  medicines 
do  not  always  act  alike  with  individuals  of  different 
temperament,  has  been  often  observed.  They  some- 
times aggravate  as  well  as  ameliorate  a  morbid  con- 
dition. There  are  likewise  forms  of  disease  which  do 
not  correspond  to  the  effects  of  any  known  drug  in 
the  materia  medica.  We  are  at  a  loss  to  know  how 
aconite  has,  according  to  the  principle  of  similars, 
any  place  in  a  Homoeopathic  medicine-case.  As  a 
general  fact,  however,  modern  physicians  of  the 
Homoeopathic  school,  do  not  often  stickle  for  any 
rigid  adherence  to  their  theory,  but  take  the  plausible 
ground  that  their  first  obligation  is  to  the  patient  and 
their  duty  to  employ  the  best  means  at  hand  for  his 
benefit.  They  generally,  but  not  all  of  them,  adhere 
to  the  usage  of  administering  a  single  remedy  at  a 
time,  according  to  the  theory  of  Specific  Medication, 
but  they  frequently  give  doses  far  the  reverse  of 
infinitesimal.  Some  employ  by  preference  the  rem- 
edies and  therapeutic  measure  of  the  Eclectics,  lead- 
ing many  individuals  to  mistake  their  professional 
character  ;  while  others  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  Old 
School,  apparently  more  desirous  to  receive  some 
formal  recognition  from  Allopathists  than  to  endure 
social  ostracism  and  political  proscription  for  the  sake 
of  principle.  Hempel  asserted  that  modern  Homoe- 
opathy is  not  at  all  like  the  old-fashioned  Hahnemann- 
ism,  and  its  advocates  declare  that  its  procedures  are 


342  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

more  curative  and  beneficial.  This  may  be  true ; 
certainly  it  is  difficult  for  a  physician  to  accomplish 
much  good  with  a  mode  of  treatment  when  he  does  not 
enter  into  the  spirit  of  it,  or  believe  in  its  utility. 

Hahnemann  seems  to  have  expected  that  the  general 
dissemination  of  Homoeopathic  doctrines  would  have 
the  effect  to  take  the  medical  art  out  of  the  hands 
of  a  professional  caste,  and  to  domesticate  it  in 
the  homes  of  the  community.  This  expectation  has 
not  been  realized.  An  advanced  civilization  tends 
necessarily  to  differentiation  of  opinions,  employ- 
ments and  professions.  The  ideal  of  a  progressive 
commonwealth  is  :  equal  opportunity  for  all  in  a  land 
of  equal  rights.  To  this  end  there  must  be  diversity 
of  occupations.  To  require  every  individual  to 
execute  all  the  callings,  to  be  his  own  physician,  tailor, 
shoemaker  and  tiller  of  the  soil,  would  be  a  progress 
toward  savagery ;  and  to  establish  a  single  school  of 
medicine,  inhibiting  and  suppressing  all  others,  is  to 
place  an  obstruction  in  the  way  of  an  ideal  civilization. 

HONIGBERGER    AND     THE    "MEDIUM    SYSTEM." 

The  French  Revolution  was  the  boundary  between 
the  former  and  later  Europe.  Under  its  influence, 
the  various  departments  of  scientific  investigation 
exhibited  new  energy.  Medical  study  received  a  new 
impulse,  which  was  presently  extended  to  the  field  of 
therapeutics.  The  favor  extended  to  Homoeopathy 
in  intelligent  circles  in  Europe,  and  the  various 
Reform  movements  in  America,  indicated  the  setting 
of  the  wind.  As  far  away  as  India  the  influence  was 
perceived,  and  a  new  system  was  developed,  which 
not  only  conferred   benefit  where  it  was  promulgated, 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      343 

but  provided  a  storehouse  from  which  European  and 
American  innovators  in  medicine  did  not  hesitate  to 
procure  material  for  their  own  work.  This  was  the 
Medium  System. 

Johann  Martin  Honigberger,  its  founder,  was  born 
at  Kronstadt,  in  Transylvania,  in  1795.  He  early- 
developed  scholarly  tastes,  becoming  first  a  skillful 
linguist,  and  afterward  graduating  in  medicine.  He 
then  set  out  to  seek  his  fortune.  "A  secret  impulse," 
says  he,  "  an  inward  voice,  urged  me  toward  the  East." 
He  left  home  in  the  spring  of  1815,  making  his  way 
slowly  through  the  Principalities,  and  reached  Con- 
stantinople in  December  of  the  next  year.  In  1817, 
he  continued  his  way  through  Asia  Minor,  obtaining 
little  patronage  in  his  profession,  but  suffering  from 
various  endemic  disorders.  Finally,  in  1819,  he  was 
able  to  visit  the  "  Holy  Places."  He  went  thence  into 
Egypt,  and  engaged  in  the  service  of  Mehemet  Ali, 
the  Viceroy.  The  plague  breaking  out,  soon  after- 
ward, he  resigned  and  made  a  hurried  departure  to 
Tripoli,  in  Syria. 

Small-pox  raged  here  in  the  epidemic  form,  cutting 
off  infant  and  adult  alike,  with  a  terrible  fatality 
Dr.  Honigberger  resorted  to  vaccination,  thus  intro- 
ducing the  art  into  Syria.  He  described  his  success 
as  very  great.  He  was,  however,  confounded  by  later 
experience.  "When  he  afterward  performed  the  oper- 
ation at  Lahore,  in  India,  his  vaccinated  patients 
contracted  small-pox  like  others.  He  imputed  this  to 
fault  in  the  virus.  "  At  that  time,"  he  remarks  in  his 
biography,  "  I  had  forgotten  having  read  somewhere 
that  vaccine  matter  might  be  procured  by  inoculating 
a  cow  with  the  venomous  matter  taken  from  the  small- 
pox, and  that  the  venom  is  thus  turned  into  a  remedy." 


344  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

While  in  Syria,  Honigberger  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Sheikh  of  the  Druses,  at  Besherri,  and  observed  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  place  were  not  affected  by  vac- 
cination, and  that  none  of  them  took  the  small-pox. 

In  1823,  he  became  the  physician  to  Daoud  [David], 
the  Pasha  of  Baghdad.  Learning  at  a  subsequent 
period  that  several  French  officers  were  at  Lahore 
organizing  the  army  of  Runjeet  Singh,  the  chieftain 
of  the  Sikhs,  and  had  no  European  physician,  he 
resolved  to  go  thither.  He  set  out  accordingly,  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  Isfahan,  but  was  compelled  to 
return.  In  December,  1829,  he  undertook  the  journey 
with  better  success,  arriving  at  Lahore  the  following 
April.  He  entered  the  service  of  the  Maharaja,  and 
remained  for  four  years.  The  passion  for  home  then 
seized  upon  him,  and  he  obtained  leave  to  resign. 
Returning  by  way  of  Kabul,  Bokhara,  Karakum, 
Orenburg  and  Russia,  he  spent  a  season  at  Kronstadt, 
and  then  made  the  tour  of  the  Continent. 

Hahnemann,  worried  by  medical  persecution,  had 
made  his  residence  at  Paris.  Here  Honigberger  visited 
him,  and  was  delighted  at  his  reception.  "  The  open 
and  good-natured  Homoeopathist,"  he  says  in  his 
diary,  "  made  many  interesting  revelations  to  me 
respecting  his  New  Method  of  Healing."  Honigberger 
afterward  visited  Kothen,  and  obtained  from  Dr. 
Lehmann,  Hahnemann's  apothecary,  a  quantity  of  the 
genuine  Homoeopathic  medicines.  He  spent  the 
summer  of  1836  at  Vienna.  Here  he  was  attacked 
with  Asiatic  cholera.  He  treated  it  with  ipecacuanha 
prepared  by  Dr.  Lehmann,  and  recovered  in  six  hours. 
He  was  now  a  Homoeopathist. 

His  next  enterprise  was  to  introduce  the  New 
Method    into    Turkey.      The    plague   was   raging    at 


FORMER  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  345 

Constantinople,  and  every  house  that  was  regarded 
as  infected  was  closed.  Honigberger  made  his  way 
to  the  hospital  at  Pera,  and  without  any  special  per- 
mission, attended  the  patients  at  his  own  expense. 
He  employed  the  Homoeopathic  treatment,  and  with 
encouraging  success.  He  remained  at  the  Turkish 
capital  two  years,  and  had  an  extensive  practice. 

Word  now  came  to  him  that  Runjeet  Singh  desired 
him  to  return  to  Lahore.  He  set  out  accordingly,  in 
company  with  General  Ventura.  Upon  reaching 
Pali,  in  India,  he  was  attacked  with  the  plague  pecu- 
liar to  that  region,  and  treated  it  successfully  with 
Ignatia,  a  remedy  of  which  he  had  learned  in  Armenia. 
He  arrived  at  Lahore,  but  too  late  to  be  of  service  to 
his  former  patron.  Runjeet  Singh  was  very  ill.  The 
Homoeopathic  treatment  was  employed,  and  promised 
good  results  ;  but  a  consultation  of  native  physicians 
was  held.  These  were  Hakhims,*  pundits,f  and 
astrologists.  Of  course,  Honigberger  was  overruled. 
Another  mode  of  treatment  was  adopted,  and  the 
Maharaja  died  in  two  weeks. 

This  was  the  prince  in  whose  presence  the  sadt  or 
fakir,  Hari  Dhas,  by  voluntary  effort,  asphyxiated 
himself.  He  was  buried  in  a  grave  enclosed  by  a 
wall,  and  the  place  watched  by  a  guard.  Barley  was 
sown  over  the  spot  as  a  further  precaution.  At  the 
end  of  forty  days,  the  Maharaja,  General  Ventura  and 
several  Englishmen  witnessed  the  disinterment  and 
resuscitation.  Dr.  Honigberger  gives  this  account 
as  it  was  related  to  him  by  General  Ventura.  The 
same  fakir  underwent  this  experience  several  times, 


*  "  H^:'se  Men,"  the  title  given  by  Arabians  to  their  physicians. 
+  A.  pundit  is  a  learned  man  of  the  Brahman  caste. 


346  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

once  remaining  underground  four  months.  Can  it  be 
that  this  peculiar  faculty  is  a  relic  of  the  habit  of 
hibernation  possessed  by  human  beings  in  far-off 
ages? 

Dr.  Honigberger  remained  at  Lahore  till  1849, 
when  the  annexation  of  the  territory  of  the  Sikhs  to 
the  British  dominion  put  an  end  to  his  official  career. 
During  this  period  he  had  accumulated  an  invaluable 
amount  of  knowledge  in  natural  history,  archaeology, 
and  the  methods  of  treating  the  sick  in  vogue  in 
India.  He  observed  the  success  of  the  natives  in  the 
employment  of  mesmerism,  and  noted  the  perfect 
anaesthesia  produced  by  Dr.  Esdaile,  at  Calcutta, 
which  enabled  the  painless  performance  of  many 
capital  and  other  surgical  operations.  He  made  a 
large  collection  of  Kashmirian  plants,  which  were 
afterward  arranged  and  classified  by  European  botan- 
ists. His  distinction  as  a  savant  and  physician  was 
acknowledged  by  the  leading  scientific  journals.  He 
was  the  author  of  several  learned  treatises,  in  bothi 
English  and  German.  The  proceeds  of  their  sale,' 
which  amounted  to  a  considerable  sum,  he  devoted  to 
the  establishing  of  an  educational  school  in  his  native 
town. 

Such  was  this  man,  worthy  to  rank  among  the  bene- 
factors of  the  world.  Always  looking  for  opportunity 
to  be  of  service  in  cases  of  mortal  necessity,  broad  in 
sympathy,  yet  never  forgetful  of  his  own,  Johann 
Martin  Honigberger  should  not  be  left  unremembered. 

Our  chief  interest  in  him  on  the  present  occasion, 
however,  relates  to  the  peculiar  medical  system  which 
he  propounded.  For  twenty  years  he  had  followed 
his  profession  after  the  manner  in  which  he  had  been 
instructed.     He   then   adopted    Homoeopathy,    under 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      347 

circumstances  highly  favorable.  He  was  not  bigoted 
or  one-sided,  however  ;  he  used  to  say  that  a  rational 
physician  may  be  successful  by  both  systems.  Yet, 
while  abandoning  the  one,  and  finding  much  to 
approve  in  the  other,  he  could  not  accept  unquali- 
fiedly the  teachings  of  Hahnemann.  He  had  a  varied 
and  not  altogether  satisfactory  experience  in  the  New 
Method.  In  many  cases  the  most  minute  doses 
proved  efficacious,  but  in  other  instances  they  pro- 
duced no  benefit  whatever.  "  I  am  bound  to  confess," 
he  finally  declared,  "  that  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the 
results  which  I  obtained  from  Homoeopathy  were  not 
favorable  ;  I  felt  persuaded  that  larger  doses  would 
have  been  better." 

He  describes  the  two  systems,  "•  Alloeopathia  and 
Ho77i(jeopathia,''  as  two  opposite  poles,  and  condemns 
the  violent  and  heroic  methods  of  the  former,  with 
its  enormous  pills  and  powerful  mixtures,  alike  with 
the  feebleness  and  inertia  of  the  latter,  with  its  pyg- 
maean flasks  containing  Liliputian  pills  and  minute 
drops.  "  I  found,"  said  he,  "  that  the  enormous  doses 
generally  administered  by  the  Alloeopaths,  and  also 
the  iiifinitesimal  ones  used  by  the  Homoeopaths,  were, 
both  of  them,  far  less  beneficial  than  they  should  be. 
This  observation  induced  me  to  investigate  the  matter 
with  much  earnestness  ;  and  in  the  extensive  practice 
which  I  had  at  Lahore,  I  was  induced  to  adopt  the 
medium  bettueen  these  itvo  exireines.'" 

Then,  as  though  believing  a  propitious  fate  awaited 
his  peculiar  doctrines,  notwithstanding  their  apparent 
trimming,  he  adds  : 

"  I  knew  full  well  that  in  politics  the  juste  jnilieu 
does  not  enjoy  a  great  share  of  credit,  especially  since 
Louis  Philippe  has  lost  by  it  the  throne  of  France  ; 


348  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE.  • 

but  that  which  is  incongruous  and  inconsistent  in 
politics  may  be  otherwise  in  the  Empire  of  Science  ; 
and  the  numerous  successful  results,  which  I  have 
found  the  Medium  System  to  have  effected,  have 
tended  strongly  to  confirm  these  convictions." 

Honigberger  arraigns  the  heroic  or  "  Alloeopathic  " 
practitioners  for  their  violent  medication,  and  their 
unwillingness  to  investigate  or  adopt  improvements. 

"  It  would  be  much  better  when  such  medicines  are 
used  in  undiluted  doses  only,  to  desist  from  using 
them.  It  is  really  pitiable,  when  all  other  Arts  and 
Sciences  have  made  such  important  progress,  that 
Medicine  should  continue  stationary  ;  that  its  profes- 
sors, from  an  unwillingness  to  investigate  the  nature, 
virtue  or  proper  use  of  medicinal  substances,  should 
fancy  themselves  bound  to  condemn  simple  yet  effica- 
cious plants  to  oblivion,  as  things  which  Providence 
has  created  for  the  delight  of  our  eyes  only,  and  which 
are  sure  to  injure  us,  should  we  attempt  to  use  them. 
Where  are  the  Salvia,  the  Ruta,  Euphrasia,  Impera- 
toria  ?  As  for  the  deadly  poisons,  calomel  and  opium, 
these  glitter  as  fatally  brilliant  in  the  East  Indian 
medical  horizon  as  they  do  among  English  physicians." 

In  selecting  his  Materia  Medica,  Honigberger 
pleaded  earnestly  in  favor  of  procuring  remedies 
from  the  indigenous  plants  of  every  country.  This 
he  frankly  avowed  was  for  economical  reasons.  He 
accordingly  enriched  his  collection  by  many  medicinal 
plants  belonging  to  the  Flora  of  India.  Nevertheless, 
he  was  not  an  advocate  of  remedies  exclusively  from 
the  vegetable  kingdom.  He  experimented  with  ser- 
pent-poison and  other  animal  substances,  and  actually 
employed  metallic  rings,  some  of  silver  and  zinc,  and 
others  of  copper  and  zinc,  as  prophylactics  against 
cholera.    He  even  continued  the  practices  of  bleeding 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      349 

and  blistering,  which  he  had  learned  in  his  earlier 
years. 

He  enumerates  all  the  principal  mineral  remedies — 
mercury,  arsenic,  antimony,  lead,  copper,  zinc,  iron, 
silver,  and  their  compounds — and  tells  of  their  use  by 
native  Indian  practitioners.  He  employed  some,  if 
not  all  of  them,  himself ;  only,  however,  in  the  small 
doses  peculiar  to  the  Hahnemannian  practice.  The 
medicinal  properties  which  he  ascribes  to  many  of  the 
vegetable  remedies  differ  more  or  less  from  the 
descriptions  in  American  books,  especially  those  of 
the  Eclectic  School.  This  may  be  explained  in  a 
great  degree  by  the  fact  that  much  of  his  information, 
as  he  acknowledges,  was  derived  from  natives,  and  he 
was  liable  accordingly  to  many  mistakes.  It  is  also 
well  known  that  the  differences  of  soil  and  climate 
manifest  their  effects  by  modifying  the  essential 
properties  and  even  the  constituents  of  plants. 

In  regard  to  nostrums  Honigberger  affected  no  ex- 
clusiveness  or  ill  feeling.  He  embraced  them  in  his 
apostolic  eclecticism, —  to  "  prove  all  things  and  hold 
fast  that  which  is  good."  Accordingly  he  included 
Morrison's  and  Holloway's  pills,  and  Warburg's  fever 
drops  in  his  Materia  Medica,  and  administered  them 
in  small  doses. 

The  prominent  characteristic  features  of  the  Medium 
System,  it  will  be  perceived,  consisted  in  the  employ- 
ing of  specifics,  in  the  smallness  of  the  dosage,  and  in 
pleasant  medicines.  "  I  am  convinced,"  says  Honig- 
berger, "that  specifics  do  not  act  mechanically,  but 
physically,  being  in  connection  with  the  malady  as 
iron  with  the  magnet  ;  and  that  not  the  quantity,  but 
the  quality  of  the  remedy  produces  the  desired 
effect." 


350  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  specifics  which  he  commended  were  those  of 
which  he  had  himself  tested  the  efficacy.  He  mentions 
the  Homoeopathic  method  of  triturations  long  con- 
tinued, and  the  hypothesis  that  electricity  is  thereby 
evolved  and  its  properties  imparted  to  the  medicine. 
He  does  not  seem  to  credit  this  notion,  but  declares 
as  his  own  belief  that  fifteen  to  sixty  minutes  will  be 
sufficient  time  for  the  triturating  of  the  medicaments. 
He  insists,  however,  that  every  physician  ought  to  pre- 
pare the  remedies  which  he  prescribes.  Apothecaries, 
he  remarks,  are  often  ignorant,  and  apt  to  make  mis- 
takes, and  they  sometimes  have  a  practice  of  substi- 
tuting other  drugs  for  the  one  prescribed,  while  the 
physician  is  responsible  for  the  results. 

In  regard  to  minute  dosage,  Honigberger  defends 
it,  because  that  the  same  medicine  acts  very  differ- 
ently according  to  the  quantity  of  the  dose,  or  the 
interval  at  which  it  is  administered.  "Therefore," 
says  he,  "  since  we  are  aware  that  medicines  in  minute 
doses  possess  peculiar  properties  and  powers,  it  is  our 
bounden  duty  to  make  ourselves  acquainted  with  this 
mode  of  using  them,  and  it  is  imperative  for  us  to  fore- 
go such  notions  and  principles,  hereditary  or  acquired, 
as  are  founded  on  prejudice.  Minute  doses  alone  can 
produce  medicinal  action.  Properly  employed,  they  oper- 
ate beneficially,  because  their  action  is  confined  to 
that  part  of  the  body  which  is  the  seat  of  disease, 
while  the  remainder  of  the  system  is  not  attacked  or 
weakened  ;  if  improperly  employed,  they  cannot,  from 
minuteness,  be  very  injurious." 

His  theory  of  their  operation  was  as  follows  : 
"  Small  particles  of  medicaments  dissolved  on  the 
tongue  by  the  saliva,  mix  with  the  chyle  on  entering 
the  stomach,  and  their  effect  is  then  conveyed  by  the 


FORMER    YEARS    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY.      351 

electric  or  magnetic  action  of  the  nerves,  to  the 
remote  parts  over  which  they  are  destined  specifically 
to  operate." 

Of  the  matter  of  pleasantness  in  the  administering 
of  medicines,  Honigberger  made  great  account.  "  Be- 
sides the  other  advantages  which  this  [Medium] 
System  possesses,"  says  he, ''  the  remedies  are  adminis- 
tered in  so  agreeable  form  that  they  may  be  taken 
without  the  consciousness  that  they  are  medicinal. 
This  is  worthy  of  attention,  as  it  removes  one  of  the 
many  difficulties  which  obstruct  the  way  of  the  phys- 
ician in  the  exercise  of  his  profession."  He  adds  this 
further  ingenious  reasoning  :  "  Nature,  in  placing  at 
our  disposal  such  vast  stores  of  medicinal  treasures, 
surely  never  conceived  the  revengeful  action  of  pun- 
ishing those  who  had  recourse  to  this  aid.  It  is  more 
consistent  with  reason  to  suppose  that  they  were 
benevolently  endowed  by  nature  with  their  peculiar 
flavor  to  warn  us  against  the  danger  of  using  them  too 
freely." 

He  accordingly  made  great  use  of  the  lozenge  or 
tablet  in  his  preparations.  Sometimes  he  coated  medi- 
cines with  sugar,  but  he  generally  chose  to  mingle  the 
remedy  and  sugar  through  the  entire  lozenge. 

Honigberger  fully  appreciated  the  obstacles  which 
his  innovations  must  encounter  from  those  who  were 
attached  to  the  older  methods,  and  likewise  the 
ingratitude  which  is  the  lot  of  public  benefactors.  To 
those  opposing  him  from  pecuniary  interest,  ignorance 
or  prejudice,  he  answered  with  no  argument  but 
silence.  Of  others,  however,  he  was  more  considerate, 
"It  cannot  be  expected,"  he  said,  "that  men  should 
abandon  their  lengthy  prescriptions  and  familiar 
methods,  to  study  new  ones  ;  or  that  they  should  be 


352  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

persuaded  that  minute  doses  could  produce  effects 
more  salutary  and  more  rapidly  than  larger  ones." 

He  put  forth  no  attempt  to  found  a  distinct  school 
or  party  in  medicine.  His  aim  was  to  make  his 
doctrines  and  discoveries  as  widely  beneficial  as  possi- 
ble, without  regard  to  his  own  fame  or  personal  ad- 
vantage. He  hoped  that  others  would  continue  his  ex- 
periments and  perfect  his  methods.  He  sought  in  his 
writings,  to  adapt  them  to  the  understanding  of  every 
man  and  make  them  suitable  for  the  use  of  families 
and  private  individuals,  as  well  as  physicians.  "  It 
often  happens,"  he  remarked,  "  that  he  who  has  but  a 
slight  knowledge  of  medicine,  and  understands  the 
peculiarities  of  his  own  constitution,  is  able  by  the 
timely  application  of  a  suitable  remedy,  entirely  to 
remove,  or  lessen  any  illness  with  which  he  may  be 
attacked." 

Having  duly  explained  his  methods  and  principles, 
Honigberger  submitted  them  to  the  public  attention. 
"  If,"  said  he,  "  my  work  meets  with  a  favorable  recep- 
tion and  is  considered  useful,  I  shall  feel  happy  in 
having  attained  my  most  ardent  wishes." 

In  this  spirit  he  added  his  discoveries  and  expe- 
rience to  the  stock  of  knowledge  already  possessed  by 
the  world,  placing  it  there  as  the  woman  in  the 
parable  hid  her  leaven  in  the  meal,  to  remain  unre- 
garded till  the  whole  mass  should  be  leavened. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 
THE   NINETEENTH    CENTURY. — CONTINUED. 


RADEMACHER,    THE    GERMAN    ECLECTIC. 

Another  luminary  in  the  medical  sky,  whom  we 
shall  regard  with  interest,  was  Johann  Gottfried 
Rademacher.  He  appears  to  have  had  the  career 
characteristic  of  a  sage,  having  been  carefully  kept 
in  the  background  and  left  unnoticed  while  living, 
but  finding  acceptance  for  his  doctrines  after  he  was 
dead.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Hufeland,  and  after  he  had 
graduated  in  medicine  he  entered  into  practice  in  the 
town  of  Goch,  in  Rhenish  Prussia,  in  1792.  For 
twenty-one  years  he  administered  remedies  and  cared 
for  his  patients  after  the  ways  which  he  had  been 
taught.  Presently,  however,  his  observations  and 
experience  convinced  him  that  the  current  methods, 
though  considered  as  scientific  and  regular,  were  not 
beneficial. 

Paracelsus  has  said  :  "  I  threw  myself  with  fervent 
enthusiasm  on  the  teachers  ;  but  when  I  saw  that 
little  resulted  from  their  practice  except  killing, 
death,  laming  and  distorting  ;  that  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  complaints  were  deemed  by  them  incurable, 
and  that  they  scarcely  ever  administered  anything  but 
syrups,    laxatives,    etc.,    with   everlasting    clysters,    I 


354  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

determined  to  abandon  such  a  miserable  art,  and  to 
seek  truth  by  some  other  way." 

Similar  to  this  was  the  course  pursued  by  Rade- 
macher.  Being  a  very  conscientious  man,  a  diligent 
observer  and  investigator,  with  a  philosophic  as  well 
as  scientific  temper,  he  engaged  in  earnest  search  for 
a  profounder  knowledge,  which  should  reveal  to  him 
better  procedures  and  assure  him  better  results.  He 
consulted  the  writers  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
quickly  perceived  the  meaning  of  their  arcane  ex- 
pressions, and  peculiar  jargon,  which  have  misled  so 
many  superficial  readers  and  reasoners  into  a  false 
understanding  of  the  doctrines  which  they  actually 
held  and  sought  in  this  way  to  promulgate. 

Rademacher  explains  the  motive  which  led  the 
alchemists  to  shroud  their  notions  in  an  obscure 
terminology  as  being  for  protection.  They  sought 
thereby  to  shield  themselves  from  persecution  and 
cruel  punishments  at  the  hands  of  the  Galenists, 
the  "  regular  "  physicians  of  the  time.  As  the  laws 
were  then  administered,  the  penalty  of  imprisonment, 
the  torture-chamber,  and  even  death  threatened  the 
practitioner  who  fell  under  their  displeasure. 

Rademacher  described  the  alchemists  as  original 
thinkers  and  investigators,  and  as  being  proficient  in 
natural  science  ;  while  the  others  were  little  else  than 
theorizers,  deriving  all  their  opinions  and  professional 
knowledge  from  those  who  had  been  taught  in  the 
same  way,  and  never  venturing  to  depart  from  the 
established  routine.  He  had  made  himself  familiar 
with  the  philosophic  and  more  advanced  views  of  the 
time.  He  had  studied  diligently  the  works  of  Para- 
celsus, Van  Helmont  and  Emanuel  Swedenborg  of 
whom  he  was  a  warm  admirer.     He  was  himself  a 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  355 

man  of  extensive  learning,  but  when  he  became  an 
author  he  followed  the  example  of  the  great  master, 
Von  Hohenheim,  and  instead  of  the  obscure  diction 
and  technical  language  so  often  employed,  wrote  in  the 
vernacular  of  the  common  people.*  This  brought 
down  upon  him  the  ire  of  many  of  his  learned  friends, 
and  induced  many  publishers  to  refuse  to  print  his 
books.  It  is  a  curious  whim  and  diverting  at  times, 
that  men  professing  the  love  of  learning  should  insist 
on  the  employing  of  a  terminology  which  the  common 
reader  or  hearer  cannot  readily  understand.  Acknow- 
ledging in  words  that  education  is  essential  to  the 
public  safety,  they  actually,  from  affectation,  or  a  more 
ignoble  motive,  seek  thus  to  obstruct  the  commu- 
nicating of  vital  and  important  knowledge.  They 
cannot  be  said  to  emulate  the  example  of  the  sun 
who  holds  his  seat  among  the  brightest  stars,  but 
grudges  not  to  bestow  his  light  and  warmth  upon  the 
humblest  one  that  lives  on  the  earth. 

In  1814,  Rademacher  began  his  reformed  practice. 
He  was  strictly  eclectic  in  his  methods  and  followed 
closely  upon  the  principles  laid  down  by  Von  Hohen- 
heim, adopting  what  was  proved  to  be  healthful  and 
discarding  every  baneful  agent.  His  medicines  were 
chiefly  from  the  vegetable  kingdom.  He  made  the 
significant  remark  in  his  Vindication,  a  work  published 
in  1848,  that  he  might,  perhaps,  resort  to  bloodletting 
in  organic  disease  of  the  liver  and  spleen,  or  even  to 
the  exhibition  of  mercurius  vivus  in  ileus,  but  never- 
theless, that  during  a  practice  of  twenty-five  years, 
from  1816  to  1841,  he  had  never  found  it  necessary. 
He  had  employed  a  simple  and  kindly  treatment  with 

"  Think  like  the  wise,  but  use  the  language  of  the  many."— Aristotle. 


356  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

his  patients,  and  succeeded  better  than  with  the 
former  methods. 

Among  the  medicines  which  he  employed,  were 
cream  of  tartar,  acetate  of  potassa,  sulphur,  Epsom 
salts,  and  various  preparations  of  zinc  and  lead.  He 
also  made  great  use  of  the  acetate  of  iron,  lauding  it 
warmly.  He  depended,  however,  very  largely  upon 
botanic  remedies,  and  obtained  with  them  the  best 
results. 

Unlike  most  of  the  luminaries  whose  works  have 
been  permitted  to  shed  light  upon  the  world,  Rade- 
macher  was  simply  a  practitioner  of  medicine  in  a 
town  of  modest  pretensions,  and  not  the  robed  pro- 
fessor of  a  metropolitan  university.  He  was,  doubt- 
less, more  accurate  and  certain  in  what  he  uttered, 
but  he  was  likewise  far  less  sure  of  a  favorable  intro- 
duction to  public  attention. 

In  1841,  he  completed  his  great  work,  and  entitled 
it :  A  Vindication  of  the  Art  of  Healing,  True  i?i  Principle 
and  Confirmed  by  Experience,  as  Taught  by  the  Old  Masters 
of  Medicine,  but  now  Generally  Misufiderstood  j  together 
with  a  True  statemcfit  of  its  Practical  Demonstration  in 
Twenty  five  Years  of  Clinic  Practice.*  In  it  he  vindi- 
cated the  medical  doctrines  of  Paracelsus  and  his 
successors,  and  added  his  own  contributions  which 
had  been  gathered  from  a  rich  mine  of  experience. 
Thus  he  forcibly  illustrated  the  inspired  remark  of 
D.  A.  Wasson  : 

"  An  Arabian  hospitality  as  well  to  the  suggestions 

* Rechtfertigeng der  von  den  Gelehrten  missbekannten  ver  siandesrechten  £rfakr- 
ung  sheilleher  der  scheidekunstigen  Geheimdrzie,  und  treue  Mitteheilung  des 
Ergebuisses  einer  2s-jdhrigen  Eprabung  dieser  Lehre  ant  Krankenbetie ;  zion 
JoHANN  Gottfried  Rademacher.  Berlin  :  1841,  Druck  und  Verlog  von  G. 
Reimer.    In  two  volumes. 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. — CONTINUED.  357 

of  ancient  tradition  as  to  the  adventure  of  modern 
thought,  belongs  to  genius  as  its  insuperable  trust." 

Rademacher  was  truly  a  man  who  dared  follow 
what  best  accorded  with  his  convictions.  He  wrought 
and  wrote  for  the  future.  He  had  none  of  that  bigotry 
of  progress,  which,  from  selfish  interest  or  a  fanatic 
devotion  to  that  which  may  be  about  to  prevail,  is 
ready  and  eager  to  belittle  all  that  has  been. 

His  writings  were  in  the  popular  style,  giving  to 
pedantic  schoolmen  their  pretext  for  decrying  his 
doctrines.  Rademacher,  however,  was  not  only  wise 
enough  for  a  great  effort,  but  wise  enough  for  a  great 
persistence.  He  whom  error  cannot  pervert  will  not 
be  harmed  by  it.  In  1846,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five, 
Rademacher  prepared  a  second  edition,  and  in  1848  a 
third  one  was  published.  "  And  the  common  people 
heard  him  gladly." 

If  often  seems,  when  new  thought  or  new  knowl- 
edge comes  to  the  world,  that  individuals  remote 
from  each  other,  and  perhaps  having  no  direct  com- 
munication, apprehend  it  at  the  same  time.  It  has 
been  so  with  scientific  discoveries.  When  Rademacher 
was  engaged  with  his  new  methods  and  weaving  them 
together  into  a  coherent  system,  a  kindred  movement, 
the  Reformed  Practice  of  Medicine  was  coming  into 
form  and  making  ready  to  take  rank  as  a  distinct 
school  in  America. 

THE    "  CHRONO-THERMAL    SYSTEM." 

In  1835  there  was  published  in  London  a  little 
treatise  bearing  the  following  significant  title  : 
Fallacy  of  the  Art  of  Physic  as  Taught  in  the  Schools.  It 
was  nothing  less  than  an  arraignment  of    the  prac- 


358  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

tice  of  bloodletting  and  heroic  medication,  which  had 
been  universal  among  physicians  in  Great  Britain, 
Europe  and  America.  It  also  propounded  a  new  and 
simpler  principle  for  the  administering  of  remedies, 
under  the  designation  of  the  Chrono- Thermal  System. 
The  author  was  Dr.  Samuel  Dickson,  a  native  of  Edin- 
burgh, then  residing  at  Cheltenham  and  actively- 
engaged  in  practice.  He  had  graduated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Glasgow,  and  served  for  many  years  as  a 
medical  officer  in  India.  He  gave  the  following 
account  of  his  position  : 

"  It  was  my  fate — I  can  scarcely  call  it  my  fortune — 
to  make  two  most  important  discoveries  in  medicine, 
namely  :  The  periodicity  of  movement  of  every  organ  and 
atom  of  all  living  tissues,  and  the  intermittency  and  unity 
of  all  diseases,  however  named  and  however  produced. 
To  these  I  added  a  third  :  the  Unity  of  Action  of  Cause 
and  Cure;  both  of  which  involve  change  of  temperature. 
Such  is  the  groundwork  of  the  Chrono- Thermal  System" 

Dr.  Dickson  gives  the  following  summary  of  the 
new  doctrine  : 

"  The  phenomena  of  perfect  health  consist  in  the 
regular  repetition  of  alternate  motions  or  events  ;  each, 
like  the  different  revolutions  of  the  wheels  of  a  watch, 
embracing  a  special  period  of  time. 

"  2.  Disease,  under  all  its  modifications,  is,  in  the  first 
place,  a  simple  exaggeration  or  diminution  of  the 
amount  of  the  same  motions  or  events,  and  being  uni- 
versally alternative  with  a  period  of  comparative  health, 
strictly  speaking,  resolves  itself  into  Fever — remittent 
or  intermittent,  chronic  or  acute  j  every  kind  of  structural 
disorganization,  from  tooth-decay  to  pulmonary  con- 
sumption, and  that  decomposition  of  the  knee-joint, 
familiarly  known  as  white-swelling,  being  merely 
'developments'  in  its  course — tooth-consumption, 
lung-consumption,  knee-consumption. 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  359 

"  3.  The  tendency  of  disorganization,  usually  de- 
nominated acute  or  inflammatory,  differs  from  the  chronic 
or  scrofulous,  in  the  mere  amount  of  motion  and  tem- 
perature :  the  former,  being  more  remarkably  char- 
acteristic of  excess  of  both,  consequently  exhibits  a 
more  rapid  progress  to  decomposition  or  cure  ;  while 
the  latter  approaches  its  respective  terminations  by 
more  subdued  and  therefore  less  obvious  alternations 
of  the  same  action  and  temperature." 

Dr.  Dickson  subscribed  heartily  to  the  maxim  of  Hip- 
pokrates:  ^^Omntufn  morborum  unus  et idem  est" — the  cause 
of  all  diseases  is  one  and  the  same.  With  a  theory  so 
simple  and  comprehensive  it  was  easy  to  sweep  into 
the  waste-basket  and  garbage-box,  the  whole  compli- 
cated, and  often  inconsistent  classification  of  diseases 
with  their  multifarious  names  and  distinctions,  as  friv- 
olous and  absurd. 

In  his  explanation  of  his  system  and  mode  of  prac- 
tice. Dr.  Dickson  considered  ague  or  intermittent 
fever  as  the  type  or  model  of  all  the  maladies  to 
which  man  is  liable.  The  other  forms,  such  as  remit- 
tent or  typhus  fever,  rheumatism,  pneumonia,  the 
exanthemata,  etc.,  he  regarded  as  varieties.  The  steps 
or  stages  are  analogous  in  all,  namely  :  Chills,  fever, 
and  cessation  of  the  attack,  which  last  is  comparative 
health.  Hence,  whatever  the  form  of  the  complaint, 
the  propriety  of  adopting  any  remedial  measure  has, 
in  every  case,  more  or  less  relation  to  time  and  tem- 
perature. Medicines  should  be  administered,  as  a 
general  thing,  during  the  cessation  of  the  attack,  with 
the  view  of  extending  this  condition  and  preventing, 
or  at  least  retarding,  a  new  occurring  of  the  violent 
symptoms  of  the  malady. 

Dr.  Dickson  denounced  bloodletting  with  the 
vehemence  of  Martin  Luther,  or  an  apostle  of  a  new 


360  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

crusade.  Few  are  the  diseases  he  affirmed,  which  the 
loss  of  blood  may  not  of  itself  produce.  "  The  symp- 
toms of  Asiatic  cholera  are  the  identical  symptoms  of 
a  person  bleeding  slowly  away  from  life."  Magendie 
mentioned  pneumonia  as  having  been  occasioned  by 
loss  of  blood,  and  all  know  that  the  functions  of  diges- 
tion and  respiration  are  impeded  by  the  same  cause. 
More  deaths  were  from  the  lancet  than  the  lance. 

He  also  deprecated  the  surgical  influence  that  pre- 
ponderates in  the  medical  schools,  and  quoted  the 
declaration  of  Shakspere  with  approval,  that  the  art 
of  operators  had  "  no  art  in  it."  He  added  his  own 
conviction  that,  "  if  physic  were  better  cultivated, 
there  could  be  little  need  for  such  an  opprobrium  in 
medicine  as  operative  mutilation." 

He  likewise  deplored  the  preference  of  English 
women  for  male  over  female  practitioners  of  midwifery. 
He  declared  that  it  enabled  persons  badly  educated  to 
worm  themselves  into  the  confidence  of  patients,  and 
by  arts  and  collusion,  to  monopolize  the  entire  prac- 
tice of  medicine.  More  children  perish,  he  affirmed, 
by  the  meddlesome  interference  of  the^e  persons,  than 
have  ever  been  saved  by  the  aid  of  their  instruments. 
He  quotes,  with  cordial  approval,  the  memorable  re- 
mark of  Sir  Anthony  Carlisle  :  "  The  birth  of  a  child 
is  a  natural  process,  and  not  a  surgical  operation." 

For  the  Homoeopathic  dogmas,  Dr. Dickson  exhibited 
little  patience.  To  the  assertion  of  Hahnemann,  that 
life  resembles  nothing  that  does  not  live,  he  replied 
that  the  phenomena  embraced  by  the  term  resemble 
every  thing  of  which  our  senses  can  take  cognizance. 
He  himself  defines  life  as  "  electricity  in  its  highest 
sense,  even  as  the  attraction  of  gravitation  is  electric- 
ity in   its   lowest   sense."     According   to   his  theory 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. — CONTINUED.  361 

medicines  exert  an  electric  influence  upon  the  organ- 
ism ;  but  he  remarks,  that  they  are  by  no  means  uni- 
form in  their  effects  upon  different  patients.  "  Like 
every  force  in  nature,"  he  declares,  "our  remedial 
powers  all  act  by  causing  attraction  or  repulsion,  and 
every  remedy  can  act  both  ways  in  different  individuals.  All 
remedial  agencies  have  the  power  of  producing  in- 
verse motion  ;  and  so,  in  this  way,  they  cure  or  alle- 
viate in  one  case,  while  \.\iQy  cause  or  aggravate  disease 
in  another." 

Hahnemann  further  sets  forth  the  manner  in  which 
we  may  know  beforehand  the  medicine  which  is  the 
surest  method  of  cure  in  each  given  case  of  disease. 
As  soon  as  we  have  under  our  eyes  the  table  of 
the  particular  morbid  symptoms  produced  on  a  healthy 
man,  it  only  remains  for  us  to  have  recourse  to  mere 
experiments.  These  alone  are  capable,  he  afhrms,  of 
determining  what  are  the  medical  symptoms,  the 
symptoms  produced  by  the  medicine  in  the  healthy 
subject,  which  always  arrest  and  cure  the  like  morbid 
symptoms  (diseases)  in  a  rapid  and  durable  manner. 

Dickson  declared  to  the  contrary,  that  if  Hahne- 
mann had  known  that  every  medicinal  power  being  a 
repulsive  force  in  one  individual,  and  an  attractive 
force  in  another,  may  act  inversely  in  any  two  cases 
of  the  same  disease,  he  would  never  have  written  this 
statement.  Dickson  then  adds,  that  if  there  be  a  truth 
more  sure  than  another  in  physic,  it  is  this  :  "  That 
until  we  have  absolutely  tried  a  medicinal  agent  in 
any  given  case,  we  can  not  possibly  tell  whether  it 
shall  be  a  remedy  or  an  aggravant  in  that  particular 
case.  Trial  and  experience  are  your  only  guides. 
This  much,  however,  you  may,  in  the  majority  of  cases 
of  any  given  disease,  point  out  :  That  such  agents  as 


362  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

have  generally  a  definite  power  for  good  or  evil,  over 
definite  parts  of  the  body,  are  the  class  from  which 
you  are  to  expect  the  most  benefit  in  a  disease  of  such 
parts  ;  but  which  of  them,  the  experience  of  that  case 
itself  can  only  tell  you. 

"  So  far,  the  art  of  physic  is,  and  ever  will,  I  fear, 
remain  imperfect." 

Having  thus  repudiated  what  he  denominates  "the 
exploded  doctrine  of  Specifics,"  or  remedies  which 
always  arrest  and  cure  certain  morbid  symptoms, 
Dickson  calls  in  question  the  dogma  of  Similars  in  the 
following  terms  : 

"  The  doctrine  that  like  cures  like  was  so  obvious  as 
to  be  a  popular  axiom  in  every  age  ;  but  it  is  only  the 
minor  of  a  major  proposition,  a  fragment  of  the  great 
Abstract  Law  :  Atiy  given  power  applied  in  a  particular 
degree,  and  at  particular  periods,  may  cause,  cure,  aggravate, 
or  alleviate,  any  given  forjn  of  disease,  according  to  the  consti- 
tution of  the  particular  patient'' 

"Awful  is  the  duel  between  Man  and  the  Age  in 
in  which  he  lives,"  says  Lord  Bulwer-Lytton.  Dr. 
Dickson  realized  this  to  the  supreme  moment.  He 
was  fiercely  assailed  by  the  medical  journals,  and 
what  he  termed  "  the  organized  opposition  of  the 
Schools — the  Brodies,  the  Chambers,  and  the  Clarks." 
The  champions  of  the  lancet  and  blood-bowl  over- 
flowed with  rancor  at  being  assured  that  they  were  in 
the  wrong.  On  the  Continent  of  Europe,  the  works 
of  Dickson  met  with  a  more  friendly  reception.  They 
were  translated  and  reprinted  in  France,  Germany, 
Sweden  and  America. 

Everywhere  they  bore  their  fruit.  Finally,  although 
Dickson  was  a  prophet  achieving  no  honor  in  his 
own  country,  his  methods  and  theories  won  accept- 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  363 

ance.  To  avoid  any  just  acknowledgment,  and  hide 
the  fact  of  retreat  and  surrender,  refuge  was  sought 
in  that  common  resort  of  mediocrity :  the  statement 
that  the  type  of  diseases  had  changed.  Dr.  Dickson 
announced  the  result  in  1845,  in  the  following  forcible 
language : 

"  The  Chrono-Thermal  Principle  is  denied,  disguised, 
and  plagiarized  ;  but  the  Chrono-Thermal  Practice 
secretly  triumphs  on  every  hand  !  " 

dosimetric    MEDICATION. 

Following  closely  upon  the  various  reforms  and 
improvements  in  Medical  Practice,  was  the  method 
known  as  Dosimetric  Medication.  It  was  first  promul- 
gated about  the  year  i860,  by  Dr.  Burggrave,  of  the 
University  of  Ghent,  and  has  since  met  with  a  very 
favorable  reception.  It  has  been  adopted  by  about 
one-fifth  of  the  physicians  in  France,  and  by  more 
than  ten  thousand  upon  the  Continent.  It  likewise 
obtained  a  foothold  in  Great  Britain,  and  later  in  the 
United  States.  The  late  Dr.  William  Hitchman,  of 
Liverpool,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Erlangen, 
and  former  president  of  the  British  Eclectic  Medical 
Conference,  adopted  it  during  the  later  years  of  his 
life  ;  and  Dr.  Richards  Gray  gave  a  very  complete 
summary  of  the  doctrine  with  warm  commendation, 
in  his  address  to  the  World's  Congress  of  Eclectic 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  at  Chicago,  in  1893. 

The  name  is  derived  from  the  peculiar  mode  of 
dosage,  although  its  advocates  have  a  very  well 
defined  theory  of  pathology  and  therapeutics.  Dr. 
Burggrave  strenuously  asserted  that  Dosimetry  was 
by  no  means  a  system  of  medicine,  but  only  a  better 


364  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

method  of  treating  the  sick.  His  attention  was  directed 
to  the  matter  by  observing  the  great  mortality  among 
the  patients  undergoing  surgical  operations  in  the 
Hospital  of  Ghent.  About  two-thirds  of  them  died 
either  of  traumatism  or  of  purulent  infection.  Later 
on,  the  antiseptic  dressing  of  Lister  was  adopted,  and 
the  number  fell  to  fifteen  or  twenty  per  cent. 

Burggrave  regarded  the  traumatic  fever  as  due  to  a 
stoppage  of  blood  in  the  capillary  vessels,  caused  by 
a  paralysis  or  fatigue  of  the  vaso-motor  nerves  which 
control  the  circulation.  The  stagnation  first  produced 
heat  and  then  inflammation  ;  and  so  was  the  origin  of 
congestion,  change  of  texture,  and  finally  of  lesions. 
He  called  to  mind  a  successful  treatment  of  intermit- 
tent fever  and  cholera,  in  Russia,  by  Dr.  Mandt,  of  St. 
Petersburg,  and  tried  it  upon  patients  with  fever  in 
the  hospital.  Mandt  employed  extracts  of  medicinal 
plants,  but  Burggrave  substituted  alkaloids,  such  as 
strychnia,  to  give  tone  to  the  ganglionic  nervous 
system,  and  veratrin  and  aconitine,  to  arrest  the  fever. 
He  succeeded  in  bringing  the  mortality  in  the  hospi- 
tal to  five,  and  even  at  times  to  two  and  a  half  per 
cent.  He  thus  made  the  discovery  that  it  is  some- 
times possible  to  prevent  the  fever,  and  very  often  to 
jugulate  it  outright. 

Dr.  Burggrave  distinguished  two  periods  in  a  dis- 
ease ;  the  first  dynamic,  presenting  only  functional 
disturbance  ;  and  the  second,  organic,  accompanied  by 
a  change  of  tissue.  In  the  first  of  these  periods,  the 
physician  should  use  the  most  active  means  to  jugu- 
late the  disease,  or  cause  it  to  abate.  From  this  fact 
Dr.  Burggrave  educed  his  rule,  to  give  an  acute  attack 
an  acute  treatment,  giving  his  medicines  in  small  doses, 
and  repeating  them  till  the  desired  effect  is  obtained, 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  365 

regardless  of  the  quantity  of  medicine  administered. 
Dr.  Gray,  in  his  Address,  thus  explains  the  principles 
underlying  this  rule  of  practice  : 

"  We  all  agree,  that  wherever  there  is  general  dis- 
turbance and  special  disorder,  the  former  resides  in 
the  vascular  system,  and  the  latter  in  some  special 
organ.  They  are  physiological  troubles,  dependent 
upon  susceptibility,  which  it  becomes  imperative  to 
moderate.  The  Medical  Art  consists  in  rendering 
organic  lesions  latent  and  stationary,  and  in  causing 
functional  disorders  to  cease,  instead  of  creating  a 
greater  disorder,  as  in  the  Empirical  Method.  To 
counteract  these  physiological  troubles,  Nature  has 
given  us  therapeutic  agents  of  a  general  and  special 
kind  ;  and  the  Dosimetric  Practice  shows  us  how  to 
make  use  of  them  more  readily.  No  time  is  lost  in 
waiting  for  the  development  of  disease.  Whether  it 
be  cerebral,  thoracic,  or  abdominal  trouble  which 
confronts  the  physician,  the  dosimetrist  attacks  the 
presenting  symptoms,  and  is  thus  enabled  to  anticipate 
organic  lesions." 

The  peculiar  mode  of  dosage  consists  in  the  employ- 
ing of  "parvules"  prepared  in  accordance  with  these 
principles  ;  although  the  various  tinctures  of  Eclectic 
and  Homoeopathic  manufacturers  are  used  for  similar 
purposes.  The  theory  of  Dr.  Bocnninghauser  assumes 
that  medicaments  have  affinity,  not  only  for  particular 
morbid  conditions,  but  for  distinct  sides  of  the  body. 
Due  consideration  is  also  to  be  had  for  the  differences 
existing  in  each  patient,  as  to  sensitiveness,  disposi- 
tion and  temperament.  The  parvules  are  given,  one 
or  two,  every  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  till  the  physio- 
logical effect  of  "  calmness  "  is  produced. 

Small  dosage  facilitates  the  absorption  of  the  medi- 
cine, and  at  the  same  time  makes  it  certain  that  the 
needed  ouantity  will  not  be  exceeded.     The  physician 


366  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

begins  with  small  doses,  and  increases  in  quantity  and 
potency  as  the  system  of  the  patient  becomes  accus- 
tomed to  the  medicament.  The  Dosimetric  Law  is 
TIME  :  to  acute  diseases,  a  rapid  treatment ;  and  to 
chronic,  lengthened  intervals  ;  as  for  example,  one  or 
two  hours  between  doses.  "  In  my  own  practice," 
says  Dr.  Gray,  "  alternation  is  the  rule — one  medicine 
night  and  morning  ;  the  second,  either  before  or  after 
meals.  At  times  the  disorder  or  disease  may  require 
a  third,  as  in  pneumonia,  for  instance.  Then  I  usually 
employ  Bryonia,  aconite  and  phosphorus  every  half- 
hour,  in  alternation,  till  the  symptoms  are  subdued  ; 
then  at  longer  intervals.  In  a  rheumatic  diathesis,  a 
fourth  is  added,  each  singly — either  Rhus  toxicoden- 
dron or  Cimicifuga  racemosa." 

Dosimetrists  affirm  that  the  Dosimetric  Method  is 
the  practice  of  Medicine  employing  the  active  princi- 
ples of  plants  in  small  doses,  mathematically  measured, 
and  scientifically  adapted  to  the  various  abnormal 
conditions.  Nevertheless,  the  remedies  which  they 
use  are  by  no  means,  all  of  them,  derived  from  the 
vegetable  kingdom.  Sepia,  hepar  sulphuris,  phos- 
phorus, and  other  agents  of  the  Homoeopathic  phar- 
macopoeia are  found  in  the  Dosimetric  catalogue. 
"  The  preparation  of  its  medicaments  is  as  perfect," 
Dr.  Gray  declares,  *'  as  the  present  state  of  knowledge 
permits.  Chemistry  has  placed  within  our  reach 
powerful  agents  to  control  disease,  transcending  any 
before  realized  or  possessed.  As  compared  with  sixty 
years  ago,  an  enchanter's  wand  can  now  be  waved 
over  disordered  or  diseased  conditions,  arresting 
agonizing  pain,  and  procuring  for  the  fever-tossed 
invalid  calm  repose,  without  detriment  to  the  system 
itself." 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  367 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  claims  here  made  declare 
the  attaining  of  a  degree  of  precision  and  exactitude 
approximating  actual  perfection.  The  teachings  of 
pathology  are  only  of  service,  we  are  told,  in  so  far  as 
they  explain  and  make  clear  the  appearances  of  dis- 
order and  disease,  thereby  assisting  clinical  observa- 
tion. It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  the  distinct- 
ive views  of  Dosimetric  practitioners  vary  widely,  or 
separate  them  necessarily  from  other  schools  already 
mentioned.  They  appear  to  agree  substantially  with 
the  sentiments  of  Rau  and  Hempel  ;  and  indeed,  their 
advocates  plead  that  they  are  in  harmony  likewise 
with  the  doctrines  of  the  Eclectic  School.  There  is 
no  umpire  with  authority  to  decide  the  matter,  nor  is 
there  occasion  for  judgment.  The  course  adopted  by 
the  physicians  themselves  must  be  the  criterion. 

THE    BIOCHEMIC    SYSTEM. 

Dr.  Schuessler,  of  Oldenburg,  in  Germany,  has  the 
distinction  of  founder  of  the  Biochemic  system  of 
therapeutics.  It  purports  to  be  founded  upon  re- 
searches in  biology,  cellular  pathology,  spectrum  anal- 
ysis, minute  anatomy,  analytic  chemistry,  and  kindred 
sciences.  Schuessler  connects  in  his  work  the  various 
inorganic  substances  that  pertain  to  the  various 
tissues  of  the  body,  and  deduces  this  fundamental 
principle  :  "  The  structure  and  vitality  of  the  organs 
depend  upon  the  presence  of  the  necessary  quantities 
of  these  organic  constituents."  Disease  is  caused  by 
a  loss  or  deficiency,  or  by  an  excess,  of  some  of  these 
constituents ;  and  its  cure  is  to  be  accomplished 
accordingly  by  making  up  the  deficiency  and  restor- 
ing the  chemical  equilibrium  of  the  histological  ele- 
ments. If  the   Mood   be   deficient   in    iron,  soda  and 


368  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

potassa  ;  the  brain  and  nerves  lacking  in  phosphate, 
the  muscles  in  potassium,  the  bones  in  phosphate  of 
lime  ;  then  by  this  method  of  procedure  we  add  the 
wanting  elements,  and  the  disease  is  cured. 

Schuessler  following  the  astrologic  notion,  it  has 
been  said,  classified  the  human  system  in  twelve 
departments,  and  debased  twelve  "  tissue-remedies," 
as  they  are  termed,  to  meet  their  respective  diseased 
conditions.  There  is  much  plausibility  in  his  principal 
theories,  and  they  have  been  favorably  received  by 
man)"  physicians,  chiefly  of  the  Homoeopathic  school. 
The  tissue-remedies,  it  is  explained,  are  not  so  much 
of  the  nature  of  medicines  as  of  food  for  some  consti- 
tutional want,  "  supplying  the  deficiency  of  cell-salts." 
This  would  seem  to  be  in  conformity  to  the  declar- 
ation of  Hippokrates,  that  it  was  in  the  dietetic  needs 
of  mankind  that  medicine  had  its  origin. 

HYDRO-THERAPEUTICS,    OR    "  WATER-CURE." 

The  water  treatment  as  a  remedial  practice,  had  its 
origin  at  Griifenberg,  in  Austrian  Silesia,  about  the 
year  1829.  It  had  inception  from  an  accident. 
Vincent  Priessnitz,  a  farmer,  having  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  break  several  of  his  ribs,  found  the  application 
of  water  more  efficacious  than  the  lotions  of  the  phy- 
sician to  relieve  the  sharp  pains  and  inflammation. 
Following  the  clew  thus  obtained,  he  made  use  of  the 
same  treatment  with  excellent  result  in  various  dis- 
eases. He  afterward  began  to  administer  it  to  his 
neighbors,  with  a  success  that  speedily  made  the  pro- 
cedure celebrated,  and  caused  Grafenberg  to  be 
thronged  with  patients. 

Lord  Bulwer-Lytton  also  came,  and  his  eloquent 
description  of   the  treatment   was   widely  read   and 


THE    ININETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  369 

admired.  Captain  Claridge,  having  had  the  experi- 
ence as  a  patient,  introduced  the  Water-cure  into 
England,  and  within  a  brief  period  sanatoriums  were 
established  there  and  in  America. 

By  this  time  the  medical  authorities  of  Austria  were 
in  arms.  Inspired  by  professional  jealousy  they  insti- 
tuted a  legal  prosecution,  and  procured  a  royal  com- 
mission of  enquiry.  Priessnitz  was  made  to  undergo 
a  vigorous  examination  ;  his  methods  were  scrutin- 
ized, and  even  the  sponges  used  in  them  were  torn  in 
pieces  and  subjected  to  chemical  analysis  in  the  hope 
to  detect  him  practicing  medicine  surreptitiously. 
There  was  no  way  found  open,  however,  to  interrupt 
him  except  to  prohibit  the  use  of  water  for  washing 
and  in  the  place  of  drugs,  a  procedure  which  would 
have  excited  general  ridicule.  The  attempt  at  inter- 
ference seemed  only  to  make  Priessnitz  and  the  water- 
treatment  more  generally  known  through  all  civilized 
countries. 

Having  thus  overcome  legal  and  professional  hos- 
tility, the  next  stage  was  reached.  A  puerile  endeavor 
was  made  to  show  that  the  Water-cure  was  of  English 
origin.  John  Floyer,  of  Litchfield,  it  appears,  had 
published  a  book  in  1702,  entitled  :  Fsyc/iroloiisia,  or 
the  History  of  Cold  Bathing,  both  Ancient  and  Modern.  Dr. 
J.  S.  Hahn,  of  Silesia,  followed  with  another  in  1738, 
upon  the  Healing  Virtues  of  Cold  Water;  and  in  1797, 
Dr.  Currie,  of  Liverpool,  printed  a  third  upon  a 
broader  basis,  with  the  title  of  Medical  Reports  on  the 
Effects  of  Water  as  a  Remedy  in  Fevers  and  Other  Diseases. 
The  work  of  Dr.  Hahn  was  republished  in  1S04,  by 
Professor  Oertel,  and  had,  together  with  a  translation 
of  Dr.  Currie's  book,  an  extensive  circulation,  creating 
a  general  enthusiasm.     When  Priessnitz  himself  came 


37©  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

into  notice  at  a  later  period,  Professor  Oertel  was  his 
warm  and  generous  supporter. 

In  fact,  despite  the  English  claim  of  precedence  the 
remedial  use  of  water  in  the  various  modes  of  appli- 
cation had  been  inculcated  by  early  writers,  among 
whom  may  be  enumerated  Asklepiades  of  Prusa, 
Antoninus  Musa,  Galen,  Rhasis,  Avicenna  and  Cardan. 
The  Silesian  peasant,  however,  had  derived  his  con- 
cept from  none  of  them,  but  was  original  in  his 
methods.  He  triumphed  alike  over  the  persecutors 
at  home  who  had  endeavored  to  crush  him  by  arbitrary 
power,  and  the  plagiarists  abroad  who  sought  to  take 
from  him  the  honor  of  his  own  discoveries. 

The  earlier  hydropathists,  following  the  example  of 
Priessnitz  himself,  circumscribed  their  procedures  to 
patients  with  chronic  diseases,  and  made  use  only  of 
the  severer  methods.  Presently,  in  1852,  John  Smedley, 
of  Matlock,  in  Derbyshire,  attempted  a  milder  form, 
using  warm  as  well  as  cold  water.  The  new  method 
became  very  popular,  and  to  a  great  degree,  super- 
seded the  other. 

The  Water-treatment  has  been  found  efficacious 
not  only  in  the  restoration  of  the  body  as  a  whole, 
but  it  has  likewise  been  employed  in  local  affections 
with  like  advantage.  At  the  present  time,  however, 
it  seems  to  be  in  use  more  generally  at  sanatoriums, 
and  in  surgical  and  other  cases,  as  an  auxiliary  to 
other  procedures,  than  as  itself  the  sole  remedial 
agent. 

THE    "  SWEDISH    MOVEMENT-CURE." 

The  procedure  technically  designated  Kinesipatky, 
but  popularly  known  as  the  "Movement-cure,"  had  a 
somewhat  romantic  origin.     Ling,  the  Skandinavian 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. — CONTINUED.  37I 

poet,  was  led  to  it  by  reading  of  the  prodigious 
strength  of  the  ancient  Northmen.  He  found  that 
by  beating  a  rheumatic  arm,  he  cured  the  pain  ;  and 
following  up  the  matter  so  suggested  by  a  series  of 
experiments,  he  brought  into  existence  the  new 
method. 

The  procedure  consists  in  the  applying  of  external 
motions,  active  and  passive  exercise  to  the  body,  and 
likewise  in  rendering  these  motions  so  special  as  to 
operate  upon  particular  organs  or  parts.  There  are 
several  thousand  of  these  remedial  movements,  and 
with  them  are  included  posture,  friction  and  per- 
cussion. 

A  study  of  the  ancient  classics  will  bring  to  notice 
that  gymnastics  constituted  an  essential  part  of  the 
youthful  training.  To  this  fact  must  be  attributed  to 
a  very  great  degree  the  extraordinary  strength  dis- 
played by  athletes,  and  indeed,  quite  generally  at  the 
games  and  other  public  occasions.  Like  methods  are 
employed  at  the  present  time  in  countries  not  com- 
monly ranked  as  civilized.  The  massage  or  shampoo, 
rubbing,  lifting,  were  all  borrowed  from  them,  and 
are  now  applied  with  great  advantage,  sometimes  by 
masseurs,  sometimes  by  professional  "  rubbers,"  and 
likewise  by  the  medical  attendants  themselves. 

The  Movement-cure  was  formally  introduced  into 
the  United  States  about  the  year  i860,  and  though 
perhaps  not  so  generally  received  as  it  deserves,  it 
has  proved  wherever  it  has  been  employed,  a  valuable 
auxiliary  to  other  remedial  measures. 

CHROMO-THERAPY,  OR  LIGHT-CURE. 

Many  years  ago  a  curious  little  treatise  was  pub- 
lished anonymously  in   London,   with    the   imposing 


372  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

title  of  The  Key  of  the  Universe.  It  assumed  at  the  out- 
set that  there  must  be  some  possible  created  intelli- 
gence to  whom  the  universe  interprets  itself ;  and 
although  not  setting  at  nought  the  inductive  method 
so  much  boasted  of  in  modern  times,  the  author 
asserts  that  there  is  in  the  human  intellect  a  pre- 
science which  usually  anticipates  discoveries.  He 
declares  the  Universe  to  be  an  organic  structure, 
every  part  of  which  is  dependent  upon  every  other. 
He  accepts  the  scientific  hypothesis  of  ether  as  the 
primitive  physical  principle,  including  all  the  forces 
which  are  recognized  as  back  of  all  natural  phenomena. 
Of  this  ether,  he  regards  Light  as  an  affinity^  and  con- 
siders it  to  consist  of  force  only.  He  adds,  in  illustra- 
tion of  the  supposition:  "  For,  since  any  force  may  be- 
come any  other,  and  all  matter  being  force,  it  follows 
that,  in  this  sense.  Light  is  as  much  matter  as  any 
term  that  precedes  it  in  the  series."  Being  the  ether 
itself  in  that  mode  of  manifestation,  it  is  of  the  same 
nature  in  all  departments  of  the  universe.  Hence,  in 
the  former  world-religions,  it  was  the  symbol  of  all 
that  was  sacred,  and  believed  to  constitute  the  body 
of  Divinity  itself.  Its  property  of  magnetism  deter- 
m.ines  the  form  and  nature  of  minerals,  and  dictates 
the  mode  of  growth  of  every  plant,  causing  the 
plumule  of  the  seed  to  develop  upward,  and  the 
radicle,  in  a  corresponding  degree,  to  extend  down- 
ward. Animal  life  is  evolved  likewise  from  the  same 
principle. 

The  late  General  A.  J.  Pleasonton,  of  Philadelphia, 
made  the  discovery  that  certain  rays  of  light  influ- 
enced vegetable  and  animal  life,  hastening  growth  to 
a  remarkable  degree.  He  published  a  little  mono- 
graph on  the  subject,  which  excited  much  attention 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. — CONTINUED.  373 

and  experimenting.  He  denied  the  old  theories  of 
centripetal  and  centrifugal  force,  declaring  that  light 
was  the  first  thing  created,  as  declared  in  the  book  of 
the  Genesis,  and  that  from  it  were  evolved  the  agencies 
known  as  heat,  electricity  and  magnetism. 

Dr.  Seth  Pancoast  also  published  a  little  treatise,  in 
1877,  on  the  same  subject,  and  had  collected  material 
for  a  larger  work  setting  forth  his  views  upon  that 
and  associated  topics.  His  death  took  place  before  he 
was  able  to  publish  the  results  of  his  work,  and  its 
future  disposition  is  left  to  his  son,  with  full  discretion. 
Dr.  Pancoast  endeavored  to  bring  the  cruder  notions  of 
General  Pleasonton  into  more  philosophic  and  scien- 
tific form,  and  with  a  fair  degree  of  success.  He 
inculcated  that  the  new  theory  was  taught  in  the 
Bible,  the  Hebrew  Kabala,  and  by  the  ancient  philoso- 
phers. He  declared  light  to  be  the  positive  force  in 
Nature,  "  the  source,  the  sustainer,  the  renewer  of  the 
universe  and  of  all  life  therein."  *  All  organic  forms 
he  described  as  being  "developed  to  manifest  light  as 
Life  ;"  and  deduced  therefrom  the  theory  that  "  Light 
is  Nature's  own  and  only  specific  for  disease  of  all 
kinds."  Being  the  source  of  life,  he  declared  it  best 
calculated  accordingly  to  prolong  life  by  maintaining 
equilibrium  in  the  organic  system  and  restoring  it 
when  impaired  by  disease.  "  To  strengthen  this  influ- 
ence,"  he  adds,  "we  have  the  fact  that  the  virtues  of 
medicines  are  largely  received  from  light." 


♦  Dr.  Pancoast  thus  explains  the  production  of  earthy  material :  "  Ether  is  the 
hyU ol  the  ancient  philosophy.  It  is  invisible,  except  when  polarized.  Oxygen  is 
the  positive  and  hydrogen  the  negative  polarization  of  the  ether.  Water  is  gen- 
erated by  the  combustion  of  hydrogen  with  oxygen,  and  earth  is  a  precipitate  of 
water."  He  declares  accordingly,  and  he  assured  the  writer  personally  that  he 
had  himself  produced  a  copious  precipitate  from  pure  oxygen  and  hydrogen  in 
hermetically  sealed  glass,  and  successfully  confirmed  the  experiment  by  repetition. 


374  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Dr.  E.  D.  Babbitt  has  also  propounded  a  Science  of 
Cure  in  which  the  Solar  rays  are  employed  as  the 
principal  agency,  though  without  ignoring  other 
therapeutic  means.  To  the  theory  he  gives  the  name 
of  Chromopathy,  or  Healing  by  Light  and  Color.  It 
involves  the  same  principles  as  are  enunciated  by  Dr. 
Pancoast,  and  he  being  of  a  less  speculative  temper, 
appears  more  likely  to  bring  his  methods  more  directly 
into  practical  application.  He  has  devised  apparatus, 
lenses,  thermolumes  and  other  fixtures,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  employing  sunlight  in  various  forms  and 
shades  of  color,  so  that  it  may  be  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  the  patient,  whatever  the  case. 

He  is  also  familiar  with  the  mesmeric  art,  massage, 
electro-therapeutics,  as  well  as  ordinary  medication, 
and  blends  all  these  "  finer  forces  "  in  his  treatment 
whenever  he  deems  it  proper.  This  in  the  present 
state  of  our  medical  knowledge,  will  be  of  no  manifest 
advantage. 

The  same  properties  and  virtues  which  are  in  the 
solar  ray  are  also  found  in  the  electric  light.  We  learn 
from  microscopists  that  water  abounding  with  micro- 
organisms, of  various  character,  noxious  and  innoxious, 
becomes  freed  from  them  upon  exposure  to  sunlight. 
Further  experiment  has  demonstrated  the  same  fact 
in  the  case  of  the  electric  light,  showing  it  also  to  be 
actinic.  Apparatus  for  its  employment  as  a  therapeutic 
agent  was  on  exhibition  at  the  World's  Fair,  at  Chi- 
cago, and  received  favorable  notice.  Whether  the  new 
therapy  will  supersede  the  common  methods,  it  is 
hardly  safe  to  predict ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  of  its 
utility  as  an  auxiliary.  The  finer  forces  are,  doubtless, 
sufficiently  potent  as  they  are  properly  applied. 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  375 

METAPHYSICAL      MEDICINE,       "CHRISTIAN      SCIENCE,"      ETC. 

From  the  earliest  periods  of  human  history,  there 
have  been  recognized  modes  of  healing  the  sick,  by 
other  than  the  agencies  in  common  use.  It  is  a  belief 
entertained  by  the  most  gifted  and  intelligent  as  well 
as  by  the  less  favored  and  ignorant.  It  exists  with 
little  change  among  many  populations  of  the  East, 
and  is  cherished  by  large  numbers  of  individuals 
belonging  to  countries  of  the  West.  Hippokrates, 
Galen  and  other  notables  of  the  medical  world, 
regarded  charms  and  amulets  as  possessing  healing 
virtue  and  employed  them  accordingly  ;  and  certain 
individuals  were  believed  to  exercise  the  power  of 
removing  disease,  by  touch,  prophetic  words,  or  act  of 
will.  Even  among  those  who  reject  unqualifiedly  all 
claim  of  marvelous  gifts  and  faculties  as  being  pos- 
sessed and  exercised  by  any  at  the  present  time,  there 
are  very  many  who  tenaciously  hold  it  as  a  funda- 
mental religious  truth  that  miraculous  cures  and  other 
deeds  beyond  our  common  powers,  took  place  at  other 
epochs.  It  would  come  with  an  ill  grace  from  such  to 
cast  opprobrium  upon  others  for  believing  that  an 
energy  which  had  been  efficacious  in  former  ages  to 
restore  the  sick  and  enfeebled,  is  still  operative  and 
successfully  exercised. 

The  class  that  sneeringly  decry  such  things  as  super- 
stitious and  refuse  any  candid  consideration  of  their 
merits,  virtually  acknowledge  apprehension  that  they 
are  themselves  in  the  wrong.  It  may  be,  likewise,  that 
they  have  forgotten  the  fact  that  the  term  superstition, 
which  they  flippantly  use  to  denote  vulgar  credulity 
once  signified  the  superior  faculty  of  comprehending 
the  really  true— a  higher  tribunal  than  that  of  willful 


376  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

disbelief  or  judgment  biased  by  tradition  and  preju- 
dice. 

Leading  members  of  the  medical  profession  have 
deprecated  the  crudeness  of  the  common  professional 
knowledge,  and  acknowledged  the  weak  point  in  their 
art  from  not  understanding  the  influence  of  mental 
causes  to  induce  disease  and  promote  health.  Schiller 
the  poet,  himself  declares  that  "a  physician  whose 
horizon  is  bounded  by  an  historic  knowledge  of  the 
human  machine,  and  who  can  distinguish  termi- 
nologically  and  locally  the  coarser  wheels  of  the  intel- 
lectual clock-work,  may  be,  perhaps,  idolized  by  the 
mob,  but  he  will  never  raise  the  Hippocratic  art  above 
the  narrow  sphere  of  a  mere  bread-earning  craft." 

Dr.  Forbes  Wmslow,  an  English  physician  of  emi- 
nence, makes  the  following  emphatic  statement  : 

"The  physician  is  daily  called  upon  m  the  exercise 
of  his  profession  to  witness  the  powerful  effects  of 
mental  emotion  upon  the  material  fabric.  He  recog- 
nises the  fact,  although  he  may  be  unable  to  explain 
the  rationale.  He  perceives  that  mental  causes  induce 
disease,  destroy  life,  retard  recovery,  and  often  inter- 
fere with  the  successful  operation  of  the  most  potent 
remedial  means  exhibited  for  the  alleviation  and  cure 
of  bodily  suffering.  Although  such  influences  are 
admitted  to  play  an  important  part,  either  for  good  or 
for  evil,  I  do  not  conceive  that,  as  physicians,  we  have 
sufficient  appreciation  of  their  great  importance." 

With  such  conviction  on  the  part  of  leaders,  even 
materialistic  in  their  notions  of  therapeutics,  and  the 
corresponding  unrest  and  desire  for  better  methods  in 
all  circles,  we  cannot  wonder  that  there  should  be 
explorations  into  other  fields,  and  even  into  regions 
often  regarded  as  vague  and  visionary.  Thus  we 
observe  a  recurring"  to  the  old  practice  of  simples  and 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  377 

vegetable  remedies,  so  ably  set  forth  by  Nicholas  Cul- 
pepper in  1650  ;  then  mesmerism  entered  the  arena, 
bringing  in  electricity  and  magnetism  for  auxiliaries; 
and  Homoeopathy  with  the  theory  and  procedures 
closely  verging  upon  the  spiritual.  Religious  teachers 
arose  who  professed  to  have  the  ancient  apostolic 
gift  to  perform  miracles.  This  was  a  function  which 
the  Roman  Church  has  always  recognized  as  still  in 
exercise,  but  which  the  later  Protestant  bodies  have 
generally  ignored,  as  belonging  to  a  dispensation  long 
gone  by.  The  psychologic  revelations  from  mesmer- 
ized patients,  and  the  revival  of  Spiritualism  in  a  new 
aspect  helped  to  turn  attention  toward  this  neglected 
department. 

Accordingly  there  sprang  up  individuals  here  and 
there  who  professed  to  heal  the  sick  without  medicine, 
or  else  with  remedies  signified  to  them  by  occult 
means  ;  some  affirming  that  they  were  aided  by 
superior  agencies  after  the  ways  set  forth  in  the  New 
Testament,*  and  others  that  they  operated  through 
the  faculties  inherent  in  every  person. 

About  the  year  1840,  mesmerism  or  animal  magnet- 
ism had  begun  to  attract  notice  in  America.  Among 
those  experimenting  in  this  direction  was  Dr.  Phineas 
Parkhurst  Quimby,  of  Belfast,  in  the  state  of  Maine. 
He  was  expert  in  producing  the  trance,  and  employed 
the  agent  in  the  treatment  of  his  patients.  The  phe- 
nomena of  clairvoyance  and  the  revelations  thus  ob- 
tained, led  him  to  further  researches  in  the  depart- 
ment of  psychology.  He  soon  found  in  man,  his 
biographer  informs  us,  a  principle  or  a  power  that  was 
not  of  man  himself,  but  was  higher  than  man,  and  of 

*  Mark,  ix.,  23.     "  All  things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth." 


378  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

which  he  himself  could  only  be  a  medium.  He  also 
declared  that  he  had  discovered  that  "  disease  is 
only  an  erroneous  belief"  and  upon  this  discovery  he 
founded  his  method  of  cure.  He  accordingly  gave  up 
the  practice  of  mesmerism,  and  the  use  of  remedies 
however  prescribed,  and  thenceforward  adopted  the 
new  procedure.     Of  this  success  another  writer  says  : 

"  Had  he  lived  in  a  remote  age  or  country,  the  won- 
derful facts  which  occurred  in  his  practice  would  have 
now  been  deemed  either  mythical  or  miraculous,  he 
seemed  to  reproduce  the  wonders  of  the  Gospel  his- 
tory, etc." 

About  1863,  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Evans,  of  Claremont,  in 
New  Hampshire,  a  minister  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
Church,  became  a  disciple  of  the  new  doctrine,  and 
soon  afterward  engaged  in  the  practice.  He  also  pub- 
lished six  duodecimo  volumes,  giving  an  explanation  of 
the  theory  and  treatment,  its  scientific  character  and 
harmony  with  the  declarations  of  various  writers  of 
modern  and  ancient  periods.  His  style  is  simple  and 
attractive,  and  the  reasoning  cogent  and  not  always 
easy  to  answer.  Following  the  Swedenborgian  rule  of 
analogy,  he  declares  every  physiological  process  a  cor- 
respondence, or  effect  of  some  psychologic  action;  and 
diseases  a  consequent  of  abnormal  psychic  or  moral 
conditions,  which  may  be  remedied  by  mental  opera- 
tions. Nevertheless  he  speaks  very  favorably  of 
manipulating  and  mesmeric  passes.  "  All  diseased 
conditions,"  he  remarks,  "  connect  us  with  disordered 
and  unhappy  mind  in  the  other  world.  To  cure  dis- 
ease is  to  'cast  out  devils,'  or  to  break  our  sympathetic 
consociation  with  undeveloped  spirits." 

Nevertheless,  he  does  not  let  go  of  scientific  knowl- 
edge.    "  Whatever  the  physiological  change  which  is 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  379 

demanded,  the  universal  life-principle,  which  we  call 
nature^  is  making  an  effort  to  effect  it,  and  we  may- 
augment  her  curative  endeavor  by  forming  in  our 
minds  the  idea  of  the  change.  Here  knowledge  is 
power,  and  refined  medical  science  an  auxiliary  to  the 
mental  system  of  cure.  And  we  would  take  occasion 
to  remark,  that  no  intelligeiit  practitioner  of  the  mind- 
cure  will  ignore  wholly  medical  science.  Mind  is  the 
only  active  principle  in  the  universe.  The  mind  of  a 
skillful  surgeon  performs  marvels  in  saving  the  lives 
of  people." 

As  has  been  already  intimated,  the  practitioners  of 
this  school  insist  that  "metaphysical  healing,"  or 
phrenopathy,  is  substantially  in  harmony  with  the 
teachings  of  the  philosophers,  and  is  essentially  the 
method  inculcated  and  pursued  by  Jesus,  as  set  forth 
in  the  New  Testament. 

No  claim  is  made  by  them  to  original  conception  of 
the  idea,  with  regard  to  the  theory  of  cure  by  mental 
influence,  exerted  through  the  imagination,  or  imag- 
ing faculty.  The  idea  has  existed  thousands  of  years 
in  the  Orient.  The  term  metaphysical  is  employed  be- 
cause the  theory  of  healing  thus  named  is  based  upon 
the  laws  which  govern  the  intelligent  side  of  human 
nature.  It  is  the  subjective  before  passing  to  the  ob- 
jective. "  To  know  anything  purely,"  says  Sokrates, 
in  the  Phado,  "we  must  behold  with  the  soul  itself." 

Although  the  various  schools  of  Mental  Healing 
appear  to  be  based  upon  the  same  principles,  they  dif- 
fer quite  widely  in  theories.  Among  them  are  the 
disciples  of  Hiram  E.  Butler  of  the  Esoteric,  W.  P. 
Phelon  of  the  Hermctist,  S.  P.  Waite,  A.  J.  Swartz,  and 
Mrs.  Willmans.  Perhaps,  however,  the  most  insistent 
of  all  are  the   followers   of  Mrs.    Mary  J.    Eddy,    of 


380  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Boston,  the  teacher  of  "  Christian  Science."  Why  this 
name  has  been  selected,  whether  as  a  matter  of  prin- 
ciple or  simply  to  attract  notoriety,  we  do  not  ask.  It 
seems  to  be  a  misnomer.  The  mode  of  treating  the 
sick  appears  to  be  substantially  identical  with  that  of 
Doctors  Quimby  and  Evans.  The  mode  of  propagan- 
dism  is  by  the  instructing  of  classes  wherever  there  is 
opportunity,  and  the  establishing  of  "  Faith-Homes  " 
in  different  places  for  patients  and  students.  The 
doctrines  constitute  a  religion  as  well  as  a  secular 
practice  of  the  art  of  healing,  and  several  churches  of 
"  Scientists  "  have  been  formally  organized,  with  stated 
services  and  preachers.  Mrs.  Eddy  is  very  generally 
recognized  as  the  spiritual  leader,  and  several,  who 
have  revolted  against  her  assumptions,  describe  her 
as  imperious  and  exacting.  This,  however,  has  always 
been  a  characteristic  of  the  prominent  individuals  in 
religious,  scientific  and  secular  enterprises,  and  they 
often  persecute  seceders  as  unworthy  and  culpable. 

It  is  contemplated  to  procure  legislation  that  will 
bring  the  various  methods  of  "mind-cure,"  "faith- 
cure,"  "  prayer-cure,"  etc.,  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  recently  created  medico-judicial  authorities.  This 
must  naturally  appear  in  the  light  of  rapacity  and  lust 
of  arbitrary  power,  without  just  reason.  The  dog 
that  cannot  eat  hay,  is  hardly  a  suitable  judge  to  sit 
in  the  manger  and  dictate  to  oxen.  There  are  many 
thousands  who  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  these  modes 
of  treatment.  They  find  such  healing  described  and 
commanded  in  the  New  Testament,*  and  with  many 
of  them,  the  doctrines  have  all  the  sanctity  of  a  relig- 
ious faith.  Such  legislation  will  be  inevitably  regarded 

*  J  antes  ^  v.,  14,  15  ;  Matthew^  viii.,  13,  16  ;  ix.,  8,  22,  35  ;  xv.,  28  ;  xix.,  2  ;  John, 
iv.,  47-53  ;  v.,  9  ;  xiv.,  12,  ei  passim. 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. — CONTINUED.  381 

as  of  the  nature  of  religious  proscription,  and  will  be 
included  in  the  same  category  with  the  murderous 
persecutions  that  have  made  the  Middle  Ages  infamous, 

MICROBIOGENESIS    AND    THE    GER.M-THEORY. 

Among  the  various  theories  promulgated  in  the 
Nineteenth  Century,  one  of  the  most  prominent  is  the 
Parasitic  Origin  of  Disease.  It  is  chiefly  the  outcome 
of  microscopic  explorations,  and  has  much  plausibility 
for  its  support.  We  remember  well  a  statement  by 
Addison  in  the  Spectator,  in  which  it  was  affirmed  that 
every  where,  in  the  air,  in  every  humor  in  the  human 
body,  and  upon  every  green  leaf,  there  abounded 
innumerable  minute  organisms.  In  1832,  when  the 
Asiatic  Cholera  was  extending  its  ravages  around  the 
globe,  and  had  just  reached  America,  there  were  many 
who  attributed  it  to  animalcules  in  the  air.  The  con- 
ception of  contagious  and  infectious  diseases  as  origi- 
nating from  micro-organismsis,  however,  by  no  means 
a  recent  one.  Kircher  advanced  it  in  the  Seventeenth 
Century,  and  Line,  the  botanist,  gave  it  his  counte- 
nance. Leeuwenhoek,  in  1675,  discovered  rod-like 
creatures  with  the  microscope.  Nevertheless,  the 
older  theory  continued  to  be  entertained  of  a  morbific 
poison  acting  chemically,  and  setting  up  a  process  of 
degeneration  in  the  living  tissues.  About  1836, 
Schwann,  of  Germany,  discovered  that  putrefaction 
was  due  to  something  in  the  air,  which  heat  could 
destroy. 

In  1849,  Pollender  observed  little  rods  in  the  blood 
of  animals  suffering  from  splenic  fever.  Davaine 
pronounced  them  the  specific  virus  of  the  disease. 

About  1865,  Pasteur,  in  France,  by  his  researches 
and  publications,  imparted  new  vigor  to  the  theory. 


382  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

He  taught  that  fermentation  is  always  due  to  micro- 
scopic plants  or  animals,  and  assumed  that  there  was 
a  specific  germ  for  every  disease  in  man  and  animals. 
This  would,  if  true,  place  medical  practice  upon 
another  basis  from  any  yet  accepted.  His  greatest 
sensation  was  produced  by  the  announcement  that  he 
had  discovered  the  true  nature  of  hydrophobia,  and  a 
sure  method  of  curing  it  by  inoculation.  Dr.  Robert 
Koch,  of  Germany,  made  a  more  exhaustive  study  of 
the  whole  subject,  and  developed  a  more  complete 
hypothesis.  Bacilli  and  micrococci  were  declared  to 
exist  for  each  specific  complaint,  and  in  many  instances, 
it  was  proposed  to  cultivate  or  rear  them,  in  order 
to  be  applied  by  inoculation  as  remedies  and  prophy- 
lactics. Others  followed  in  the  same  track,  till  an 
extensive  literature  had  been  produced,  and  a  consid- 
erable number  of  adherents  were  obtained,  eagerly 
hailing  the  new  theory  with  enthusiasm,  as  elevating 
medicine  to  the  rank  of  an  exact  science. 

Paracelsus  appears  to  have  anticipated  the  new 
doctrine,  when  propounding  his  theory  of  "  elemental 
spirits."  It  is  now  promulgated  and  taught  dogmat- 
ically, that  zymotic  and  epidemic  diseases  are  due  to 
vegetable  parasites  of  an  indefinite  minuteness,  which 
gain  an  entrance  into  the  body  through  the  medium 
of  the  air,  water,  food,  or  some  other  way  ;  increasing 
with  incredible  fecundity,  exhausting  the  strength  of 
the  individual  or  injuriously  affecting  him  in  some 
other  direction.  On  this  hypothesis,  various  obsoles- 
cent drugs,  like  mercury  and  antimony  have  been 
called  into  a  new  reputation  as  germicides,  and  culture- 
germs"  for  inoculation  have  obtained  considerable 
notoriety.  Indeed  the  hypothesis  has  almost  become 
a  dogma.     Such  diseases  as  measles,  scarlatina,  diph- 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. — CONTINUED.  383 

theria,  leprosy,  tuberculosis,  cholera,  and  the  long 
array  of  fevers,  are  enumerated  as  the  product  of  the 
microbe  tribes,  bacteria,  bacilli,  micrococci  and 
vibriones.  Many  a  fine-spun  theory  has  been  drawn 
out,  like  silk  from  the  belly  of  a  spider,  to  account  for 
the  ways  in  which  they  do  their  deadly  work.  Hospi- 
tals, long  notorious  as  hot-beds  of  erysipelas  and  sep- 
ticaemia, furnished  a  text,  as  abounding  with  micro- 
scopic parasites.  Lister  gained  a  wide  celebrity,  by  no 
means  undeserved,  for  his  devices  of  antiseptic  agents 
and  precautions  to  render  surgical  wounds  safe  from 
infection.  His  success  in  averting  erysipelatous  in- 
flammation and  hospital  gangrene,  must  be  gratefully 
acknowledged. 

Helmholtz  affirmed  that  vibriones  from  the  atmos- 
phere abounded  in  catarrhal  and  other  morbid  secre- 
tions. He  found  that  they  could  not  penetrate  cotton 
fibre,  and  accordingly  proposed  the  wearing  of  respir- 
atory bags  at  the  nostrils  to  be  filled  with  it,  to  pre- 
vent them  from  being  inhaled  with  the  breath. 

Unfortunately,  however,  they  can  get  in  by  the 
mouth,  and  so  the  expedient  never  became  popular. 

Practitioners  of  eminence  and  extensive  observation 
have  as  confidently  opposed  the  theory.  Dr.  Joseph 
Thomas,  after  an  exhaustive  review  of  the  theory, 
confessed  that  some  of  the  conclusions  are  hardly 
warranted  by  the  researches,  and  that  others  seem 
unscientific,  however  much  of  truth  maybe  contained 
in  other  inferences.  Sir  Lawson  Tait  was  so  certain 
of  the  innoxious  character  of  the  micro-organisms, 
that  he  declared  himself  perfectly  willing,  if  enough 
of  them  could  be  obtained,  to  apply  them  to  surgical 
wounds  ;  Beckingham  threw  the  gauntlet  down  with 
equal  temerity.   "  The  germ-theory,"  he  affirmed  to  be 


384  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

"  an  assumption  of  causes  of  the  existence  of  which 
we  have  no  evidence,  to  account  for  effects  which  they 
do  not  explain." 

Dr.  Bastian,  professor  of  pathology  in  the  London 
University,  gave  an  explanation  of  the  existence  of 
micro-organisms  that  appears  perfectly  tenable.  They 
are  not  generated  in  the  body,  he  asserts,  till  it  has 
become  already  disorganized  ;  certainly  no  intelligent 
person  would  suppose  that  the  worms  that  devour  a 
putrefying  carcass  were  the  cause  of  the  creature's 
death.  They  belong  solely  to  the  processes  of  decay, 
contributing  to  the  promotion  of  corporeal  disinte- 
gration. 

These  arguments  were  met  by  new  hypotheses,  re- 
sembling makeshifts  by  which  to  save  a  favorite 
theory.  It  was  conceded  that  several  varieties  of 
bacteria  were  healthful,  and  that  even  the  "  comma 
bacillus  "  of  Asiatic  cholera  was  harmless  till  age  and 
further  development  converted  it  into  a  source  of 
infection.  This  is  virtually  conceding  that  the 
germ-theory  has  no  substantial  ground  on  which 
to  stand. 

Professor  Henry  Maudesley,  however,  is  even  more 
positive  in  his  assertions.  "  Disease,"  he  declares,  "is 
not  a  specific  morbid  entity,  that  like  some  evil  spirit 
takes  possession  of  the  body,  but  a  condition  of 
degeneration  from  healthy  life."  Its  name  depends 
upon  the  part  of  the  body  primarily  affected.  "  Per- 
haps," says  Mr.  Wolfe,  "  minute  animalcula  may  be 
present  in  different  stages  of  decay  of  tissue,  and  are 
assumed  to  be  the  cause  instead  of  the  consequence." 
Dr.  Forbes  Winslow  declared  that  "  mental  emotion 
and  shock  to  the  nerves  may  cause  almost  any  disease;" 
and  adds  as  a  curious  fact :     "  There  are  medical  men 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  385 

who  will   tell    you  that  no  complaint  can  be   caused 
without  some  subtile  poison  in  the  blood." 

Such  is  the  present  stage  of  the  controversy,  and  it 
forcibly  illustrates  the  fact  that  the  underlying-  prin- 
ciples of  pathology  are  but  little  comprehended  by 
many  teachers  and  practitioners  of  medicine.  With- 
out doubt  it  will  last  for  years  to  come.  The  dogma 
adopted  by  a  generation  will  last  till  another  gener- 
ation appears  and  then  pass  out  of  sight.  In  another 
century  and  in  a  more  philosophic  age,  it  will  become 
a  theme  of  wonder,  if  not  of  diversion,  to  intelligent 
men. 

THERAPEUTIC  SARCOGNOMY. 

In  1842,  Dr.  Joseph  Rodes  Buchanan,  a  physician 
of  Louisville,  in  Kentucky,  made  public  a  theory  of 
cerebral  physiology,  unique  in  character,  yet  perfectly 
consistent  in  detail,  based  upon  investigations  and 
speculations  extending  over  a  period  of  seven  years. 
With  the  glowing  enthusiasm  of  a  young  discoverer, 
he  submitted  it  to  leading  medical  men  and  scientific 
bodies,  but  only  to  be  repulsed  with  scorn.  A  profes- 
sor in  the  Pennsylvania  University,  and  Dr.  Forry,  of 
the  New  York  ATcdical  and  Surgical  Journal,  at  first 
accepted  his  views,  but  were  soon  overawed  by  the 
opprobrium  inedicorum,  which  forcefully  excludes  every 
innovating  doctrine  from  a  candid  hearing.  "  I  soon 
found,"  said  he,  "  that  the  well-disciplined  army  of 
the  followers  of  the  European  system  were  deter- 
mined not  to  investigate  a  demonstrable,  but  revolu- 
tionary science,  and  that  I  was  as  obnoxious  as  Harvey 
ever  was." 

Even  the  Phrenological  societies,  themselves  not 
established  inside  the  scientific  cordon,  hesitated  to 


386  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

receive  his  novelties  and  deductions  from  their 
system. 

At  this  time  the  "American  Medical  Institute,"  for 
the  instruction  of  medical  students  of  the  Independent 
Thomsonian  School,  was  organized  in  Cincinnati,  with 
six  professorships,  to  open  in  November,  1842.  Dr. 
Buchanan  accepted  the  chair  of  Institutes  of  Medicine 
and  Diagnosis  ;  and  abstracts  of  his  papers  were  pub- 
lished in  the  True  Thomsonian.  The  enterprise,  how- 
ever, did  not  meet  with  sufficient  encouragement  to 
become  a  permanent  institution. 

Dr.  Buchanan  now  made  friends  with  the  pioneers 
of  the  American  Reformed  Medical  Practice — Doctors 
Wooster  Beach,  Thomas  V.  Morrow,  and  their  associ- 
ates. The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  Cincinnati 
was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Ohio,  and  in 
1846,  he  accepted  their  invitation  to  become  Professor 
of  the  Institutes  of  Medicine  and  Medical  Jurispru- 
dence. Here  he  remained  ten  years,  teaching  the  new 
doctrine  with  acceptance.  The  hostility  to  him  was, 
however,  made  more  intense.  He  submitted  a  memoir, 
in  185 1,  to  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  but  his  adversaries  procured  its  sup- 
pression. The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  fell  into  the 
hands  of  an  adverse  faction,  and  his  chair  was  vacated. 

He  attempted  to  present  the  result  of  his  investiga- 
tions to  the  American  Medical  Association,  but  Dr. 
Samuel  D.  Gross,  of  Philadelphia,  advised  him  to  seek 
his  audience  outside  of  the  medical  profession.  The 
Association  would  never  take  any  notice  of  any  dis- 
covery that  he  might  make  or  demonstrate,  because 
its  members  were  precluded  by  their  caste.  They 
were  governed  by  it,  and  he  was  not. 

This  is  the  principal,  and  perhaps  the  only,  reason 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. — CONTINUED.  387 

why  few  medical  men  outside  the  ethical  cordon 
become  recognized  in  scientific  circles,  even  when 
their  merits  are  of  the  highest  order.  It  is  the  price 
which  a  sincere  and  conscientious  man  must  pay  for 
moral  independence.  In  order  to  obtain  a  friendly,  or 
even  a  fair  hearing  for  a  new  doctrine,  it  is  necessary 
to  rear  a  new  generation. 

Dr.  Buchanan  for  a  time  gave  up  all  attempt  to 
disseminate  his  views.  He  then  resumed  them,  reviv- 
ing his  publication,  the  Journal  of  Ma?i,  and  writing 
several  works  to  explain  the  new  system.  He  opened 
a  College  of  Therapeutics  at  Boston,  and  lectured  for 
several  years. 

His  treatise  on  Therapeutic  Sarcognoiny  presents  a  very 
full  description  of  his  peculiar  doctrines  and  methods, 
He  is  utterly  at  issue  with  the  materialism  and  unspir- 
itual  tendencies  that  characterize  modern  science  and 
medical  writers  ;  and  accepts,  with  due  reservation, 
the  animistic  doctrines  of  Van  Helmont,  Stahl,  John 
Hunter,  Bichat,  and  others,  as  further  developed  and 
modified  by  later  discovery.  "  The  philosophical  basis 
of  Sarcognomy,"  he  declares,  "  is  the  threefold  consti- 
tution of  man,  and  the  very  intimate  sympathy  and 
parallelism  of  soul,  brain  and  body,  which  enables  us, 
through  any  one  of  the  three,  to  affect  the  other  two 
in  a  corresponding  manner."  All  forces  and  faculties 
belonging  to  man  have  their  special  seats  in  the  brain, 
and  corresponding  positions  in  the  body.  "Every 
elementary  power  or  tendency  culminates  in  a  certain 
locality." 

Upon  this  basis,  the  entire  superstructure  is  devel- 
oped. In  acting  upon  the  triple  combination  of  soul, 
brain  and  body,  he  teaches  that  in  remedial  proced- 
ures we  may  fix  our  attention  upon  any  one  of  them, 


388  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

as  may  appear  best.  The  object  of  all  treatment  is 
the  restoration  of  health.  This  is  accomplished  by 
removing  from  the  blood  all  noxious  or  imperfectly 
vitalized  elements,  and  promoting  the  absorption  and 
removal  of  all  objectionable  structures,  such  as  the 
tubercle  of  consumption,  or  the  cells  of  cancerous 
matter,  leaving  the  vital  force  to  act  unencumbered. 
More  than  this,  however  ;  for  such  is  only  the  nega- 
tive side  of  the  matter.  "  After  the  restoration  of 
morbid  organs,  and  relief  from  morbid  conditions,  we 
should  energize  the  faculties  and  organs  which  give 
the  highest  conditions  of  health."  The  energetic 
healer  will  not  limit  himself  to  treating  the  derange- 
ments of  the  body.  One  may  be  relieved  from  disease, 
and  yet  be  extremely  liable  to  falling  again  into 
depraved  conditions.  The  permanent  improvement 
of  the  constitution  requires  an  increase  of  the  moral 
power.  All  hygienic  treatment  should  be  ethical  in 
tendency,  and  the  healer  should  aim  to  leave  his 
patient,  if  possible,  with  an  exalted  energy  in  his 
higher  nature,  which  should  tend  to  lead  him  into  a 
better  and  healthier  life. 

In  his  proposed  therapeutic  revolution.  Dr.  Buchanan 
by  no  means  favors  a  destructive  and  intolerant  icon- 
oclasm,  which  would  discard  the  knowledge  and 
achievements  of  the  medical  profession.  He  simply 
regrets  its  devotion  to  professional  dignity,  reputa- 
tion and  pedantic  learning,  instead  of  looking  solely 
to  curative  means  and  measures,  from  whatever 
source  they  come.  In  his  own  procedures  he  incor- 
porates them  all,  seeking  to  apply  them  according  to 
the  principles  which  he  maintains.  Animal  magnet- 
ism, massage  or  mechano-therapy,  electro-therapeu- 
tics, hygiene  and  drugs,  are  all  employed.     Although 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  3S9 

not  subscribing  to  the  hypotheses  of  Metaphysical 
Medicine,  in  regard  to  the  unreality  of  disease,  etc., 
he  approves  of  many  of  the  methods.  Of  course,  all 
are  modified  and  subordinated  to  the  theory  of  Sar- 
COgnomy.  He  enumerates  patients  who  were  success- 
fully treated  on  the  principles  set  forth  ;  among 
them,  the  late  Secretary  Seward  and  Thurlow  We.ed, 
well  known  in  American  politics.  Among  the  exam- 
ples of  diseases  cured  are  paralysis,  nervous  shock, 
deafness,  various  diseases  of  vision,  spinal  meningitis, 
neuralgia,  rheumatism,  lumbago,  asthma,  continued 
fever,  peritonitis,  puerperal  fever,  inflammation  of  the 
female  organism,  cancer,  Bright's  disease,  cholera,  etc. 
Whether  the  doctrine  of  Therapeutics,  as  taught  by 
Dr.  Buchanan,  shall  ever  be  generally  received,  it  is 
deserving  of  candid  and  careful  examination.  Its 
expositor  may  be  considered  somewhat  visionary,  and 
even  dogmatical  ;  but  he  must  be  recognized  as  a 
scholar  of  superior  attainments,  conscientious  in  his 
investigations,  sincere  and  earnest,  possessing  the 
principal  qualities  of  a  reformer.  He  has  certainly 
penetrated  to  a  field  of  thought  and  knowledge  in  a 
department  that  has  been  too  much  overlooked,  and 
farther  than  has  been  currently  acknowledged  as 
scientific.  Perhaps  another  generation  may  arouse 
from  its  apathy  and  sensualism,  and  give  that  atten- 
tion to  the  subject  which  its  intrinsic  importance 
deserves. 

MEDICINE    IN    THE    OUTER    WORLD. 

India. — Two  classes  of  physicians  have  long  divided 
the  medical  practice  of  Hindustan.  The  hakhams,  or 
"  wise  men,"  are  the  Moslem  practitioners,  and  the 
pundits,  or  "scholars,"  the  Indian.     Their  professional 


390  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE, 

knowledge  is  largely  from  traditional  origin  ;  that  of 
the  former  class  being  from  the  Arabian  universities 
of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  latter  class  professing  to 
derive  their  authority  from  the  works  of  Charaka,  and 
other  writers  of  acknowledged  orthodoxy.  Many  of 
their  procedures  would  be  regarded  with  contempt  by 
Western  physicians,  yet  such  superciliousness  can 
hardly  be  a  characteristic  of  really  superior  intelli- 
gence. These  hakhims  and  pundits  have  much 
knowledge  that  is  worthy  of  candid  attention.  Dr. 
Honigberger,  who  spent  many  years  in  India,  admit- 
ted the  theoretic  information  which  the  native  sur- 
geons and  oculists  possessed,  although  he  denied 
their  skill.  They  adhere  tenaciously  to  the  peculiar 
practices  which  were  in  fashion  not  long  ago  in 
Europe,  making  use  of  amulets,  charms  and  religious 
incantations  ;  and  many  of  them  are  experts  in  mes- 
merism. Some  of  them  know  how  to  fortify  the  body 
against  the  bite  of  venomous  serpents. 

There  are  many  other  races  in  India,  however,  than 
Hindus  and  Mughals,  but  they  are  generally  to  be 
relegated  to  the  category  of  uncivilized  nations. 

Many  of  the  discoveries  in  medicine  and  remedies 
which  were  introduced  into  Europe  during  the  Middle 
Ages,  had  been  already  known  in  the  East,  giving 
credibility  to  the  surmise  that  they  had  been  kept 
secret,  like  religious  Mysteries.  Yet  even  in  our  own 
time  and  in  our  own  country,  it  is  a  practice  by  no 
means  uncommon  for  physicians  and  apothecaries  of 
the  old  school  of  practice  to  put  forth  and  palm  off 
remedies  as  having  been  discovered  and  introduced 
by  themselves,  although  perfectly  aware  that  the  same 
articles  and  preparations  had  been  known  and  used  by 
practitioners  of  another  school.     The  Materia  Medica 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  391 

has  been  greatly  enriched  by  this  mode  of  procedure, 
which  seems  to  be  considered  as  more  ethical  than  if 
any  honorable  ackowledgment  had  been  rendered. 

Long  before  Berenger  de  Carpi  ever  lived,  the  phy- 
sicians of  India  had  employed  mercury  in  their  prac- 
tice, making  use  of  calomel  for  syphilis  and  mercurius 
vivus,  or  corrosive  sublimate,  for  pneumonia.  The 
hakhamshad  antimony,  and  the  natives  were  familiar 
with  arsenic  as  a  remedy.  There  were  likewise  other 
mineral  drugs  in  common  use. 

There  is  an  extensive  Medical  Flora  in  the  vast 
peninsula.  Some  of  the  plants  are  of  the  same  species 
as  those  of  Europe  and  America  ;  others  of  the  same 
genera,  but  different  species,  while  by  far  the  greater 
number  are  known  only  in  India.  Indeed,  the  country 
itself  seems  to  belong  to  a  former  geologic  period,  and 
not  only  its  fauna  and  flora,  but  even  many  of  its 
human  tribes,  pertain  largely  to  prehistoric  time. 
American  Eclectics  will  be  interested  to  learn  that  a 
species  of  Podophyllum  grows  in  Kashmir,  and  is  used 
for  purposes  like  those  of  its  western  congener. 
Capsicum,  is  abundant,  but  serves  principally  as  a 
condiment  for  food.  Such  remedies  as  Xanthoxylum 
aromaticum,  Taraxacum,  Caulophyllum,  Menisper- 
mum,  Hyoscyamus,  Crocus,  Calamus,  Uva  ursi,  Rhodo- 
dendron, Rhamnus,  Nepeta, — all  of  which  are  official 
in  India — almost  exhibit  the  veteran  physicians  of 
the  Farther  East  ready  to  join  hands  with  the  prac- 
titioners of  the  New  School  of  American  Medicine. 
There  are  likewise  native  medicinal  plants  like  those 
which  are  indigenous  in  India,  but  not  known  else- 
where. 

Nostrums  and  proprietary  medicines  are  as  abun- 
dant there  as  in  western  countries.     They  are  often 


392  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

characterized  by  the  prodigious  number  of  ingredients. 
Aphrodisiacs  are  in  great  demand.  This  is  a  peculi- 
arity of  all  Asiatic  countries.  The  populations  of  the 
remoter  East  are  as  fond  of  swallowing  medicines  for 
imaginary  ailments  as  the  inhabitants  of  other  regions 
of  the  earth. 

Burma. — The  Burmese  have  an  elaborate,  if  not 
recondite  theory  of  disease,  which  is  very  curious  and 
full  of  interest.  It  is  evidently  derived  from  the 
theosophic  beliefs  of  Aryan  India.  Their  sages 
describe  the  human  body  as  composed  of  five  primal 
elements  or  principles,  anciently  enumerated  as  earth, 
caloric,  water,  air,  and  the  mystic  aether  or  akasha. 
They  teach  that  upon  each  clay  of  the  week  one  of 
these  elements  is  preponderant,  and  that  there  is 
accordingly  a  liability  to  some  specific  form  of  disease. 
They  also  insist  that  every  disease  must  have  a  dis- 
tinct treatment  peculiar  to  itself.  Among  the  reme- 
dial agents  they  make  use  of  unctions,  cathartics  and 
astringents.  They  likewise  employ  lime-juice,  lime 
water,  cassia,  calamus,  tamarind,  cocoanut, — also 
sugar,  plumbago,  camphor,  cinnamon,  croton  oil, 
agnus  castus.  Their  materia  medica,  it  is  plain,  was 
taken  from  that  of  western  India. 

There  are  several  forms  of  illness,  the  physicians 
declare,  for  which  no  medicine  should  be  adminis- 
tered. Prolonged  sickness,  and  perhaps  death,  they 
declare,  would  be  the  consequence.  It  is  accordingly 
made  the  duty  of  the  medical  practitioner  to  learn  the 
exact  symptoms  and  nature  of  the  disease,  before  he 
attempts  to  treat  it  with  medicines. 

They  also  have  elaborate  theories  of  the  various  dis- 
orders.    For   example,    they    represent   small-pox  as 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  393 

having  seven  distinct  types.*  One  of  them  appears  to 
be  the  disorder  elsewhere  known  as  "prickly  heat." 

Although  they  make  great  account  of  lime-juice, 
which,  indeed,  is  almost  specific  for  small-pox,  as  well 
as  other  exanthematous  diseases,  it  is  said  that  they 
give  very  small  encouragement  of  being  able  to  effect 
a  cure  of  the  complaint.  This  may  be  on  account  of 
the  defective  hygienic  provision  made  for  patients, 
superadded  to  the  discouraging  prognosis  ;  or  it  may 
be  that  our  information,  which  has  been  derived  from 
unfriendly  sources,  has  not  given  us  a  correct  state- 
ment. The  Burmese  have  practiced  inoculation  from 
very  early  times. 

"  They  have  a  very  curious  and  recondite  theory  of 
gynaecology.  They  suppose  that  at  the  climacteric 
periods  of  puberty  and  the  menopause,  women  have 
an  excess  of  the  elementary  principle  of  water  ;  and 
that  during  the  middle  period  the  calorific  principle  is 
in  the  ascendant.  "When  nursing  infants  are  ill,  the 
medicines  are  administered  to  the  mother.  Midwifery 
is  never  practiced  by  mea  except  when  the  Burmese 
regular  treatment  fails.  A  woman  dying  in  childbed 
is  believed  to  be  impure  and  therefore  incapable  of 
the  nirvana,  or  state  of  bliss.  Hence  in  cases  of  mortal 
peril,  the  hated  foreign  accoucheur  is  called  upon,  as 
a  lesser  calamity. 

Patients  under  ten  years  of  age  are  never  treated 
with  hot  medicines  or  stimulating  food.  With  indi- 
viduals over  fifty  the  same  rule  is  observed.  In 
adults,    it    is    required    that    the   medicine    shall    be 


*  This  seems  to  be  somewhat  in  harmony  with  Miss  Florence  Nightingale's 
statement :  "  I  have  seen  small-pox  growing  up  in  first  specimen,  when  it  could  not, 
by  any  possibility,  have  been  caught.  Nay,  more  ;  I  have  seen  diseases  begin, 
grow  up,  and  pass  into  one  another." 


394  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

mild  and  the  food  nutritious.  During  the  period  of 
adult  life,  hot  medicine  and  heating  food  in  moder- 
ation are  employed.  To  patients  over  ninety  no 
medicine  whatever  is  administered,  but  food  of  a  deli- 
cate character  is  prescribed.  Nonagenarians  are  by 
no  means  uncommon  in  Burma.  This  shows  beyond 
dispute  that  the  ways  of  living  in  that  country,  how- 
ever objectionable  they  may  appear  to  us,  are  by  no 
means  to  be  decried  as  so  very  inferior  to  those  of 
the  occidental  world. 

•  China. — The  Healing  Art  as  practiced  in  China  is 
not  well  comprehended  by  foreigners,  and  the  leading 
men  of  that  country  insist  that  it  has  not  been  intelli- 
gently, or  even  fairly,  described.  This  charge  is  very 
likely  to  be  well  founded.  It  has  long  been  the  cus- 
tom in  Europe  and  America  to  defame  and  depreciate 
whatever  existed  among  other  people.  Scientists  and 
others  of  more  pretension  habitually  decry  what  they 
do  not  understand,  and  malign  whatever  is  a  depart- 
ure or  at  variance  from  prescribed  belief  and  routine. 
Sneers  are  employed  in  such  cases  as  being  more  in- 
fluential than  reasoning. 

The  Chinese  have  been  accused  of  various  forms  of 
vice,  even  to  the  disgusting  practices  which  have  been 
common  in  Western  Asia  for  thousands  of  years, 
engendering  there  the  most  foul  and  deadly  plagues. 
Later  and  more  impartial  evidence,  however,  shows 
them  to  be  as  moral  as  Europeans,  if  not  more  so. 
They  are  certainly  more  peaceable  ;  they  do  not  find 
war  to  be  necessary  every  few  years,  and  they  have 
suffered  their  country  to  be  overrun,  as  by  the  archaic 
Khitans  (Hittites)  and  modern  Mantshus,  and  even 
subjected,  because  of  their  non-resistant  proclivities. 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  395 

Their  diseases,  like  those  of  other  countries,  are 
largely  due  to  unwholesome  diet  and  personal  habits. 
Synochus,  rheumatism  and  intermittent  fever  prevail 
everywhere.  They  suffer  from  dyspepsia  like  the  Amer- 
icans, and  are  afflicted  with  diseases  of  the  eyes  as 
badly  as  Egyptians.  Leukokythaemia  is  frequent 
among  them,  with  enlargement  and  hardening  of  the 
spleen  ;  and  stricture  of  the  oesophagus  is  not  uncom- 
mon. Skin-diseases  are  numerous  ;  and  yet,  while 
measles  and  small-pox  are  frequent,  scarlet  fever, 
which  is  many  times  more  deadly,  is  said  to  occur 
but  rarely. 

China  abounds  with  physicians,  and  their  theories 
of  medicine,  like  those  of  the  medical  writers  of  Mediae- 
val Europe,  are  largely  based  upon  their  metaphysics. 
They  teach  the  existence  of  the  Yin  and  the  Yank — 
energy  and  potency,  the  active  and  passive  principles 
of  the  universe,  and  so  govern  their  remedial  proced- 
ures accordingly.  They  take  great  account  of  the 
pulse,  and  like  the  hakhams  of  Moslem  countries,  and 
some  occidentals,  make  great  parade  over  examining 
it.  Like  the  Burmese,  they  believe  in  the  Five  Prin- 
ciples, and  build  their  pathologic  theories  upon  the 
notion  of  the  undue  influence  of  some  one  or  more  of 
them. 

The  mineral  drugs  which  for  a  few  of  the  later  cent- 
uries have  been  so  popular  with  European  and 
American  practitioners,  such  as  mercury,  lead,  copper, 
and  arsenic,  have  been  in  vogue  with  Chinese  physi- 
cians for  ages.  Probably  the  first  knowledge  of  these 
agents  as  medicines  was  obtained  from  them.  Many 
coincidences  form  this  supposition,  as  they  were 
adopted  in  Europe  soon  after  exploring  expeditions 
had  returned   from  the    East.     Chinese  practitioners 


396  HISTORY    OF    MEDICiNfE. 

themselves,  however,  use  gentler  and  more  Ceftah*? 
remedies.  They  commonly  prescribe  medicines  be- 
longing to  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  and 
hold  in  high  esteem  such  articles  as  gentian,  oil  of 
sandal-wood,  prickly-ash  and  ginseng.  They  have 
made  use  of  acupuncture  from  time  immemorial. 
They  also  make  use  of  the  "  witch-herbs  "  so  much 
employed  in  the  Middle  Ages  to  produce  catalepsy, 
trances,  and  clairvoyant  visions,  in  which  category 
were  used  hemp,  the  poppy,  henbane,  nightshade  and 
stramonium.  Their  great  use  of  opium  seems  to  have 
been  prompted  by  the  fact  that  opium-smoking  had 
been  found  to  be  prophylactic  for  pulmonary  and 
bronchial  disorders.  The  Christian  converts  in 
China  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  are  greatly 
subject  to  such  afflictions.  The  abandoning  of  opium 
and  the  changes  of  the  modes  of  dress  are  probably 
the  occasions  of  this. 

The  medical  formulas  employed  by  Chinese  physi- 
cians exceed  twelve  thousand.  Among  other  things 
they  make  use  of  various  excretory  and  other  noisome 
substances,  man)'  of  which,  not  excluding  the  most 
filthy  and  repulsive,  had  their  place  likewise  in  Eng- 
lish and  European  pharmacy.  In  this  matter  it 
would  come  with  a  very  ill  grace  for  the  Occidental 
pot  to  criticise  the  soot  upon  the  Oriental  kettle. 
Indeed,  dead  cockroaches  are  still  imported  into 
America  from  Russia  ;  cobwebs  are  objects  of  med- 
ical study,  and  some  Homoeopathic  investigators  have 
proposed  the  virus  of  the  filthiest  and  most  venomous 
ulcers  to  be  added  to  the  list  of  remedies.  The 
Chinese  brews  can  be  no  worse  ;  besides  which,  copy- 
ing from  China  is  an  old  practice.  The  fee  of  a 
Chinese  physician,  however,  is  but  a  few  cents  ;  and 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  397 

in  that  essential  matter  the  Western  practitioners 
have  changed. 

So  long  as  there  is  hope  for  the  patient,  the  due 
amount  of  effort  is  put  forth  in  his  behalf.  Not 
only  are  medicines  diligently  administered,  but  the 
friends  are  zealous  in  their  endeavors  to  placate  the 
spiritual  beings  that  they  believe  to  have  power  in 
the  case.  They  regard  diseases  and  casualties  as  hav- 
ing a  supernatural  origin.  Hence  a  Chinaman  will 
not  atteiupt  to  rescue  a  drowning  person,  or  even  to 
treat  a  bodily  disorder  after  it  has  passed  a  certain 
stage.  He  would  consider  it  as  improper  interfering 
with  the  designs  of  the  Supernatural  Powers. 

Magic  arts,  charms  and  amulets  are  believed  to 
transmit  a  healing  virtue.  The  means  known  to  us 
as  clairvoyance,  "mind-cure,"  "faith-cure,"  "prayer- 
cure,"  have  been  employed  in  China  from  remote 
antiquity. 

Japan. — The  description  given  of  the  medical  art  in 
China  applies  very  closely  to  its  condition  in  Japan. 
The  former  relations  with  China  and  Korea  were  very 
intimate,  and  as  a  result,  the  literature,  arts  and  relig- 
ion of  the  "  Celestial  Empire  "  were  transplanted 
into  the  "country  of  the  gods."  Japan  abounds  with 
medicinal  plants,  and  the  native  physicians  are  very 
skillful  in  their  use.  They  also  have  much  deftness 
in  surgery.  Acupuncture,  the  discovery  of  an  Eclec- 
tic physician,  has  been  a  familiar  matter  in  Japan 
and  China  for  many  centuries.  They  also  make  use 
of  occult  arts  to  remove  disease,  as  well  as  prayer, 
charms  and  amulets.  In  earlier  centuries  Japanese 
physicians  had  a  pharmacy  and  therapeutics  of  their 
own.     After  the    country   became    a    Chinese    colony 


398  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

other  methods  were  employed.  About  1552  the 
Spaniards  and  Portuguese  introduced  European 
physicians,  who  established  colleges  and  hospitals. 
After  their  expulsion  the  methods  of  the  Chinese 
school  were  revived.  Finally,  in  1824,  Dr.  Van  Siebold 
began  practice  at  Nagasaki  after  modern  European 
usages.  In  1849,  vaccination  was  introduced  and 
afterward  made  compulsory.  The  European  medical 
machinery  is  now  in  full  operation  ;  schools,  hospitals, 
dispensaries,  societies,  libraries  and  museums,  and  a 
national  pharinacopaeia.  The  result  is  an  excelling 
in  surgery,  ophthalmic  practice  and  dentistry.  The 
nobility  and  the  larger  part  of  the  population,  however, 
adhere  to  the  former  modes  of  medication  and  are 
described  as  eclectic  in  their  methods. 

Korea. — The  population  of  the  "  Hermit  Kingdom,  ' 
appears  to  have  been  of  Dravida  origin,  but  Chine-se 
literature  and  institutions  are  in  the  ascendant. 
There  is  high  regard  paid  to  learning,  and  all  stu- 
dents are  required  to  pass  Boards  of  Examiners, 
before  engaging  in  any  profession.  Of  course,  money 
stealthily  paid  to  the  examiners  very  frequently 
assures  the  successful  result.  There  are  two  branches 
of  the  medical  profession,  one  for  the  royal  service 
and  another  for  the  people.  In  detail,  medical  prac- 
tice in  Korea  is  not  widely  distinct  from  that  of  China. 

Indeed,  in  the  principal  countries  of  Eastern  Asia, 
the  healing  art  has  been  esteemed  as  belonging  to 
the  province  of  religion.  Evil  and  unfriendly  spirit- 
ual beings  were  regarded  as  the  chief  agents  in  pro- 
ducing disease.  The  "elemental  spirits"  described 
by  Paracelsus  may  be  traced  in  the  current  beliefs  of 
the  Oriental  peoples  ;  and  perhaps  also  their  counter- 


THE    NINETEENTH  .CENTURY. CONTINUED.  399 

parts,  the  microbes,  micrococci,  bacilli  and  other 
animalcules,  which  have  been  introduced  to  notice  by 
later  explorers  and  brought  forward  to  the  sanctities 
of  scientific  baptism.  It  was  supposed  that  the  clip- 
pings of  the  hair  and  nails,  and  even  the  refuse  of  the 
food  afforded  niduses  and  receptacles  for  these  malign 
operators  to  employ  for  the  purpose  of  the  inflicting  of 
maladies.  Hence  every  remedial  device  had  regard 
to  such  beliefs.  Counter-charms  were  in  general  use. 
Every  body  had  a  totem,  amulet,  or  talisman  to  pro- 
tect from  the  mysterous  assailants.  The  Northern 
Asiatic  races  have  their  Shamans  or  sorcerers,  to  whom 
they  resort  to  counteract  disease  by  occult  medicines 
and  ceremonies.  The  Chinese,  Thibetans  and  other 
savage  people  of  Austral  Asia  attempt  to  provide 
against  disease  and  obnoxious  spiritual  infestations 
by  burning  the  food  left  uneaten  at  a  repast,  as 
well  as  the  exuviae  of  their  bodies.  Even  at  the 
ancient  Israelitish  festivals  and  sacrifices,  the  Mosaic 
statute  required  a  similar  procedure  with  the  fat  of 
animals  and  the  uneaten  flesh.* 

Among  the  uncultured  tribes  some  of  the  practices 
are  very  absurd,  sometimes  pitiful,  and  sometimes 
almost  ludicrous.  The  cotwade  must  be  included  in  the 
latter  category.  When  a  child  was  born  the  father 
takes  the  place  of  the  mother  and  receives  the  atten- 
tions and  coddling  incident  to  the  occasion.  Marco  Polo 
found  this  custom  in  Yunnan,  a  southwestern  province 
of  the  Chinese  dominions,  and  other  writers  describe 
it  as  prevailing  in  other  "Turanian  "  populations  and 
in  distant  regions  of  the  globe.  Lubbock  treats  of  it 
as  existing  among  the  Basques  of  Spain.  It  was  re- 
garded by  the  natives  of  Africa  and  South  America 

*  Exodus  yXi^.^xo  \  xxii.  18;    xxxiv.,  25. 


400  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

as  a  sacred  rite.  It  had  its  origin,  probably,  in  the 
antique  notion  that  the  father  is  the  sole  author  of 
the  child's  existence,  and  that  the  child  is  accordingly 
in  some  occult  manner  vitally  dependent  upon  the 
condition  of  his  health.  Every  excess  and  other 
infraction  of  hygienic  rules  are  therefore  strictly  pro- 
hibited during  the  period  of  couvade,  and  if  any  mis- 
fortune should  occur  to  the  infant,  the  father  and  not 
the  mother,  would  be  held  to  be  blameworthy. 

The  belief  in  obsession  as  the  cause  of  death  and 
disease  has  been  entertained  by  every  people.  Our 
own  ancestors  in  England  and  Europe,  and  the  earlier 
colonists  of  New  England,  New  York  and  the  Southern 
colonies,  hanged  men  and  women  on  the  charge  of 
disordering  individuals  by  voudou,  and  other  occult 
acts.  The  trial  by  ordeal  was  an  expedient  to  detect 
persons  who  were  supposed  to  be  thus  guilty. 

Always  the  same  notion  prevailed,  in  one  form  or 
another,  that  supernatural  forces,  evil  demons,  ele- 
mental spirits,  pervading  noxious  and  refuse  sub- 
stances, were  the  causes  of  calamities  to  individuals 
and  communities  ;  and  thus  exorcisms,  incantations, 
prayers,  magic  plants,  and  finally,  Medean  prepara- 
tions, were  employed  to  deliver  the  afflicted  from 
their  toils  and  malign  operation. 

Perhaps,  in  these  "  superstitions,"  as  they  are  some- 
times termed,  there  are  more  germs  of  truth  than  we 
are  ready  at  first  glance  to  perceive.  The  influence 
of  mental  conditions  to  disturb  the  bodily  health,  or 
to  restore  it,  is  well  known  to  be  a  powerful  factor  in 
medical  practice.  The  virtues  of  drugs  are  beyond 
the  province  of  chemistry  to  ascertain,  yet  they  are 
directly  associated  with  the  vital  energies  of  medici- 
nal plants    and  the  magnetic  conditions  of  the    sub- 


THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. CONTINUED.  40! 

stances.  It  matters  little  whether  we  term  these 
things  "spirits,"  "forces,"  "properties,"  or  some 
other  cunningly-devised  appellation.  We  may  seek  to 
evade  the  matter  by  plausible  explanations  or  equiv- 
ocations, yet  we  shall  inevitably  be  brought  back  to 
the  starting  point.  The  Medical  Art  began  with  such 
a  belief  in  mystic  and  occult  principles,  and  it  has  not 
yet  gone  a  great  distance  further.  In  the  present 
state  of  medical  knowledge,  it  will  be  well,  therefore, 
to  withhold  sneers,  and  to  cultivate  with  assiduity 
the  faculty  of  veneration — which  is,  after  all,  the  true 
master-key  of  knowledge. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN   PRACTICE. 

RING     IN    THE     NEW  ! 

"  There  are  epochs  in  the  history  of  the  human 
race,"  says  Lamartine,  "  when  the  decayed  branches 
fall  from  the  tree  of  humanity,  and  when  institutions 
grown  old  and  exhausted  leave  space  for  fresh  institu- 
tions full  of  sap,  which  renew  the  youth  and  recast 
the  ideas  of  a  people." 

The  Eighteenth  Century  had  passed  its  meridian 
and  waned  into  its  afternoon,  when  the  subject- 
colonies  of  Great  Britain  in  the  Western  Hemisphere 
discarded  the  old  relations  and  set  out  upon  their 
new  career  of  independent  commonwealths.  No  more 
should  there  be  a  King  with  his  nobles  and  Church- 
men to  command  their  action.  The  reign  of  sceptre, 
belt  and  crosier,  they  decreed,  must  give  way  to 
government  of  the  People,  by  the  People,  for  the 
People.  Thenceforth  Religion,  no  longer  in  the  meshes 
of  unholy  alliance  with  the  secular  powers,  was 
exalted  to  a  higher  seat  in  the  individual  conscience. 
Knowledge,  no  more  to  be  esteemed  an  exclusive 
possession  of  privileged  persons,  was  made  the  par- 
taker of  a  like  consecration  to  the  common  good. 
The  People,  now  baptized  in  the  fire  and  spirit  of 
liberty,  began  to  prove  their  new-found  strength 
in  directions  where  they  had  before  been  arbitrarily 
forbidden. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  403 

The  new  impulse  pervaded  the  Art  of  Healing. 
Heretofore  this  had  taken  form  in  every  country  in 
accordance  with  antique  custom.  Europe  had  fol- 
lowed in  the  wake  of  Asia,  and  her  schools  took 
their  first  instruction  from  the  Universities  of 
the  Jew  and  Muslim.  The  medical  art  was  over- 
shadowed by  scholastic  subtleties,  and  embraced 
doctrines  now  set  aside  as  vague  and  visionary. 
Presently  other  schools  and  methods  came  into 
notice,  often  in  rivalship,  if  not  open  hostility  to 
one  another.  Thomas  Jefferson,  writing  to  Doctor 
Wistar,  declared  that  he  had  seen  the  various  schools 
and  theories  of  medicine,  "  disciples  of  Hoffman, 
Boerhaave,  Stahl,  Cullen  and  Brown,  succeed  each 
other  like  the  shifting  figures  of  the  magic  lantern  ; 
and  their  fancies,  like  the  dresses  of  the  annual  doll- 
babies  from  Paris,  becoming,  from  their  novelty,  the 
vogue  of  the  day  and  yielding  to  the  next  novelty 
their  ephemeral  favors." 

The  culmination  in  every  country  had  been  the 
establishing  of  a  professional  hierarchy  analogous  to 
a  National  Church,  domineering  in  its  spirit  and  in- 
tolerant of  diversity  of  opinion  ;  and  the  inevitable 
consequence  was  an  intellectual  stagnation,  from  being 
protected  too  much.  There  was  an  accumulation  of 
literature  abounding  with  an  ostentatious  display  of 
Latin  and  Greek  terminology,  and  little  improve- 
ment in  medication  or  procedures.  "  In  two  thousand 
years,"  says  Lacon,  "  the  result  of  all  their  discoveries 
is  that  brimstone  and  mercury  are  the  only  two  spe- 
cifics ;  diseases  remain  what  they  ever  were." 

The  methods  of  the  Old  World  were  assiduously 
engrafted  upon  the  medical  practice  and  legislation 
of  the   New.      The   old    Man    of    the   Sea  upon   the 


404  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

shoulders  of  Sinbad  the  Sailor  fastened  not  more 
tightly  to  his  captive.  The  consequences  were  often 
most  deplorable  ;  death  on  the  pale  horse  and  hadaean 
misery  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  procession. 

At  length  the  attention  of  the  leading  public  men 
and  teachers  was  aroused  to  the  insufficiency  and 
destructive  character  of  the  current  medical  treat- 
ment. Benjamin  Rush,  a  student  of  William  Cullen 
and  a  supporter  of  Brown,  did  not  hesitate  to  declare 
that  the  very  theory  and  practice  of  medicine  which 
Philadelphia  had  adopted  from  Great  Britain,  to  dis- 
seminate over  America,  had  proved  a  dismal  failure. 
He  also  confessed  that  the  physicians  themselves  were 
ignorant  of  disease  and  the  proper  remedies,  and  that 
the  remedies  which  were  employed  did  not  possess 
the  proper  efficacy. 

He  went  farther.  Having  subscribed  his  name  in 
1776  to  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence, 
and  thus  declared  himself  in  favor  of  impartial  free- 
dom, he  began  the  Nineteenth  Century  with  this 
memorable  protest  against  medical  legislation. 

*'  Conferring  exclusive  privileges  upon  Bodies  of 
Physicians,  and  forbidding  men  of  equal  talents  and 
knowledge  from  practicing  medicine  within  certain 
districts  of  cities  and  countries,  are  Inquisitions — 
however  sanctioned  by  ancient  charters  and  names — 
serving  as  the  Bastiles  of  our  profession." 

Such  was  the  warning  from  the  highest  medical 
authority  of  his  day,  in  America.  To  it  he  added  his 
woful  confession  :  "We  have  assisted  in  multiplying 
diseases,  and  increased  their  mortality." 

The  large  catalogue  of  complaints,  classified  and 
curiously  arranged  in  modern  nosologic  mortuary 
records,  abundantly  confirm  this  declaration  of  impo- 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  405 

tency.  It  was  certainly  high  time  to  wrest  the  lancet 
from  the  hands  of  physicians,  and  to  consign  it  to  rust 
and  oblivion.  More  urgent  was  the  necessity  to  raise 
up  a  new  generation  of  practitioners  who  would  bring 
forth  its  legitimate  fruits.  Every  intelligent  commu- 
nity must  always  demand  a  therapeutic  art  which  is  at 
once  benign  and  efficacious,  a  method  which  is  both 
merciful  and  certain,  worthy  of  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
prophet  and  the  unflagging  zeal  of  the  apostle. 

Why,  the  question  may  pertinently  be  asked,  why 
may  we  not  have  such,  as  an  American  School  of 
Medicine  ?  We  must  realize  the  wants  of  our  own 
time,  and  employ  intelligently  the  means  for  satisfy- 
ing them.  In  doing  this,  it  is  by  no  means  necessary 
to  break  abruptly  or  violently  with  the  Past,  but  only 
to  refuse  to  be  in  servile  subjection  to  it.  We  can 
hold  aloof  from  former  procedures  and  doctrines, 
purely  because  they  are  inadequate,  because  they 
have  not  only  failed  of  approval  with  the  more  sensi- 
ble among  non-professional  men,  but  also  have  been 
weighed  by  the  most  eminent  of  medical  teachers  and 
practitioners,  and  by  them  found  wanting.  We  are 
abundantly  warranted  in  pleading  for  the  American 
Practice,  because  its  methods,  and  its  assortment  of 
remedies,  better  meet  our  requirements,  and  because 
the  latter  are  supplied  chiefly  from  the  Flora,  the 
medicinal  waters,  and  innumerable  resources  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  But,  aside  from  these  advan- 
tages, we  may  contend  for  it  for  reasons  which  will 
commend  themselves  to  every  American  patriot,  and 
every  lover  of  his  race  ;  because  it  is  the  Medical 
Practice  most  in  harmony  with  liberal  knowledge, 
with  the  spirit  of  broad  investigation,  and  with  the 
sound  principles  of  Human  Freedom.     It  had  its  in- 


406  HISTOKY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ception  in  these,  and  side  by  side  with  them  it  must 
run  its  career. 

THE    HEALING    ART    IN    THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD. 

The  practice  of  Medicine  in  America,  during  the 
colonial  period,  was  simple  and  unpretentious.  The 
facilities  afforded  to  the  medical  student  for  learning 
the  art  consisted  chiefly  in  familiar  association  with 
rural  practitioners,  the  observing  of  their  procedures, 
and  a  diligent  prosecuting  of  such  opportunities  as 
the  country  afforded.  Individuals  of  an  inquiring 
habit  of  mind,  persons  skilled  in  woodcraft,  and 
expert  housewives,  learned  the  use  of  the  medicinal 
plants  growing  in  the  forests  and  neglected  fields. 
Much  invaluable  knowledge  was  acquired  in  this  way. 
The  natives  also  possessed  many  important  medical 
secrets.  All  these  were  treasured  up  in  families  and 
communicated  to  the  various  members.  Pamphlets 
were  printed  to  disseminate  such  information,  and  to 
explain  certain  procedures  which  had  been  found 
salutary  in  the  treating  of  the  sick.  Much  of  this 
knowledge  has  been  preserved  and  cultivated,  but 
much  has  unfortunately  been  lost. 

A  physician,  well  grounded  in  the  traditions  of  the 
former  period,*  enumerates  many  of  the  remedies 
then  employed  from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  giving 
them  their  common,  unpretentious  names  of  "  yellow 
dock,  sarsaparilla,  wintergreen,  birch  bark,  elecam- 
pane, comfrey,  sassafras,  plantain,  whitewood,  dande- 
lion, snake-root,  hardback,  horse-radish,  peppermint, 
spearmint,  red  peppers,  Indian  tobacco,  wormwood, 
tansy,  yarrow,  star-grass,  marsh-mallow,  Indian  hemp 

*  Dr.  Rufus  W.  Griswold,  of  Rocky  Hill,  Connecticut. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  407 

l^Apocynum],  wild  ginger,  mullein,  pink-root,  night- 
shade, barberry,  sweet  flag,  catnip,  wormseed,  golden 
thread,  dogwood,  skunk-cabbage,  bittersweet,  slippery 
elm,  boneset  or  thoroughwort,  blue  gentian,  crane's 
bill,  pennyroyal,  frostwort,  henbane,  blue  flag,  butter- 
nut-bark, juniper  berries,  burdock,  wild-cherry  bark, 
flaxseed,  pumpkin  seeds,  parsley-root,  May-apple, 
black  alder,  elder-berries,  white-oak  bark,  sumach  ber- 
ries, rosemary,  blackberry-root,  willow-bark,  sage, 
blood -root,  skullcap,  seneca  [I^o/ygala'j^mvLSta.rd,  golden 
rod,  queen's  root,  stramonium  seeds,  uva  ursi,  valerian 
\CypripediHm\  hellebore,  prickly  ash,  touchwood,  agri- 
mony, sweet  fern,  mandrake,  marjoram,  colt's  foot 
YTussilago\  mistletoe,  Peruvian  bark." 

The  treatise  upon  Herbal  Medicine,  by  the  cele- 
brated Nicholas  Culpepper,  was  known  to  the  more 
intelligent  practitioners.  It  bore  the  title  of  The 
English  Physician — Enlarged^  and  its  title  page  bore  the 
quaint  description  :  "  A  Compleat  Method  of  Physick, 
whereby  a  Man  may  preserve  his  Body  in  Health  or 
Cure  himself,  being  sick,  with  sucn  things  only  as 
grow  in  England,  they  being  most  fit  for  English 
Bodies."  This  edition  of  the  work  was  published  in 
1704,  and  contained  accounts  of  three  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  plants,  setting  forth  their  astrologic,*  as 
well  as  remedial  character.  We  find  many  of  them 
at  the  present  time  equally  common  in  America,  and 
frequently  in  use  as  medicines.  Among  them  are, 
agrimony,  avens,  bittersweet,  nightshade,  gentian, 
flower-de-luce,  cleavers,  comfrey,  pennyroyal,  dande- 

*  "  If  we  knew  all  the  qualities  of  the  stars,"  says  Dr.  Franz  Hartmann,  "  we 
would  find  that  the  quality  of  each  of  them  is  represented  on  the  earth  by  some 
plant."  This  was  the  doctrine  taught  in  the  universities  of  Europe  during  the 
Middle  Ages.  Paracelsus  actually  classified  his  remedies  under  the  head  of  the 
seven  planets,  and  many  of  them  are  now  used  in  the  same  way  as  he  directed. 


408  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

lion,  mullein,  poplar  bark,  willow,  catmint,  thorough- 
wort,  eyebright.  Quaint  and  antique  as  the  work  may- 
be, it  contains  much  information  of  great  utility. 

Every  doctor  had  his  favorite  medicines,  pills,  and 
other  preparations,  and  he  often  kept  their  composi- 
tion a  secret.  Some  of  them  were  very  crude,  and 
their  efficacy  would  seem  to  us  now  as  depending 
very  much  upon  the  credulity  of  both  physician  and 
patient,  to  be  even  tolerated.  They  remind  us  of  the 
old  Warburg  Tincture,  or  rather  of  the  ingredients 
resembling  those  of  the  former  pharmacy,  which  we 
find  enumerated  as  elements  of  the  brew  in  the  caul- 
dron of  the  Urd  Sisters,  in  the  tragedy  of  Macbeth. 
There  was  little  pretense  of  medical  ethics  in 
the  former  centuries,  but  the  same  opprobrium 
that  was  lavished  upon  dissenters  and  heretics  in 
religious  communities,  was  bestowed  with  like  inten- 
sity of  hatred  by  medical  men  upon  those  who  did 
not  follow  their  procedures. 

The  clergy  of  the  American  colonies  sometimes 
united  medical  practice  with  their  pastoral  duties, 
thus  ministering  to  mind  and  body  alike,  and  perhaps 
to  equal  advantage.  Many  of  the  governors  and  other 
magistrates,  also  prescribed  for  the  maladies  of  their 
neighbors.  Mothers  of  families,  and  the  maiden  aunts 
abounding  in  Yankeedom,  took  charge  of  their  own 
households,  and  attended  to  others  who  desired  their 
help.  They  had  almost  exclusive  direction  of  the 
obstetric  art.  Physicians  were  sparse,  and  were 
chiefly  consulted  in  extraordinary  emergencies. 

Surgical  skill  was  extremely  rare.  Here  and  there 
were  individuals  of  little  technical  acquirement,  but 
possessed  of  tact  and  ingenuity,  for  operative  pro- 
cedures.    A  practitioner  of  this  class  in  New  Hamp- 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  409 

shire,  by  the  name  of  Kittredge,  has  been  already 
named.  He  reduced  fractures  and  dislocations  with 
wonderful  skill.  Also  Captain  Benoni  Sweet,  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  his  descendants  were  equally  distinguished. 
The  members  of  this  family  exhibited  deftness  in  this 
direction,  almost  intuitive,  and  accompanied  by  cor- 
responding results.  In  other  respects  they  were  not 
so  wonderful,  and  indeed,  several  of  them  incurred  the 
imputation  of  charlatanry.  They  were  characterized 
by  the  fault  unpardonable  in  the  unwritten  code  of 
New  England,  unthrift.  Their  services  were  in  requi- 
sition during  the  Indian  and  Revolutionary  wars. 

Technical  instruction  during  the  colonial  period, 
and  indeed  for  many  years  of  the  Nineteenth  Century, 
was  very  meagre  and  superficial.  Libraries  were 
always  small,  and  there  was  comparatively  little  to  be 
learned  from  the  books.  The  medical  student,  as  a 
general  custom,  attended  his  preceptor,  and  acquired 
from  him  a  knowledge  of  the  medicines  and  proced- 
ures which  he  was  himself  to  employ.  After  several 
seasons,  he  ventured  to  begin  professional  work  on 
his  own  account.  It  is  probably  not  more  than  just 
to  remark,  that  as  practitioners,  the  average  American 
physicians  thus  educated  were  not  inferior  to  their 
brethren  beyond  the  Atlantic  ocean.  Indeed,  one  of 
their  successors  affirms  that  their  patients  with  acute 
diseases  recovered  in  a  proportion  as  large  as  similar 
patients  get  well  at  the  present  time.  It  must  be 
added  in  further  justice  that  these  statements  sliould 
be  confined  to  one  school  of  practitioners.  Better 
success  attends  the  others. 

They  let  blood  as  zealously  as  Sangrado  of  old,  and 
actually  attributed  to  this  operation  whatever  recov- 
eries took  place.     Pringle,  who  flourished  in  the  fore- 


4IO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

part  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  quoted  Sydenham, 
Boerhaave  and  Bellini,  in  favor  of  this  exhaustive 
depletion  ;  Rush  and  his  contemporaries  followed 
Pringle.  The  doctrine  which  Cervantes  had  in  jest 
imputed  to  his  physician,  was  promulgated  in  sober 
earnest.  As  late  as  1841,  Dr.  Sleigt,  a  physician  of 
Philadelphia,  while  holding  a  public  discussion, 
asserted  that  five-sixths  of  the  blood  was  superfluous, 
and  being  loaded  with  the  seeds  of  disease,  it  was 
better  to  discharge  it  from  the  body.  So  they  bled 
for  every  thing  pretty  much  alike,  for  fever,  preg- 
nancy, consumption,  even  attempting  it  for  Asiatic 
cholera.  In  many  communities,  individuals  had 
become  enthusiastic  to  be  bled  periodically,  as  their 
descendants  did  to  be  vaccinated. 

This  state  of  sentiment  continued  till  past  the  mid- 
dle of  the  century.  By  this  time  the  new-coming 
physicians  of  the  several  schools  had  succeeded  in 
changing  the  popular  sentiment,  and  compelled  a 
suspension  of  the  prevailing  practice.*  The  lancet 
was  reluctantly  surrendered.  In  order  to  cover  the 
retreat,  the  plea  was  put  forth  that  the  type  of  diseases 
had  changed.  The  real  truth,  however,  was  that 
there  was  a  different  type  of  patients.  Yet  the  desire 
to  resuscitate  the  practice  of  blood-letting  appears 
above  the  surface  every  little  while,  as  may  be  per- 
ceived from  utterances  by  leading  men  like  Bowditch, 

*  It  was  a  maxim  of  Broussais  :  "  Bleed  the  patient  till  he  is  white."  In  1832, 
the  French  soldiers  and  colonists  of  Algeria  suffered  a  fearful  mortality.  At  Bona, 
out  of  five  thousand  men,  eleven  hundred  died — two  out  of  every  seven  in  the  hos- 
pital. Dr.  Maillat,  of  Paris,  was  then  placed  in  charge.  His  observation  con- 
vinced him  that  the  fatality  was  due  to  venesection.  He  made  many  experiments, 
finally  substituting  quinia.  The  mortality  was  reduced  to  one  in  forty-six.  He 
then  promulgated  the  new  quinine  treatment,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  it 
adopted  in  France  thirty  years  after.  The  present  excessive  use  of  this  drug  in 
America  may  be,  like  the  women's  fashions,  a  style  adopted  from  Paris. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  411 

Flint,  Fordyce  Barker  and  Jacobi.  Revolutions  in 
countries,  however,  and  in  popular  sentiment,  are 
followed  by  a  partial  return  near  the  former  points  in 
the  circle  ;  and  the  hope  is  now  cherished  that  by  aid 
of  legislation,  the  former  supremacy  will  be  again 
established  and  a  revival  enabled  of  the  practice  of 
blood-letting.  This  may  all  be  possible,  but  it  seems 
hardly  probable,  even  then,  that  individuals  of  com- 
mon intelligence  will  be  induced  to  believe  that  their 
blood  is  in  any  degree  superfluous.  A  new  theory 
must  thus  be  devised,  and  it  can  not  last  long. 

The  attempt  had  been  made,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned,  to  introduce  technical  instruction  from 
the  Old  World.  The  medical  practitioners  of  Europe 
were  then  divided  into  schools  reflecting  the  doctrines 
of  Cullen,  Hoffmann,  Stahl  and  Boerhaave.  The 
sentiment  most  current  in  England  very  naturally 
had  the  preference.  William  Hunter  came  from  Lon- 
don and  delivered  several  courses  of  lectures,  but 
received  little  encouragement.  Other  endeavors  had 
little  more  success.  The  physicians  of  the  colonies 
being  mostly  self-taught  men,  were  attached  to  their 
own  notions  and  methods,  and  hardly  willing  to 
accept  the  views  of  others,  however  eminent  their 
reputation.  They  were  probably  equal  as  practi- 
tioners to  their  trans-Atlantic  contemporaries.  They 
were,  all  of  them,  graphically  described  by  the  Rev. 
John  Wesley  in  terms  by  no  means  flattering,  but  in 
most  respects  over-true. 

"  As  theories  increased,"  says  he,  "  simple  micdicines 
were  more  and  more  disregarded  and  disused  ;  till  in 
a  course  of  years  the  greater  part  of  them  were  for- 
gotten, at  least  in  the  more  polished  nations.  In  the 
room  of  these,  abundance  of  new  ones  were  intro- 


412  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

duced  by  reasoning,  speculative  men  ;  and  those  more 
and  more  remote  from  common  observation.  Hence, 
rules  for  the  application  of  them,  and  medical  books, 
were  immensely  multiplied  ;  till  at  length.  Physic 
became  an  abstruse  science,  quite  out  of  the  reach  of 
ordinary  men.  Physicians  now  began  to  be  held  in 
admiration,  as  persons  who  were  something  more 
than  human.  And  profit  attended  their  employ,  as 
well  as  honor  ;  so  that  they  had  now  two  weighty 
reasons  for  keeping  the  bulk  of  mankind  at  a  distance, 
that  they  might  not  pry  into  the  mysteries  of  their 
profession.  To  this  end  they  increased  those  difficul- 
ties by  design,  which  were  in  a  manner  by  accident. 
They  filled  their  writings  with  abundance  of  technical  terms 
utterly  unintelligible  to  plain  men." 

Under  such  a  condition  of  matters,  physicians  were 
justly  criticized  for  their  deplorable  ignorance  of 
disease,  its  treatment  and  proper  remedies;  and  mem- 
bers of  their  own  fraternity  were  loudest  in  con- 
demnation. Patients  undergoing  their  treatment  were 
often  hopelessly  crippled,  and  the  sick  room  was  a 
veritable  torture-chamber.* 

It  was  plain  at  the  beginning  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century  that  a  new  mode  of  practice  was  a  leading 
want  of  the  time.  The  instinct  of  self-preservation 
forbade  imperatively  that  Americans  should  longer 
be  dominated  by  the  kaleidoscopic  dogmas  and  the 
destructive  forms  of  treatment  extant  in  Europe  ;  and 
at  the  same  time  it  demanded  of  them  not  to  submit 
to  a  system  of  medical  procedure  here  at  home  which 
its   leading  expositors  almost  unanimously  acknowl- 


*  Captain  James  Riley,  of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  who  was  shipwrecked  in 
1815,  and  enslaved  for  a  time  by  the  Tuaregs  of  the  Sahara,  declared  afterward 
that  his  sufferings  and  privations  in  the  African  Desert  were  not  to  be  compared 
with  what  he  underwent  from  medical  men  to  little  benefit.  He  finally  became 
a  Thomsonian  and  treated  himself  with  success,  recovering  his  health. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  413 

edged  to  be  flagrantly  at  fault,  declaring  its  "  facts  " 
to  be  so  many  lies. 

Thomas  Jefferson  had  the  fullest  warrant  for  his 
sweeping  utterance  :  "  I  believe  we  may  safely  affirm 
that  the  inexperienced  and  presumptuous  herd  of 
medical  tyros  let  loose  upon  the  world  destroys  more 
lives  than  all  the  Robin  Hoods,  Cartouches  and  Mac- 
heaths  do  in  a  century." 

With  such  convictions  as  these,  supported  by  per- 
sonal observation  and  the  voluntary  confessions  of  the 
leading  medical  writers  of  the  time,  the  great  Father 
of  American  republicanism,  put  forth  the  memorable 
prediction,  the  Earnest  of  a  New  Practice  of  Medicine 
to  spring  up  in  America,  which  should  supersede  the 
pernicious  European  systems,  and  be  unlike  them — 
actually  conservative  of  life  and  restorative  to  health. 
"I  hope  and  believe,"  said  he  "  that  it  is  from  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic  that  Europe,  which  has  taught  us 
so  many  useful  things,  will  be  led  into  sound  princi- 
ples in  this  branch  of  science,  the  most  important  of  all, 
to  which  we  commit  the  care  of  health  and  life." 

What  Jefferson  thus  foreshadowed,  the  builders  of 
the  American  Practice  of  Medicine,  every  one  in  his 
own  sphere  and  place  of  activity,  have  striven  to 
realize. 

THE    EARLY    BOTANIC    MEDICAL    PRACTICE. 

The  origins  of  the  American  Practice  of  Medicine 
were  as  humble  as  those  described  of  Christianity 
itself,  as  well  as  of  every  beneficial  movement,  and 
are  as  difficult  to  ascertain  with  strict  historic  accu- 
racy. It  was  a  time  when  communication  between 
distant  places  was  far  from  easy,  and  when  facilities 
for  liberal  instruction  were  few.     Except  in  the  cities 


414  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  more  populous  districts,  organization  for  mutual 
improvement,  or  even  for  defense  against  persecution, 
was  very  hard  to  effect.  Every  practitioner  of  reform- 
atory views,  like  the  famous  Harry  Wynd,  of  Scottish 
story,  "fought  for  his  own  hand."  If  he  should  have 
been  asked  to  describe  diseases  or  to  give  his  reasons 
learnedly  for  his  mode  of  treatment,  he  would  very 
probably  have  been  compelled  to  answer  in  terms  like 
those  of  Talbot,  the  introducer  of  Peruvian  bark  :  "  A 
fever  is  something  which  I  cannot  define,  but  which  I 
■can  cure  ;  whilst  you,  perhaps,  may  be  able  to  define 
but  cannot  cure  it." 

The  belief  was  general,  as  recognized  by  Culpepper 
and  others,  that  every  region  of  the  earth  produced 
indigenous  medicinal  plants  that  were  ample  for  the 
cure  of  the  diseases  there  prevalent.  The  experience 
of  the  early  colonists  of  America,  as  has  been  already 
shown,  appeared  to  verify  the  notion.  It  was  known 
that  the  native  tribes  possessed  the  knowledge  of 
such  plants,  and  that  they  employed  them  success- 
fully. White  men  occasionally,  who  had  been  suffer- 
ing from  ailments  or  injuries  that  baffled  the  current 
medical  skill,  were  successfully  cured  with  their  simple 
concoctions. 

Thus  the  belief  became  widely  entertained  that 
the  aboriginal  tribes  of  the  American  forest  were  pos- 
sessed of  extraordinary  skill  in  the  Healing  Art,  and 
the  title  of  "  Indian  Doctor,"  which  has  been  so  often 
fraudulently  employed,  has  been  very  frequently  a 
sure  introduction  to  popular  favor. 

Samuel  Smith,  the  historian  of  the  "  Province  of  New 
Jersey,"  added  his  testimony,  that  the  natives  "Were 
very  studious  in  observing  the  virtues  of  roots  and 
herbs,  by  which  they  cured  themselves  of  many  bodily 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  415 

distempers,  both  by  outward  and  inward  applications  ; 
they,  besides,  frequently  used  sweating  and  the  hot 
bath." 

REMEDIES    LEARNED     FROM     THE     INDIANS. 

Many  of  the  early  Botanic  physicians  of  America 
appear  to  have  obtained  their  first  conceptions  of  med- 
ical knowledge  from  intercourse  with  the  natives.  In 
some  instances  they  had  been  led  into  captivity,  and 
so  had  the  opportunity  to  learn  the  procedures  and 
remedies  employed  by  their  captors.  In  other  cases 
there  were  individuals  of  Indian  descent  who  brought 
their  skill  to  the  knowledge  of  their  white  neighbors, 
by  living  among  them  and  treating  their  various 
maladies.  White  men  likewise  cultivated  friendly 
relations  with  native  practitioners,  and  learned  from 
them  the  plants  and  methods  of  treatment  which  they 
had  found  beneficial. 

Rafinesque,  the  Bartons,  Elisha  Smith,  and  earlier 
writers,  obtained  in  such  ways  a  very  wide  knowledge 
of  the  medicinal  plants  which  were  in  use  among  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants.  These  were  numerous  enough 
to  make  a  very  complete  Materia  Medica  by  them- 
selves. The  category  includes  the  following  remedies 
now  universally  known  as  peculiar  to  the  Eclectic 
School  of  Medicine,  namely  : 

Podophyllum,  Phytolacca,  Iris,  Leptandra,  Aletris, 
Helonias,  Collinsonia,  Chionanthus,  Asclepias  tube- 
rosa,  Apocynum,  black  and  blue  Cohosh,  Chelone, 
Euphorbia,  Agrimonia,  Xanthoxylum,  Cactus,  Gentian, 
Chenopodium,  Equisetum,  Lycopus,  Hepatica,  Hy- 
drastis, Convolvulus,  Arum,  Arbutus,  Geranium, 
Geum,  Gaultheria,  Sanguinaria,  Lobelia,  Dioscorea, 
Scutellaria,  Spiraea,  the  various  plants  named  "  snake- 


4l6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

root,"  Sumac,  Golden  rod,Viburnum ,  Galium,  Erigeron, 
Alnus,  Veratrum  Viride,  and  many  others.  These 
have  since  been  manipulated  in  many  ways,*  and  con- 
stitute a  class  of  remedies  not  excelled  by  those  of  any 
rival  school. 

BOTANIC  PHYSICIANS  BECOMING  A  DISTINCT  CLASS. 

It  has  been  shown  already  that  during  the  colonial 
period,  the  medicines  employed  by  physicians  were 
chiefly,  if  not  generally,  obtained  from  the  vegetable 
kingdom.  As,  however,  the  influence  of  the  trans- 
atlantic schools  and  practitioners  became  more  gener- 
ally prevalent,  these  fell  more  and  more  into  disuse, 
and  even  somewhat  into  discredit.  Mercury,  antimony, 
arsenic,  venesection  and  the  fly-blister  became  the 
formidable  agents.  The  professional  treatment,  that 
of  Brown  and  Broussais,  under  which  General  Wash- 
ington died  in  1799,  illustrates  forcibly  how  wide  was 
the  departure. 

Nevertheless,  there  were  physicians  remaining  who 
still  were  true  to  the  principle  of  safe  and  more 
benign  medication.  Very  generally  they  were  practi- 
tioners who  had  obtained  information  as  they  were 
able,  in  regard  to  the  remedial  virtues  of  plants  and 
the  proper  methods  of  treating  the  sick,  and  so  had 
entered  upon  their  calling,  dependent  upon  their 
native  tact,  intuition  and  home-acquired  knowledge. 
They  very  often  began  their  remedial  procedures 
upon  themselves  and  with  their  near  relatives,  and 
were  so  successful  that  their  neighbors  were  induced 
to  seek  their  aid.  Thus  with  humble  beginnings  they 
had  continued  till  it  had  become  necessary  for  them 

*  See  Digest  of  Materia  Aledica  and  Pharmacy,  by  Albert  Merrell,  M.  D. 
Prepared  under  authority  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  417 

to  abandon  their  manual  employments  and  assume 
formally  the  duties  of  the  medical  profession. 

Few  of  them,  however,  left  any  record.  The  con- 
ditions of  colonial  and  frontier  life  were  not  favora- 
ble to  the  writing  of  books.  It  has  been  an  unseemly 
practice  of  their  adversaries  to  taunt  them  as 
illiterate.  It  comes,  however,  with  a  very  ill  grace. 
Deficient  as  they  may  have  been  in  book  learning, 
they  were  endowed,  most  of  them,  with  a  degree  of 
skill,  and  they  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  remedies 
and  a  cleverness  in  employing  them  which  amply 
justified  their  claims  as  physicians.  They  easily  won 
and  retained  confidence,  for  their  patients  increased  in 
larger  proportion  than  those  treated  in  the  fashiona- 
ble way,  and  without  being  permanently  crippled,  or 
made  miserable  for  life,  as  was  not  unfrequently  the 
case  with  the  others. 

That  Botanic  physicians,  however,  were  not  so 
illiterate  as  was  pretended,  is  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that  Samuel  Thomson  himself  desired  to  become  the 
student  of  one,  and  was  precluded  by  reason  of  his 
defective  common-school  education.  At  that  time, 
physicians,  as  a  general  fact,  had  very  meagre  ele- 
mentary instruction.  Many,  and  probably  the  ma- 
jority, had  not  a  decent  primary  education,  and  were 
not  able  to  write  grammatically.  It  is  by  no  means 
altogether  different  at  the  present  time.  The  stand- 
ard of  medical  learning  in  all  ranks  of  the  medical 
profession  can  be  easily  measured  by  the  fact  that  in 
1853,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  passed 
an  act  ostensibly  for  the  incorporation  of  medical 
colleges,  but  actually  to  prevent  such  incorporation, 
declaring  in  it  that  the  condition  for  receiving  the 
degree  of  Doctor  in  Medicine  should  be  an  at<"endance 


4l8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

at  medical  lectures  for  two  terms  of  twelve  weeks 
each.  The  courts  of  the  State  went  further,  evidently- 
regarding  medical  learning  as  other  than  scientific. 
In  1884,  the  Court  of  Appeals  rendered  a  decision 
adverse  to  the  United  States  Medical  College,  solely 
upon  the  ground  that  a  medical  college  is  neither  a 
scientific  nor  literary,  but  only  an  eleemosynary  in- 
stitution. 

It  is  worth  our  while  in  this  connection  to  bear  in 
mind  that  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century,  the  very  period  when  the  attempt  was  in 
full  energy  to  suppress  medical  non-conformists  by 
oppressive  statutes  and  vigorous  persecution,  the 
established  school  of  medicine  itself  and  the  medical 
colleges  existing  under  its  auspices,  were  themselves 
in  very  ill  repute  with  intelligent  men.  Professor 
Rush  himself  declared,  in  1801,  that  "  those  physicians 
generally  became  the  most  eminent  who  soonest 
emancipate  themselves  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
Schools  of  Physic." 

This  was  certainly  a  testimony  from  a  high  quarter 
in  favor  of  independence  of  medical  colleges  by  mem- 
bers in  the  profession,  of  original  methods  of  practice 
and  of  the  courageous  adoption  of  new  and  better 
procedures.  It  was  almost  equivalent  to  the  extend- 
ing of  a  fraternal  welcome  to  innovators,  and  even  to 
practitioners  who  entertained  diverse  views.  Dr. 
Rush  demonstrated  his  sincerity  and  liberality  by 
giving  a  friendly  reception  to  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson, 
in  1813,  and  commending  his  doctrines  to  a  candid 
examination.  It  is  the  genuine  scholar  and  physician, 
the  manly  man,  who  is  glad  to  learn  and  profit  from 
any  source  of  information,  without  question  of  its 
acceptance  by  others. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  419 

A  significant  recommendation  has  been  given  in 
later  years  to  the  remedies  employed  by  the  early 
Botanic  and  Reformed  physicians.  Very  many  of 
them  have  been  adopted  and  palmed  off  upon  the 
public  as  "  new  remedies,"  by  writers  and  others  who 
were  by  no  means  friendly  to  that  school  of  practice  ; 
the  precaution  being  taken  at  the  same  time,  how- 
ever, to  avoid  any  rendering  of  credit  due,  or  even 
an  honest  mention  of  the  sources  from  which  the 
medicines  had  been  learned — and  going  so  far,  some- 
times, as  to  name  some  individual  of  their  own  parti- 
san complexion  as  having  "  introduced  them  to  the 
medical  profession."* 

Efforts  have  been  made  at  a  later  period  to  induce 
physicians  to  supply  themselves  with  the  various 
products  of  coal-tar  and  petroleum,  these  being  made 
conspicuous  by  unmeaning  and  unpronouncable  names. 
Their  success  is,  however,  by  no  means  assured.  The 
condition  is  very  general  among  the  "plain  people," 
that  medicines,  in  the  preparing  of  which  drugs  of  a 
mineral  origin  have  been  discarded,  are  of  more 
certain  benefit  and  safer  in  administration.  The 
nostrums  which  are  hawked  over  the  country  or  kept 
on  sale  by  apothecaries,  are  far  more  likely  to  attract 
purchasers  when  certified  to  be  wholly  of  botanic  origin. 


♦This  phrase  is  but  an  aping  of  the  Old  World  ecclesiasticism.  It  is  a  covert 
insinuation  that  Eclectic,  Botanic  and  Homoeopathic  physicians  do  not  belong  to 
the  medical  profession. 

The  medicines  to  which  allusion  is  here  made  now  flood  the  market.  Among 
them  are  the  various  preparations  of  which  Aletris,  Viburnum,  Chionanthus, 
Podophyllum,  Phytolacca,  and  Stillingia  are  ingredients.  The  "  Stillingia  Com- 
pound," which  has  been  manufactured  by  W.  S.  Merrell,  and  sold  by  Eclectic 
physicians  for  half  a  century,  was  adopted  in  this  manner,  backed  up  by  a 
remarkable  statement  from  Dr.  J.  Marion  Sims  to  justify  the  "  introduction."  It 
is  now  advertised  and  sold  under  a  variety  of  names  as  official,  and  forcibly 
illustrates  ethics  without  morals. 


420  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Indeed,  it  has  been  the  general  belief  and  conviction 
from  the  times  of  Hippokrates,  Chrysippus  and  Pliny- 
till  the  present,  that  the  remedies  which  are  the  most 
certain  to  accomplish  the  purposes  for  which  they  are 
intended,  as  well  as  to  leave  no  disease  after  them — a 
morbid  condition  possibly  worse  than  the  one  for 
which  they  had  been  administered — are  from  the 
vegetable  kingdom. 

EARLY    TEACHERS    OF    MEDICAL    BOTANY    IN    AMERICA. 

Though  Botany  is  now,  as  a  general  fact,  too  little 
studied  in  American  medical  colleges,  it  was  more 
highly  regarded  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  Republic. 
There  were  many  accomplished  instructors,  among 
whom  we  may  name  John  Torrey,  of  the  University 
of  the  City  of  New  York  ;  Doctor  Short,  at  Transyl- 
vania University,  in  Kentucky  ;  Stephen  Elliott,  of 
Charleston  ;  Lewis  Beck  and  William  TuUy,  at  Albany, 
and  others  at  different  places.  They  endeavored  dili- 
gently to  develop  and  disseminate  the  knowledge  of 
the  indigenous  medicinal  plants.  Several  of  them 
published  their  observations ;  William  Barton,  of 
Philadelphia,  described  fifty  plants,  and  Dr.  Jacob 
Bigelow,  of  Boston,  treated  of  sixty,  giving  also  illus- 
trations. They  were  preceded  by  Samuel  Henry,  who 
issued  his  Medical  Herbal  in  1814,  containing  an 
account  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  medicinal 
plants.  This  author,  like  Culpepper  and  other  early 
writers,  did  not  give  the  scientific  classification,  and 
his  book,  though  having  a  large  sale,  was  severely 
criticised  by  Rafinesque  and  others.  Indeed,  it  has 
been  a  cause  for  regret  and  deep  humiliation,  that  so 
lew  practitioners,  even  among  those  who  profess  to 
belong  to  a  school  of  Botanic  Medicine,  have  deemed 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  42I 

it  worth  their  while  to  acquire  any  thorough  or  con- 
siderable knowledge  of  Scientific  Botany.  This  has 
been  a  serious  drawback,  and  has  afforded  to  their 
rivals  a  plausible  pretext  for  claiming  to  have  been 
original  discoverers  and  introducers  of  new  remedies 
obtained  from  the  medicinal  plants  indigenous  in 
America. 

RAFINESQUE. 

The  study  of  the  American  Flora  was  prosecuted 
with  marked  thoroughness  and  ability  by  Constantine 
Smaltz  Rafinesque.  This  distinguished  savant  was 
the  son  of  a  French  resident  at  Galatea,  a  suburb  of 
Constantinople,  where  he  was  born  in  1784.  He  early 
manifested  a  passion  for  natural  history.  In  181 2,  he 
came  to  Philadelphia,  and  there  prosecuted  his  studies 
with  such  facilities  as  he  was  able  to  obtain.  Return- 
ing to  Europe,  he  spent  some  years  in  Sicily,  and 
became  the  author  of  several  valuable  scientific 
works  in  the  French  language.  He  came  again  to 
America  in  1815,  but  had  the  misfortune  to  be  ship- 
wrecked off  the  eastern  shore  of  Long  Island,  and  so 
to  lose  all  his  books,  manuscripts  and  other  property. 
He  thus  entered  the  country  penniless  ;  but  he  was  of 
a  temper  too  elastic  to  be  totally  disheartened.  He 
made  a  journey  directly  afterward  to  the  West,  as 
"the  West"  then  existed,  in  order  to  pursue  his 
studies  in  natural  science. 

In  1817,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Botany  in 
Transylvania  University,  Several  years  later  he 
returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  made  it  his  final  resi- 
dence. He  became  the  author  of  several  works  on 
History,  Botany  and  Science  ;  and  prepared  the  first 


422  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Hand-Book  in  this  country  that  could,  to  any  consid- 
erable extent,  meet  the  wants  of  the  intelligent  bota- 
nist and  physician.*  Its  illustrations,  over  one  hun- 
dred in  all,  are  very  accurate  and  beautiful.  The 
plates  were  purchased  in  1840  by  Dr.  Thomas  Cooke, 
of  Philadelphia,  and  w^ere  reproduced  by  him  in  the 
Botanic  Medical  Reformer,  and  also  by  Dr.  Wooster 
Beach,  in  his  work  on  the  American  Practice. 

Professor  Rafinesque  is  described  by  a  later  scien- 
tist as  "  one  of  the  geniuses  that  occasionally  appear 
to  puzzle  people  of  steady  habits."  He  was  outspoken 
in  his  opinions,  indefatigable  as  an  explorer  and 
investigator,  and  possessed  of  remarkable  originality. 
He  spent  a  long  time  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
where  he  had  opportunity  to  observe  the  native 
American  peoples,  the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws  and 
Cherokees  of  the  South,  as  well  as  the  tribes  then 
living  north  of  the  Ohio  river  ;  to  learn  their  proced- 
ures with  the  sick,  and  the  remedies  which  they 
employed.  His  impressions  in  favor  of  a  vegetable 
Materia  Medica,  and  of  a  reformed  practice  of  med- 
icine in  accordance  with  it,  were  deepened  into  con- 
victions which  he  recorded  in  no  equivocal  language 
in  his  Manual  of  Medical  Botany.  He  declared,  without 
hesitation,  that  "the  popular  belief  that  every  country 
produces  simples  suitable  to  cure  all  their  prevailing 
local  diseases,  is  not  devoid  of  truth."  He  further 
remarked  that  "  there  are  many  modes  of  effecting 
cures  by  equivalent  remedies,  but  vegetable  substances 


•  Medical  Flora  ;  or  Manual  o/ Medical  Botany  o/ the  United  States  o/ North 
America.  Containing  a  Selection  of  above  loo  Figures  and  Descriptions  of  Med- 
ical Plants,  with  their  Names,  Localities,  Properties,  History,  etc.,  and  Notes  or 
Remarks  on  nearly  500  Equivalent  Substitutes.  In  Two  Volumes.  By  C.  S. 
Rafinesque,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.     1828-30.    Philadelphia. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  423 

afford  the  mildest,  most  efficient,  and  most  congenial 
to  the  human  frame." 

The  contemporaries  of  Rafanesque  appear  to  have 
been  morally  blind  to  his  merits,  as  well  as  mentally 
incapable  of  understanding  his  teachings.  They 
passed  him  by  accordingly  as  a  man  of  no  account. 
Scientific  men  often  act  like  political  leaders,  and 
consider  the  new  man  as  their  rival.  Their  favorite 
way  for  disposing  of  him  is  to  smother  his  influence 
by  ignoring  his  meritorious  achievements.  Rafinesque 
was  keenly  sensitive  to  the  treatment  which  he 
received,  and  in  the  caption  or  motto  of  his  later 
treatise.  On  the  Fishes  of  the  River  Ohio,  he  indicated  his 
unfriendly  emulators  in  sharp  language  : 

"  The  art  of  seeing  well,  of  noticing  and  distin- 
guishing with  accuracy,  the  objects  which  he  per- 
ceives, is  a  high  faculty  of  the  mind,  unfolded  in  a 
few  individuals,  and  despised  by  those  who  can 
neither  acquire  it  nor  appreciate  its  value." 

His  work  on  the  Medical  Flora  of  North  America 
was  treated  with  a  neglect  almost  supercilious.  At 
that  time  the  Linnaean  system  of  classification  was  in 
full  favor,  and  he  had  the  temerity  to  propose  a 
Natural  Method,  which  possessed  no  attraction  for 
superficial  scholars.  He  was  thus  at  odds  with  the 
received  science  of  his  time,  and  suffered  accordingly 
the  fate  of  those  who  are  thus  in  the  advance.  At  a 
later  period,  however,  he  received  the  meed  of 
honor.  The  first  to  acknowledge  his  merits  were  the 
professors  of  Harvard  University.  Agassiz,  himself 
of  foreign  birth,  paid  him  this  tribute  : 

"  Both  in  Europe  and  in  America  he  has  anticipated 
most  of  his  contemporaries  in  the   discover)'  of  new 


424  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

genera  and  species  in  those  departments  of  Science 
which  he  cultivated  most  perseveringly,  and  it  is  but 
justice  to  restore  them  to  him  whenever  it  can 
be  done." 

Professor  Asa  Gray  followed  this  noble  suggestion, 
and  included  in  his  Manual  of  Botatiy  thirteen  of  the 
genera,  eight  sub-genera  and  sixteen  species  of  the 
plants  which  Rafinesque  had  described.  The  sage 
had  died  neglected,  and  then  had  his  monument. 

The  introduction  to  the  Medical  Flora  is  a  very  com- 
plete presentation  of  the  whole  subject.  The  learned 
professor,  as  with  the  ken  of  a  prophet,  had  almost 
foreseen  and  divined  the  advent  of  the  new  American 
Reformed  School  of  Medicine,  and  he  threw  the  gate 
wide  open  for  its  arrival.  We  transcribe  his  language 
on  the  subject  : 

"  1.  The  Science  of  Botany  was  at  all  times  intimately  con- 
nected with  Medical  Knowledge. 

"  2.  Several  ancient  nations,  such  as  the  Grecians,  Romans, 
Hindus,  Chinese,  etc.,  considered  Medical  Botany  as  equivalent 
to  both  botanical  and  medical  knowledge. 

"  3.  Medicine  was  then,  and  is  still,  among  such  nations,  noth- 
ing more  than  the  application  of  an  empirical  knowledge  of  vege- 
table substances. 

"4.  Thence,  the  usual  vulgar  division  of  Plants  into  the  five 
great  classes  of  Aliments,  Simples,  Poisons,  Flowers  and  Weeds 
— or  alimentary,  medical,  poisonous,  ornamental  and  useless 
plants. 

"5.  At  the  revival  of  learning  in  Europe,  this  notion  being 
general,  the  first  works  on  Botany  were,  of  course,  mere  sketches 
of  Medical  Botany,  and  comments  on  Grecian  and  Roman  writers. 

"  6.  When  Tournefort  and  Linnaeus,  about  a  century  ago, 
became  botanical  reformers,  and  made  Botany  a  separate  Science, 
their  efforts  and  improvements  were  resisted  by  those  who,  at  all 
times,  contend  against  useful  innovations. 

"  7.  Linnaeus  in  his  Materia  Uledica  gave  a  model  of  Syste- 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  425 

matic  Medical  Botany,  equally  concise,  perspicuous  and  accurate  ; 
but  destitute  of  the  help  of  figures. 

"  8.  This  model  was  followed  by  Schoepf  [of  Erlangen  Univer- 
sity] in  his  Materia  Medic  a  of  North  America,  the  first  great 
work  on  our  medical  plants,  published  in  German  and  in  Latin, 
toward  1787.  This  small  work  of  Schoepf  has  never  been  trans- 
lated nor  republished  in  America  ;  although  highly  deserving  of  it. 

"9.  When  America  was  settled,  the  native  tribes  were  in  pos- 
session of  many  valuable  vegetable  remedies,  discovered  by  long 
experience,  the  knowledge  of  which  they  gradually  imparted  to 
their  neighbors. 

"  10.  This  knowledge,  partly  adopted,  even  as  far  as  Europe, 
and  partly  rejected  by  medical  skeptics,  became  scattered  through 
our  country  in  the  hands  of  country  practitioners.  Herbalists, 
Empirics,  and  Botanists. 

"II.  Schoepf  collected  his  materials  from  them  and  noticed 
about  three  hundred  and  sixty  plants  as  medical  ;  but  he  did  not 
go  everywhere,  nor  exhaust  the  subject,  since  nearly  double  that 
number  are  actually  in  common  use  in  different  states  of  the 
Union. 

"  12.  Since  the  United  States  have  become  an  independent  and 
flourishing  nation,  much  has  been  done  to  teach  and  spread  correct 
medical  knowledge. 

"  13.  The  establishment  of  Medical  Schools,  Chairs  of  Materia 
Medica,  of  Medical  and  Systematical  Botany,  Medical  and  Botanic 
Gardens,  Infirmaries,  Hospitals,  have  largely  combined  to  impart 
medical  and  botanical  knowledge,  through  the  professional 
class. 

"  14.  This  purpose  has  been  aided  by  numerous  publications  of 
learned  physicians  and  botanists,  medical  works,  pamphlets,  and 
journals.   Pharmacopoeias,  Dispensatories,  Inaugural  Theses,  etc. 

"  15.  Notwithstanding  all  these  means,  it  is  a  positive  and 
deplorable  fact  that  but  few  medical  practitioners  apply  them- 
selves to  the  study  of  Botany,  and  therefore  are  deprived  of  the 
aid  of  comparative  Medical  Botany. 

"  16.  It  is  not  less  certain,  but  still  more  deplorable,  that  beyond 
the  immediate  sphere  of  medical  knowledge,  the  majority  of  the 
people  are  yet  a  prey  to  medical  credulity,  superstition  and  delu- 
sions, in  which  they  are  confirmed  by  the  repeated  failures  of 
theorists  and  occasional  success  of  empirical  rivals. 


426  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

"17.  Even  in  large  cities  and  in  the  centre  of  medical  light 
Empirics  are  thriving,  because  they  avail  themselves  of  the 
resources  afforded  by  active  plants,  often  neglected  or  unknown 
to  the  regular  practitioners. 

"  18.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  so  well  known  that  there  are  in  this  age 
and  in  the  United  States,  American  Marabouts,  who,  like  the 
Marabouts  of  the  wilds  of  Africa,*  attempt  in  some  remote  places 
to  cure  diseases  by  charms,  prayers,  blowing,  spitting,  etc." 

"  AS    OTHERS    SAW    THEM." 

Medical  practice  in  America,  it  is  plain  to  see, 
Rafinesque  did  not  regard  as  coming  within  the 
conditions  of  a  learned  profession.  He  presents 
the  following  view  of  the  field,  which  is  by  no  means 
flattering  :  "  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  spread  still 
further  correct  medical  knowledge.  The  state  of 
medical  knowledge  is  such  in  the  United  States  as  to 
require  a  greater  diffusion  of  acquired  knowledge, 
aided  by  freedom  of  enquiry,  liberal  views,  and  mutual 
forbearance." 

It  is  plain  to  any  one  conversant  with  the  history  of 
that  period,  that  when  Rafinesque  was  writing  there 
was  a  deplorable  condition  of  affairs,  mental  and 
moral.  Arbitrary  laws  existed  in  many  of  the  states, 
physicians  were  persecuted  by  rival  practitioners 
with  a  barbarous  malignity,  arrogant  intolerance  was 
displayed  toward  every  difference  of  sentiment  on 
medical  methods,  and  bitter  jealousies  were  rampant 

*  The  Murabuts  (Aimara6ai/ian)  aie  ihe  remains  of  a  powerful  Muslim  sect 
that  for  seventy  years  ruled  in  Spain,  Barbary  and  the  Sahara  Desert,  close  to 
Negroland.  They  arose  in  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  in  the  western  part 
of  Morocco,  and  were  characterized  by  remarkable  enthusiasm.  They  gained  the 
dominion  of  Spain  in  1073,  but  were  driven  out  by  the  Almohades  or  Mahdi 
dynasty  in  1147.  They  then  gave  up  political  affairs  to  become,  like  the  Jews,  a 
religious  body  only.  They  are  venerated  by  the  Berber  population  for  their 
sanctity,  and  treat  the  sick  by  medicines,  mesmeric  procedures,  etc.  The  famous 
Abd-el-Kader  was  a  Marabout. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  427 

everywhere.     Rafinesque    thus   describes  the  several 
classes  then  engaged  in  practice  : 

"  20.  The  Practice  of  Medicine  is  now  exercised  by  three  sets  of 
men  or  classes  of  practitioners  :  i,  The  Rationals  ;  2,  the  Theo- 
rists; 3,  the  Empirics. 

"21.  The  /^atio/ia/ medicsd  men  are  liberal  and  modest,  learned 
and  well  informed,  neither  intolerant  nor  deceitful,  and  ready  to 
learn  or  impart  mformation.  They  comprise  the  Jmpro7>ers, 
Eclectics,  and  Experimentalists. 

"22.  The  Improvers  study  nature,  and  the  human  frame, 
write  their  observations,  and  improve  medical  knowledge. 

"  23.  The  Eclectics  *  are  those  who  subject  and  adopt  in  practice 
whatever  is  found  beneficial,  and  who  change  their  prescriptions 
according  to  emergencies,  circumstances  and  acquired  knowledge. 

"  24.  While  the  Experimentalists  are  those  who  are  directed  by 
experience  and  experiments,  observations,  dissections  and  facts. 

"  25.  But  Theorists  are  often  illiberal,  intolerant,  proud  and 
conceited  ;  they  follow  a  peculiar  Theory  and  Mode  of  Practice 
with  little  deviation,  employing  but  few  vegetable  remedies,  and 
enlisting  under  the  banner  of  a  Teacher  or  Sect.f 

"26.  They  are  divided  into  many  sects,  always  at  war  among 
themselves  and  their  rivals.  Such  as  the  Brownists,  Galenists, 
Mesmerians,  Skeptics,  Chemicalists,  Colomelists,  Entomists,  etc. 

"  27.  The  Empirics  are  commonly  illiterate,  ignorant,  deceitful 
and  reserved  ;  they  follow  a  secret  or  absurd  mode  of  practice,  or 
deal  in  patent  remedies. 

"28.  They  include  the  Herbalists,  vulgarly  called  the  Indian 
or  Root  Doctors,  and   the   Steam    Doctors,  who   follow  the   old 


*  This  is  the  first  application  of  the  term  "  Eclectic  "  to  designate  any  school 
or  class  of  practitioners  of  medicine  during  the  Nineteenth  Century,  and  the 
definition  here  given  is  sufficiently  full  and  explicit  to  describe  the  physicians  who 
afterward  adopted  the  appellation.  It  is  not  so  easy,  however,  to  perceive  why 
the  other  groups,  the  "  Improvers  ■'  and  "Experimentalists,"  were  not  included 
with  them  instead  of  being  distinguished  as  separate  bodies. 

t  It  is  common  now  to  deny  that  this  class  of  practitioners  is  a  sect.  Its  mem- 
bers style  themselves  "  the  medical  profession  "  as  the  Roman  Christians,  denomi- 
nate their  ecclesiastical  corporation  "  the  Church,"  meaning  thereby  to  exclude 
others  from  that  distinction.  The  animus  is  the  same  in  both  cases  ;  Rafinesque's 
description  holds  good,  nevertheless,  substantially. 


428  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE, 

practice  of  the  natives,  the  Quacks,  or  dealers  in  nostrums,  the 
Patent  Doctors,  the  Prescribers  of  Recipes,  the  Marabuts,  etc. 

"  29.  All  these  classes  need  instruction  in  the  natural  knowl- 
edge of  medical  substances  ;  and  it  ought  to  be  afforded  to  them 
so  that  they  might  become  properly  acquainted  with  those  which 
they  employ  or  may  avail  themselves  of. 

' '  30.  Medical  Sciences  have  lately  been  widely  enlarged  by 
borrowing  the  help  of  all  the  Natural  Sciences  ;  and  the  enlightened 
physicians  begin  to  avail  themselves  of  all  the  materials  they  can 
command,  rendering  all  the  sciences  subservient  or  auxiliaries  to 
their  pursuits." 

A    PRECURSIVE  WORK  OF    MEDICAL  REFORM. 

For  the  furtherance  of  the  end  here  set  forth, 
Rafinesque  devoted  his  efforts.  It  was  his  avowed 
purpose  to  make  botanical  knowledge  accessible  to  all. 
He  spared  himself  neither  time  nor  exertion.  He 
made  journeys  over  fourteen  out  the  twenty-four 
states  then  comprising  the  American  Union  ;  perform- 
ing over  eight  thousand  miles  of  actual  travel.  He 
laid  all  alike  under  contribution,  holding  a  voluminous 
correspondence  with  leading  botanists  and  physicians, 
and  never  scrupling  to  seek  from  the  illiterate  the 
results  of  their  experience.  He  never  despised  knowl- 
edge, he  declares,  because  it  came  from  an  uncouth 
mouth.  He  tested  his  peculiar  facts  on  himself  and 
others.  Thus  he  employed  fifteen  years  before  giving 
to  the  public  the  result  of  his  labors. 

Rafinesque  was  warmly  opposed  to  the  exclusive 
spirit  and  action  of  professional  men  in  regard  to  the 
dissemination  of  scientific  knowledge.  He  did  not 
hesitate  to  declare  his  purpose  to  endeavor  to  make 
botanical  learning  accessible  to  all.  The  popular 
knowledge  of  the  natural  science  had  been  prevented 
in  the  United  States,  he  declared,  because  the  first 
books  published  in  them  had  followed  the  world  of 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  429 

Splendid  European  publications  intended  for  the 
wealthy  only,  or  for  public  libraries.  "  Works  of 
general  utility,"  said  he,  "  ought  to  be  accurate,  com- 
plete, portable,  and  cheap.  Such  alone  can  spread 
the  required  correct  knowledge,  and  suit  every  class 
of  readers."  He  accordingly  announced  it  as  the  aim  of 
his  work  to  be  "  a  portable  work  of  Medical  Botany 
for  the  daily  use  of  medical  students,  physicians, 
druggists,  pharmacians,  chemists,  botanists,  florists, 
herbalists,  collectors  of  herbs,  heads  of  families, 
infirmaries,  etc." 

He  set  forth  the  importance  of  the  subject  in  plain, 
but  forcible  terms.  In  botany,  he  remarks,  the  great 
majority  of  medicinal  substances  have  been  ascer- 
tained and  rendered  available,  and  the  study  of  med- 
ical equivalents  enables  to  detect  and  compose 
botanical  and  medical  equivalents.  "  Medical  Botany, 
teaching  to  know  and  appreciate  the  greatest  number 
of  articles  employed  in  Materia  Medica,  is  become 
indispensable  to  the  enlightened  physician.  Vegetable 
Chemistry  analyzes  vegetable  substances,  discusses 
their  actual  principles  and  ascertains  the  equivalent 
or  incompatible  substances.  Even  Pharmacy,  by  the 
aid  of  Botany  and  Chemistry,  has  become  a  science. 
Druggists  and  chemists  who  sell  vegetable  articles  or 
drugs,  ought  to  be  botanically  acquainted  with  them, 
so  as  to  distinguish  the  genuine  kinds  and  detect  the 
frauds  or  blunders  of  the  collectors  and  herbalists." 

It  had  been  ascertained,  he  explains,  that  there  are 
nearly  six  hundred  medical  plants  in  the  United 
States,  actually  known  and  used  as  such  ;  of  wnich, 
however,  many  are  merely  medical  equivalents.  Of 
this  number  he  made  choice  of  one  hundred  and  five 
as  being  the  most  active  and  efficient  medical  types  ; 


43©  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  he  prepared  pictures  and  descriptions  of  them  for 
his  treatise.  He  likewise  mentioned  many  of  the 
others  as  substitutes  or  succedanei, -possessing  apparently 
the  same  qualities  and  properties.  In  fact,  he  remarks, 
they  are  mostly  used  for  one  another  throughout  the 
country.  He  aimed  to  give  in  concise  terms,  a  com- 
plete knowledge  of  them  in  their  botanical,  medical, 
chemical  and  historical  points  of  view,  prefixing  to 
his  account,  the  general  principles  of  botanic  science 
as  preliminary  guides. 

rafinesque's  theory  of  pharmacy. 

The  purpose  as  well  as  the  trend  of  the  writings  of 
Rafinesque  was  to  regenerate  the  art  of  medicine  in 
his  adopted  country,  that  it  might  become  an  art  of 
healing  as  well  as  an  exercise  of  the  mental  faculties. 
He  had  witnessed  its  numerous  failures,  and  believed 
them  to  be  the  result  of  obnoxious  medication  supple- 
menting the  ignorance  of  the  prescribers.  He  sought 
to  remedy  all  this  by  bringing  into  notice  the  indige- 
nous medicinal  plants  of  the  United  States,  explaining 
their  technical  classifications  in  simple  language,  and 
setting  forth  definitely  their  specific  virtues.  "  Every 
medical  plant,"  he  declared  to  be  "a  compound  medi- 
cine prepared  by  the  hands  of  Nature  in  the  most 
suitable  form  for  exhibition  and  efficacy  in  suitable 
cases." 

By  no  means,  however,  did  he  approve  of  the  prac- 
tice which  has  since  come  into  general  favor,  of  sepa- 
rating the  medicinal  principles  by  chemical  manipu- 
lation. "The  active  principles  of  medical  plants  may 
be  obtained  in  a  concentrated  form  by  chemical  oper- 
ations,"   he    admitted,    "and   their  efiEects  are  then 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  43^ 

stronger  and  quicker,  but  less  congenial  to  the  human 
frame  than  in  their  natural  pristine  condition." 

Rafinesque  likewise  took  a  position  very  decided 
against  the  extreme  notions  of  polypharmacy,  which 
were  current,  and  inveighed  forcibly  against  the  prac- 
tice of  jumbling  scores  of  ingredients  into  a  single 
formula.  While  he  inculcated  the  doctrine  that  all 
vegetable  substances  are  compounds,  and  that  it  is 
proper  to  combine  several  medicinal  agents  in  pre- 
scriptions, he  insisted  that  they  should  be  compatible 
and  in  accordance  with  the  same  principle  as  nature 
herself  enforced.  The  following  are  some  of  his  state- 
ments and  declarations  : 

There  are  several  modes  of  efEecting  cures  by  equiv- 
alent remedies  ;  but  vegetable  substances  afford  the 
mildest,  most  efficacious,  and  most  congenial  to  the 
human  frame. 

Few  plants  possess  a  single  [uncompounded]  prop- 
erty ;  but  many  are  commonly  blended  together  in 
the  same  plant. 

Different  parts  of  a  plant  have  often  separate  quali- 
ties and  properties. 

Medical  substances  becoming  more  powerful  by 
admixture,  those  which  enter  by  vital  action  into  the 
organs  of  plants  are  rendered  more  powerful  by  inti- 
mate combination. 

By  combining  several  medical  plants  in  prescrip- 
tions, their  effect  is  increased. 

Nauseous  or  noxious  plants  may  be  rendered  grate- 
ful and  available  by  combination  with  others  of  a 
different  character. 

But  all  combinations  must  either  coincide,  or  correct 
each  other,  or  else  they  are  superfluous  and  useless. 

When  too  many  substances  are  mingled,  or  several 
that  do  not  coincide,  they  often  impair  one  another. 

The  combining  of  substances  which  exert  a  chem- 
ical action  on  each  other  must  be  avoided,  unless  a 
peculiar  medical  result  is  required. 


432  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

These  principles  are  now  very  generally  recognized 
by  intelligent  pharmacists  and  physicians.  Having 
brought  his  work  to  a  close,  he  laid  it  as  an  offering 
upon  the  altar,  trusting  that  in  due  time  it  would  be 
found  acceptable.  "  If  this  labor,"  said  he,  "  may  suit  all 
classes  of  readers,  and  all  who  employ  medical  plants, 
the  wishes  and  objects  of  the  author  will  be  fulfilled." 

Thus  modestly  did  he  set  forth  his  work.  He 
had,  however,  too  sharply  indicated  the  shortcomings 
of  medical  practitioners  for  his  views  to  meet  their 
ready  acceptance.  Hence  his  words  fell  on  unwilling 
ears,  and  were  as  an  unknown  language.  They  long 
proved  a  seed  sown  by  the  wayside,  among  thorns, 
and  on  the  surface  of  rocks.  A  later  generation,  how- 
ever, began  to  learn  his  worth,  the  most  accomplished 
savants  have  gladly  availed  themselves  of  his  learning 
and  classifications. 

RAFINESQUE    AND    WOOSTER    BEACH, 

Nevertheless,  the  labors  of  Rafinesque  were  not 
without  fruit  during  his  life-time.  He  did  not  succeed, 
as  he  had  contemplated,  in  bringing  over  the  leading 
physicians  to  his  views,  or  in  persuading  them  to 
drop  the  current  methods  of  Brown,  CuUen  and 
Boerhaave.  The  old  bottles  were  unfit  as  receptacles 
for  his  new  wine  ;  they  would  have  been  sure  to 
burst  with  the  ferment.  His  work  met  with  scant 
favor.  He  was  obliged  to  find  his  friends  in  the  high-* 
ways  and  hedges.  He  had  been  impatient  of  the 
illiteracy  exhibited  by  earlier  writers  and  practi- 
tioners of  herbal  medicine,  and  had  expressed  his 
feelings  with  undue  warmth.  Yet  it  was  among  them 
that  he  was  to  find  the  first  good  ground  for  his  sow- 
ing, with  promise  of  an  abundant  fruitage.     He  also 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  433 

discovered  that  many  of  whom  he  had  spoken  with 
harshness,  were  really  intelligent,  with  an  eager  desire 
for  broader  knowledge  and  more  general  scholarship. 
There  was  at  that  time  little  concert  of  action  to 
enable  any  successful  effort  for  the  bettering  of 
medical  practice.  Eminent  members  of  the  profes- 
sion acknowledged  its  glaring  defects,  even  admitting 
that  as  carried  on  it  was  rather  a  curse  than  a  benefit 
to  mankind.  The  various  teachers  and  authors  had 
accumulated  a  huge  number  of  books,  with  little  im- 
provement of  methods.  A  writer  in  the  Western 
Medical  Reformer,  in  1837,  described  the  situation  and 
the  evolution  of  a  new  school  in  medicine  : 

"  Facts  well  attested  existed  in  sufficient  number  to 
form  a  harmonious  system  ;  but  these  were  scattered 
over  a  vast  field  of  voluminous  works,  mixed  up  with 
error  and  misconception,  an  hundred  fold,  so  as  to  ren- 
der it  almost  the  labor  of  a  life- time  to  correct  and  col- 
lect them.  But  the  science  of  medicine  being  founded 
chiefly  upon  observation,  the  truth  must  be  sifted  from 
this  mass,  laborious  though  the  task  might  be,  or  not 
obtained  at  all  ;  as  the  experience  of  no  otie  man 
would  suffice  as  a  guide  in  practice. 

"In  this  state  of  things  the  highest  desideratum 
was  some  great  Eclectic  *  to  perform  the  herculean 
task  of  munching  at  the  abounding  chaff  and  obtain- 
ing  the    hidden    grain  ;  and   possessed    of   sufficient 

*  This  term  seems  to  have  been  first  applied  in  a  letter  to  Samuel  Thomson  by- 
Professor  B.  Waterhouse  of  the  Harvard  Medical  School.  "  Now,"  says  he,  "  my 
sagacious,  industrious  and  much-respected  Emiikic  or  Eclectic,  if  you  like  the 
latter  term  better."  Some  years  later,  Dr.  Beach  vjras  having  an  argument 
with  Dr.  I.  J.  Spcrry,  a  prominent  physician  of  the  "  Reform  "  or  Thomsonian 
school,  and  was  setting  forth  his  notion  of  retaining  what  was  useful  in  the  old 
practice,  when  the  latter  exclaimed  half  disdainfully  :  "  You  are  an  Eclectic." 
Dr.  Beach  quickly  replied  :  "  You  have  just  given  me  the  term  which  I  have 
wanted  ;  I  am  an  Eclectic."  Probably,  however,  he  did  not  imagine  that  those 
entertaining  his  sentiments  would  be  classed  under  that  designation,  as  he 
generally  designated  them  simply  "  yi^y^rwjv/ physicians." 


434  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

talent  to  combine,  arrange  and  systematize  facts  when 
arrived  at.  But  this  was  not  all.  Remedial  research 
had  been  too  much  confined  to  one  kingdom,  the 
mineral ;  and  the  resources  of  others,  especially  the 
vegetable,  required  development.  Both  these  deside- 
rata have  been  attained  to  an  almost  incredible  though 
still  imperfect  extent,  in  Dr.  Wooster  Beach,  the 
Founder  of  the  Reformed  System  of  Medicine. 

Wooster  Beach  was  born  at  T^rumbull,  in  the  State 
of  Connecticut,  in  the  year  1794.  He  early  displayed 
the  qualities  which  were  exemplified  in  his  subsequent 
career.  He  was  a  many-sided  man,  always  desirous 
to  do  the  right  so  far  as  he  could  see  the  right,  sincere 
in  conviction  and  earnest  in  purpose,  deeply  religious 
of  temper,  and  enthusiastic  in  his  endeavors  to  re- 
form the  art  of  medicine,  because  he  believed  it  to  be 
the  most  certain  means  to  be  useful  to  others.  He 
early  became  imbued  with  a  strong  distrust  of  the 
current  medical  practice,  and  was  familiar  with  the 
sweeping  criticisms  bestowed  upon  it  by  such  men  as 
Rush,  Hamilton  and  Gregory.  He  was  convinced 
that  "  the  present  practice  of  physic  and  surgery,  so  far 
from  being  founded  on  correct  principles,  was  actually 
a  curse  to  society,"  and  believed  that  better  remedies 
existed  for  diseases  than  the  lancet,  mercury  and 
other  drugs  in  common  use.  At  this  period  a  German 
Botanic  physician,  Dr.  Jacob  Tidd,  of  Amwell^  in  New 
Jersey,  had  been  engaged  in  successful  practice  for 
half  a  century.  Dr.  Beach  became  his  student  and 
finally  succeeded  him  at  his  death.  Nor  did  he  stop 
contented  with  this.  He  continued  his  researches, 
scrupling  not  to  learn  from  any  source  of  information, 
but  seeking  it  from  scholarly  physicians,  Indian 
doctors,  herbalists,  female  practitioners,  nurses,  and 
any  body  who  could  tell  him  anything  worth  the  know- 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  435 

ing.  His  reputation  as  a  successful  practitioner  led  to 
invitations  to  the  city  of  New  York.  The  laws  of  the 
State  made  it  a  penal  offense  to  practice  medicine 
without  the  authority  of  the  dominant  school,  and  he 
became  a  student  at  the  medical  department  of  the 
University,  graduating  in  due  form  and  becoming,  as 
the  law  directed,  a  member  of  the  New  York  County 
Medical  Society. 

Dr.  Beach  attempted  unsuccessfully  to  introduce 
the  Reformed  practice  through  the  medium  of  the 
medical  profession.  He  discovered,  however,  that 
"an  art  founded  on  observation  can  never  arrive  at 
any  high  degree  of  development  while  it  is  confined  to 
a  few  who  make  a  trade  of  it."  In  his  conception, 
knowledge  of  every  kind  should  be  regarded,  not  as 
the  exclusive  property  of  a  privileged  number,  but  as 
the  common  right  of  all.  "The  only  hope  of  a 
reformation  and  revolution  in  medicine,  under  Divine 
Providence,"  he  declared,  "is  the  dissemination  of  our 
principles  through  the  mass  of  the  community." 

He  now  began  his  career  as  a  public  teacher,  and 
following  the  example  of  John  Hunter  and  others, 
opened  an  infirmary,  which  afforded  ample  oppor- 
tunity for  clinical  observation,  and  was  afterward 
expanded  into  the  Reformed  Medical  College  of  the 
City  of  New  York.  These  were  carried  on  for  years 
with  such  good  effect  as  to  assure  a  permanent  begin- 
ning for  the  American  Practice  of  Medicine.  Though 
never  partial  to  the  extensive  curriculum  of  medical 
colleges,  Dr.  Beach  was  quick  to  put  forth  efforts  to 
elevate  the  standard  and  make  the  Reformed  phy- 
sicians skillful  as  practitioners.  His  aim  was  not  to 
cultivate  the  notion  of  a  fixed  or  routine  system,  but 
to  release  the  mind   from   the  dogmas  of  creeds  and 


436  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

systems,  the  doctrines  of  the  medical  schools  as  they 
were  then  taught,  and  to  direct  it  into  the  broad  field 
of  investigation.  He  secured  the  permanency  of  his 
system,  not  so  much  from  the  theoretical  and  induct- 
ive processes  of  his  reasoning,  as  from  the  practical 
results  of  his  clinical  teaching. 

In  1S32,  occurred  the  first  visitation  of  Asiatic 
cholera  in  America.  It  seemed  to  come  from  an 
unseen  power,  with  no  apparent  connection  with  any 
ordinary  cause  to  disseminate  the  contagion.  It 
appeared  in  Quebec,  in  June  ;  then  in  Albany,  then 
in  New  York,  the  17th  of  July. 

The  first  seizures  were  of  individuals  remote  from 
one  another,  who  had  had  no  communication  with  any 
infected  place  or  individual.  It  often  neglected  the 
abodes  of  filth  and  wretchedness  to  revel  in  districts 
at  once  clean  and  well  drained.  It  was  truly  no 
respecter  of  sanitary  conditions,  and  seems  never  to 
have  been. 

The  physicians  of  New  York  generally  treated  their 
patients  with  calomel,  and  such  were  almost  sure  to 
die.  A  resolution  of  the  Common  Council  had  for- 
bidden the  accepting  of  certificates  of  death,  except 
from  a  "  regular  physician,"  but  the  senseless  provis- 
ion was  now  repealed.  Alderman  John  Palmer,  of 
the  Tenth  Ward,  appointed  Doctor  Beach  to  take 
charge  of  all  poor  patients  in  that  district,  who  should 
be  attacked  by  the  epidemic.  His  assistants  were 
generally  physicians  of  the  dominant  school,  but  they 
obeyed  his  directions  loyally.  The  visitation  lasted 
three  months,  during  which  they  prescribed  for  about 
one  thousand  cases  of  cholera,  with  successful  results 
nowhere  equalled. 

Doctor   Beach  remained   at  his  post  in  New  York, 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN     PRACTICE.  437 

teaching,  conducting  a  religious  journal,  and  attend- 
ing to  the  duties  of  his  profession.  He  added  to 
these  the  compiling  of  medical  works.  The  new 
school  of  practice,  with  new  institutions  for  the  incul- 
cating of  its  doctrines,  made  new  text-books  neces- 
sary. His  great  work,  TJie  American  Practice  of  Med- 
icine^ in  three  volumes,  was  published  in  1833,  and 
became  at  once  the  standard  work  of  Reformed 
physicians.  Copies  of  it  were  sent  to  the  various 
sovereigns  of  Europe.  They  submitted  it  at  once  to 
their  Court  Physicians,  who  generally  gave  the  work 
unqualified  commendations.  Hufeland  replied  with 
a  golden  prize-medal  from  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
the  diploma  of  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Medical 
and  Surgical  Society  of  Berlin.  Similar  medals  were 
conferred  by  other  sovereigns — by  William  IV.,  of 
England  ;  Louis-Philippe,  King  of  the  French  ;  the 
kings  of  Holland,  Saxony,  and  Wurtemberg,  and  by 
the  Grand  Duke  of  Saxony.  His  Holiness,  Gregory 
XVI.,  was  not  behind  in  acknowledgment.  "  Seeing 
this  work  honored  by  so  many  sovereigns  of  Europe, 
and  by  so  many  distinguished  professors  in  the  two 
hemispheres,"  he  added  his  testimony  with  a  medal. 
Some  of  the  letters  were  autographs  from  the 
sovereigns  themselves.  The  declarations  of  the 
savants  in  medicine  were  most  flattering.  "  The 
work  which  has  just  flowed  from  yoiir  learned  pen," 
said  Baron  Von  Lehr,  of  Wurtemberg,  Privy  Coun- 
sellor, "  will  not  fail  to  attain  the  approbation  of  all 
enlightened  connoisseurs."  Baron  Alibcrt,  of  the 
Hospital  of  St.  Louis,  in  Paris,  added  his  commenda- 
tion :  "  It  is  a  model  of  analysis,  and  a  masterpiece  of 
method  and  medical  experience."  Professor  von 
Walther,   surgeon   to   the   king  of   Bavaria,  wrote   to 


438  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Doctor  Beach  personally  :  "  This  work,  so  interesting 
and  instructive,  places  you  in  the  rank  of  the  most 
celebrated  authors  of  our  art." 

The  medical  societies  of  Leipzig,  in  Saxony  ;  Bam- 
berg, in  Bavaria,  and  Wetterau,  in  Germany,  in  their 
turn  transmitted  diplomas  of  membership.  Other 
persons  in  the  higher  walks  of  life  wrote  acknowl- 
edgments equally  flattering  in  their  terms.  At  this 
time,  it  will  be  borne  in  mind,  the  leading  minds  of 
Europe  were  contemplating  the  evolution  of  a  new 
Rational  Practice  of  Medicine,  to  supersede  the  unsat- 
isfactory procedures  then  in  vogue,  and  were  ready  to 
welcome  every  proposition  which  might  conduce  to 
that  end. 

Doctor  Beach  was  by  no  means  unrecognized  in  his 
own  country.  Leading  citizens,  members  of  the  bar 
and  medical  profession,  judges  and  clergymen,  were 
among  those  who  commended  him  and  his  works. 
Dr.  James  R.  Wood,  of  the  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical 
College,  declared  him  one  of  the  great  men  of  the  age. 

Rafinesque  also,  cordially  gave  his  adhesion  to  the 
new  American  Practice,  as  the  realization  of  his  own 
aspirations.  In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Beach,  tinder  date  of 
January  6th,  1840,  he  says  : 

"  I  must  now  state  again,  that  I  think  highly  of 
your  medical  work.  I  belong,  like  yourself,  to  the 
Reformed  Practice  of  Medicine,  and  agree  with  you 
much  better  than  with  the  Thomsonian,  Homoeo- 
pathic, and  Botanical  Empirics.  Your  system  is  a  good 
one.  If  not  perfect,  it  is  better  at  any  rate,  than  most 
of  the  fashionable  systems — Galenian,  Brunonian,  or 
mineral.  Your  system  of  Surgery  appears  both 
benign  and  safe,  and  much  better  than  the  old  butch- 
ering system." 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  439 

Thus,  generously  and  manfully,  did  Rafinesque 
render  honor  where  he  believed  it  due.  He  now 
witnessed  the  dawn  of  the  new  morning,  when 
the  methods  of  Cullen,  Brown  and  Boerhaave,  which 
had  prevailed  everywhere  during  the  preceding  night, 
were  likely  to  be  supplanted  by  greater  intelligence 
among  the  people,  better  methods  of  medical  treat- 
ment, and  by  broader  views  among  jurists  and  legis- 
lators of  personal  rights  and  constitutional  liberty^ 
He  had  desired  to  see  the  coming  day,  and  believing 
that  he  saw  it,  he  was  glad. 

A  few  months  later,  on  the  tenth  of  September, 
1841,  he  passed  from  among  the  living. 

Before,  however,  his  works  received  due  attention, 
a  generation  had  gone  by.  Then,  Professor  Agassiz, 
himself  also  of  foreign  birth,  Asa  Gray,  and  others, 
began  to  praise  his  scientific  achievements.  His 
works  were  collated  and  published  in  1884.  As  with 
other  illustrious  explorers  in  the  world  of  science,  the 
justice  which  had  been  denied  to  him  in  his  life-time, 
was  thus  acknowledged  by  this  rearing  of  his  literary 
monument  forty  years  after  his  death. 

"  Get  one  hero,"  says  D.  A.  Wasson,  "  and  you  may 
get  a  thousand."     This  titterance  was  now  verified. 


ELISHA     SMITH. 

Reformed  physicians  have  been  aptly  described  by 
one  of  the  veterans  of  the  school,  as  "  formidable  in 
numbers,  and  spread  over  a  wide  domain,  but  as  re- 
quiring for  centralization  and  power,  yet  to  learn  the 
uses  of  combination  and  unity  of  action."  The 
centrifugal  force  seems  to  have  been  the  stronger. 
The  love  of  ruling  produces  animosity  and  contention 


440  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

where   there  ought   to  be  confidence  and  fraternal  co- 
operation. 

About  the  time  when  peace  was  declared  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  in  1815,  Dr. 
Elisha  Smith  began  the  practice  of  medicine  as  a 
Botanic  physician  in  the  "  Genesee  country,"  not  far 
from  the  present  city  of  Rochester,  in  Western  New 
York.  He  speedily  attained  a  flourishing  practice. 
He  was  endowed  with  superior  genius,  and  appears  to 
have  possessed  the  qualities  necessary  for  a  leader  of 
opinion.  He  had  acquired  an  excellent  medical 
education  for  the  period  in  which  he  lived.  About 
this  time  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson  published  his  work, 
and  Dr.  Smith  perceiving  it  to  be  as  he  considered 
incomplete,  conceived  the  project  of  compiling  another 
which  should  be  broader  in  sentiment,  more  complete  , 
and  accurate.  He  was  destined,  however,  to  be  inter- 
rupted for  a  season. 

In  the  years  succeeding  a  war,  there  is  a  decided 
trend  toward  arbitrary  and  multifarious  legislation. 
This  has  been  observed  ever  since  the  close  of  the 
late  civil  war  in  America,  and  it  was  likewise  the 
case  after  the  war  of  181 2.  The  instinct  of  liberty 
was  suppressed  or  blunted  outright.  The  attention 
of  the  people  was  turned  from  matters  of  princi- 
ple to  subjects  of  material  profit  and  advantage. 
The  occasion  was  seized  to  incorporate  afresh  into 
the  legislation  of  the  states  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
from  Maine  to  Georgia,  statutes  making  the  practice  of 
medicine  except  by  physicians  of  the  dominant  school, 
a   misdemeanor.      Pennsylvania*    and    the    Western 

*  Governor  J.  B.  Shultz  is  entitled  to  the  credit  of  exempting  Pennsylvania 
from  this  dishonor.  A  bill  similar  in  provisions  to  the  Black  laws  of  the  other 
states  had  passed  both  branches  of  the  legislature,  at  the  instance  of  the  Medical 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  448 

States  generally  were  the  honorable  exceptions.  It 
was  made  a  penal  offense  to  treat  the  sick,  except  by- 
virtue  of  a  license  or  permission  granted  by  a  civil 
magistrate  or  some  medical  society.  The  diplomas  of 
medical  colleges  in  those  days  were  not  valid  as 
licenses,  except  a  special  statute  invested  the  institu- 
tion with  authority  equivalent  to  that  possessed  by 
medical  societies. 

Though  a  patient  recovered  perfectly,  and  it  was 
due  to  the  heterodox  medical  treatment,  and  especi- 
ally if  he  had  received  no  benefit  but  only  harm  from 
the  other  physicians,  these  facts  by  no  means  excul- 
pated the  benefactor.  An  Apostle  of  the  Christian 
religion,  and  even  the  Son  of  God  himself  would  have 
been  an  offender  under  this  legislation.  Botanic 
physicians  were  thus  virtually  outlawed.  They  were 
forbidden  to  accept  a  fee,  however  freely  given,  or  to 
be  in  any  manner  recompensed  for  their  good  offices. 
The  Spotted  Beast  and  Two-horned  Dragon-Prophet 
of  the  book  of  Revelation  *  seemed  to  have  taken  the 
control,  as  thus  described,  of  the  medical  legislation 
of  the  country. 


Society  of  the  State.  The  stalwart  and  clear-headed  governor  returned  it 
vetoed,  as  being  unconstitutional  as  well  as  inherently  unjust.  The  judicial 
subterfuge  of  "  Police  Power,"  which  has  been  in  later  years  put  forward  by 
courts  and  legislatures  as  their  authority  for  overriding  personal  rights  and  the 
constitutional  safeguards  of  liberty,  appears  not  to  have  been  employed  in  those 
days,  except  in  the  case  of  negroes  in  certain  of  the  slaveholding  states. 

*  Revelation^  xiii :  "  And  it  was  given  him  to  make  war  with  the  saints,  and  to 
overcome  them  ;  and  all  that  dwell  upon  the  Earth  shall  worship  him,  whose  names 
are  not  written  in  the  Book  0/ Li/c.  *  *  And  I  beheld  another  Beast  coming 
up  out  of  the  Earth  ;  and  he  had  two  horns  like  the  Lamb,  and  he  spake  as  the 
Dragon.  And  he  exerciseth  all  the  authority  of  the  First  Beast  in  his  presence,  and 
causeth  all  the  Earth  and  them  that  dwell  therein  to  worship  the  First  Beast.  *  * 
And  lie  caused  all,  both  small  and  great,  rich  and  i>oor,  free  and  bond,  to  receive  a 
mark  in  their  right  hand  or  on  their  foreheads — and  that  no  matt  niight  buy  or  sell, 
sa7'e  he  that  had  the  Mark  0/  the  Beast,  or  the  number  0/  his  ?iame." 


442  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

In  the  charter  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians 
of  London,  is  a  provision  allowing  all  persons  to  make 
use  of  the  indigenous  medicinal  plants  of  the  country 
for  the  cure  of  diseases,  but  under  the  condition  of 
receiving  no  fee  or  compensation  for  the  service.  A 
similar  clause  was  inserted  in  most  of  the  prohibitory 
medical  statues  of  the  United  States.  Perhaps  this 
sorry  permission  would  have  been  withheld,  but  for 
the  fact  that  a  strict  application  of  the  statute  might 
otherwise  transform  the  very  law  of  nature  directly 
into  crime,  making  the  mother  who  ventured  to  do 
something  for  her  suffering  child  liable  therefor  to 
fine  and  imprisonment. 

Yet  at  the  very  moment  when  this  war  was  waging 
the  country  abounded  with  crippled  individuals,  made 
physical  wrecks  from  the  medical  treatment  which  it 
was  sought  by  this  legislation  to  protect  from  compe- 
tition and  to  enforce  as  far  as  practicable,  upon  unwill- 
ing patients.  On  the  other  hand,  those  treated  by 
Botanic  physicians  very  generally  recovered  from 
their  maladies,  and  none  of  them  had  been  made  lame 
or  permanently  distempered  from  the  operation  of 
the  medicines  which  had  been  administered  to  them. 

In  1818,  the  legislature  of  New  York  took  a  further 
step  in  the  same  direction  and  enacted  a  statute  for- 
bidding the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  to  be  con- 
ferred upon  any  person  who  had  not  complied  with  the 
requirement  of  preliminary  study  with  a  physician  of 
the  dominant  school.  It  was  amended  a  year  later, 
to  be  more  precise  and  definite,  in  the  following  terms: 
"No  person  shall,  after  the  first  day  of  May,  1821,  be 
admitted  to  an  examination  for  the  practice  of  physic 
or  surgery,  who  has  not  studied  for  four  years  with 
a  regular  physician  or  surgeon." 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  443 

This  made  it  impossible,  as  the  law  was  construed 
and  enforced,  for  any  person,  however  proficient,  to 
obtain  the  degree,  except  he  was  known  or  assumed 
to  be  hostile  to  the  Reform  doctrine.  Even  though 
he  should  comply  literally  with  the  prescribed  con- 
ditions, there  were  certain  to  be  pretexts  and  eva- 
sions at  hand  convenient  to  find  and  multiply  in 
order  to  assure  his  rejection. 

The  remarkable  prediction  of  William  Harvey,  the 
discoverer  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  was  thus 
again  fulfilled  to  the  letter  : 

"After  the  space  of  so  many  hundred  years'  experi- 
ence, 7iot  one  single  medicine  has  been  detected  that  has 
the  least  force  directly  to  prevent,  resist  and  expel  a 
continued  fever.  Should  any,  by  a  more  sedulous 
observation,  pretend  to  make  the  least  step  toward  the 
discovery  of  any  such  remedies,  their  hatred  and 
envy  would  swell  against  him  as  a  legion  of  devils 
against  virtue.  The  whole  society  will  dart  their 
malice  against  him  with  all  the  calumnies  imagina- 
ble, without  sticking  at  anything  that  would  destroy 
him  root  and  branch.  For  he  wJw  professes  to  be  a  re- 
former of  the  art  of  Physic  must  resolve  to  run  the  hazard 
of  the    martyrdom  of  his  reputation^  life  and  estate T 

The  enactment  produced  astonishment  among  the 
foremost  minds  of  the  country.  That  a  republican 
legislature  should  be  more  arbitrary  and  proscriptive 
than  a  monarchy,  seemed  anomalous.  Professor 
Waterhouse  writing  a  letter  of  introduction  for  Dr. 
Samuel  Thomson  to  Dr.  Samuel  P.  Mitchill,  then 
Senator  in  Congress  for  New  York,  made  this  vigorous 
protest  : 

"  How  came  your  legislature  to  pass  so  unconstitu- 
tional an  act  as  that  called  the  '  Anti-Quack  Laiv  ' — such 


444  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

as  the  Parliament  of  England  would  hardly  have  ven- 
tured on  ?  *  For  tvho  will  define  quackery  ?  Were  I 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  your  excellent  Governor 
Clinton,  I  would  write  to  him  on  the  subject.  You 
New  Yorkers  are  half  a  century  behind  us  in  the- 
ological science,  but  j'our  Quack  bill  looks  as  if  you 
halted  also  in  physic." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  medical  laws 
were  sot;ght  to  be  enforced  in  the  same  spirit  of  hate 
and  cupidity  which  had  inspired  their  enactment. 
The  sleuth-hounds  were  quick  on  the  scent  and  eager 
to  harry  the  game  and  batten  on  their  prey. 

Dr.  Elisha  Smith  became  a  prominent  object  of 
attack.  He  was  subjected  to  repeated  prosecutions 
that  came  not  a  line  short  of  implacable  and  remorseless 
persecution,  unrelenting  as  that  of  the  Huguenots 
in  the  dragonnades,  and  of  the  Camisards  in  the 
Cevennes.  For  a  time  he  maintained  his  ground, 
caring  for  his  patients  and  doing  what  he  was  able  to 
ward  off  the  attacks  of  his  foes.  Finally,  however, 
his  sense  of  duty  to  his  family,  and  weariness  of  con- 
flict where  justice  was  not  attainable,  led  him  to  seek 
a  home  in  a  less  unfavored  region.  He  removed,  in 
1825,  to  New  Brunswick,  in  the  state  of  New  Jersey 
and  afterward  to  New  York,  in  1829,  where  he  spent 
the  remaining  years  of  his  life. 

He  now  addressed  himself  manfully  to  the  work  be- 
fore him.  The  legislature  of  New  York,  at  an  extra- 
ordinary session,  in  1827,  had  passed  a  statute  virtually 
outlawing  Botanic  physicians.  Every  medical  society 
in  the  State  was  a  Holy  Office  to  receive  information 


*  Recently  a  leaf  has  been  taken  from  American  legislation,  and  Herbal 
physicians  are  hunted  down  in  England,  and  fined  with  severity  equivalent  to 
that  sought  to  be  inflicted  in  American  states. 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  445 

and  set  on  foot  prosecutions.  The  Botanic  physicians, 
having"  no  close  affiliations,  could  be  singled  out,  one 
by  one,  and  made  an  easy  prey.  Besides  this,  their 
too  common  deficiency  in  general  knowledge  also  ren- 
dered them  comparatively  helpless.  On  the  side  of 
their  oppressors  was  the  power,  social  and  political. 

Dr.  Smith  insisted  upon  the  abandonment  of  their 
Ishmaelitish  attitude,  and  the  establishing  of  closer 
fraternal  relations,  as  essential  to  existence.  He  de- 
clared that  by  the  forming  of  medical  societies,  "v^ith 
a  respectable  and  intelligent  standard  of  admission," 
the  favor  of  the  public  would  soon  break  their  fetters 
and  procure  the  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  legislation. 
The  "  New  York  Association  of  Botanic  Physicians" 
was  accordingly  formed   and  he  became  its  president. 

Other  societies  were  organized  in  the  western 
counties.  Dr.  John  Thomson,  the  son  of  the  founder 
of  the  Reform  school  known  by  his  name,  also  took  an 
active  part  in  the  same  direction. 

Dr.  Smith  carried  into  effect  his  project  of  former 
years,  and  in  1830  his  treatise  was  published  under 
the  title  of  The  Botanic  Physician.  This  work,  in  point 
of  merit  and  ability,  compares  favorably  with  the 
medical  works  extant  at  that  period,  and  in  the  judg- 
ment of  many,  surpassed  the  publications  of  Dr. 
Thomson  and  Dr.  Beach,  both  in  matter  and  in  literary 
style.  Dr.  Smith  died  a  few  months  afterward,  and 
for  a  time  the  attempt  to  maintain  the  medical  organ- 
ization was  neglected. 

His  son,  Dr.  Isaac  S.  Smith,  took  up  the  work.  He 
had  been  liberally  educated,  and  was  graduated  in 
inedicine  at  one  of  the  colleges  in  New  York.  He 
organized  anew  the  Reform  practitioners,  as  "  The 
Society    of    Botanic    Physicians    and    Surgeons,"  and 


446  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

under  its  auspices  a  medical  college  was  established, 
with  a  full  corps  of  regular  instructors,  he  himself 
lecturing  upon  anatomy,  physiology  and  surgery. 
The  enterprise  was  conducted  till  1846,  with  a  fair 
degree  of  success,  but  as  appears  to  be  a  common 
occurrence  with  medical  colleges,  it  was  affected 
injuriously  by  dissensions.  At  length  Dr.  Smith 
removed  from  New  York  to  Michigan,  and  the  school 
was  discontinued. 

There  has  been  some  perplexity  in  regard  to  the 
existence  of  two  separate  organizations  at  that  time 
in  New  York,  having  similar  avowed  principles  and 
purposes.  The  solution  has  been  offered  that  Dr. 
Beach  and  Elisha  Smith  were  both  alike  ambitious  to 
be  regarded  as  founders  of  the  New  School  of  Medi- 
cine. Such  a  rivalship,  however  trivial  its  importance 
may  seem  to  others,  is  generally  regarded  as  a  very 
serious  affair  by  the  actors  themselves.  The  passion 
for  ruling  and  holding  chief  places  has  been  a  prolific 
source  of  contention.  Leaders  in  a  movement  seldom 
give  quarter,  or  even  permit  of  common  justice  to  any 
one  of  their  associates  who  questions  their  preroga- 
tive, but  are  far  more  ready  to  join  hands  in  amity 
with  open  adversaries. 

Dr.  Smith  was  an  older  man  than  Doctor  Beach,  and 
appears  to  have  been  better  equipped  for  conducting 
an  enterprise.  He  was  well  educated,  aggressive  in 
temper,  and  skilful  as  an  organizer.  His  purposes 
and  endeavors  were  definite  and  well  arranged.  He 
aimed  to  bring  about  a  revolution  in  public  sentiment, 
in  order  to  procure  the  repeal  of  the  unjust  and  pro- 
scriptive  statutes  against  Reformers  in  the  Healing 
Art,  and  to  place  the  New  School  of  Medicine  upon  an 
impregnable  basis.     This  might  have  obviated  many 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    AMERICAN    PRACTICE.  447 

subsequent  controversies,  and  assured  that  more  per- 
fect union  which  would  have  enabled  successful  re- 
sistance to  future  assaults.  New  York  would  then 
have  remained  the  chief  seat  and  nucleus  of  the 
Reformed  School,  under  conditions  at  once  favorable 
to  its  prosperity  and  permanency. 

Doctor  Smith  did  not  live  to  behold  the  day  of  re- 
demption, when  Alabama  taking  the  lead,  Connecticut, 
New  York  and  the  other  commonwealths  should  enact 
laws  removing  the  obnoxious  proscription  of  former 
years,  and  give  all  physicians  equal  opportunities 
under  a  free  government,  to  exercise  their  art  with- 
out let  or  hindrance.  His  death,  occurring  a  few 
months  after  the  publication  of  his  work,  seems  to 
have  disconcerted  whatever  plans  he  had  formed,  and 
to  have  largely  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs.  It  was 
reserved  for  others  to  fight  the  battle  of  freedom  and 
enjoy  the  glorious  triumph.  The  conflict,  however, 
was  carried  out  on  the  lines  which  he  had  laid  down, 
the  deserving  of  success  as  essential  to  its  achieve- 
ment. Though  he  did  not  live  to  witness  the  consum- 
mation, he  had  done  well  his  part  to  prepare  the  way 
and  make  straight  the  path  leading  to  the  glorious 
result. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM. 

It  often  seems  necessary  for  us  to  learn  old  lessons 
anew,  or  at  least,  that  we  did  not  learn  them  properly. 
We  do  not  always  profit  by  the  experience  of  those 
who  have  preceded  us.  In  the  history  of  our  country, 
we  are  told  that  the  early  colonists  of  the  English- 
speaking  states  came  to  this  continent  in  order  to  en- 
ioy  liberty  of  conscience  and  religious  worship.  Yet 
it  was  very  generally  liberty  for  those  only  who  be- 
lieved the  same  doctrine  and  had  similar  views  of  life. 
Even  the  American  Revolution  did  not  immediately 
emancipate  slaves  or  deliver  from  the  thraldom  of  an 
Established  Church.  Though  the  Federal  Constitu- 
tion with  its  Virginian  amendments  assured  equal 
rights  to  citizens  and  prohibited  a  National  establish- 
ment of  religion,  its  framers  forgot  other  professions, 
and  States  kept  iip  their  old  ways.  An  ascendency 
was  established  in  the  medical  profession  as  arbitrary, 
as  pretentious,  and  as  imperious  as  ever  in  any  coun- 
try was  that  of  the  Church.  Even  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  for  example, 
not  only  prescribed  the  kind  of  dress  and  modes  of  en- 
tertainment, but  required  stated  attendance  on  relig- 
ious worship,  and  forbade  any  one  to  administer  a  med- 
icine which  was  not  approved  by  the  standard  medical 
authorities.  New  Jersey  did  something  similar.  The 
history  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  in  the  United 
States  was  introduced  by  a  narrative  of  usurpation  and 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.      449 

persecution,  authorized  by  statute  and  enforced  by  the 
various  appliances  of  law  as  merciless  and  vindictive 
as  the  prosecutions  of  witches  and  dissenters  from  the 
Established  Religion,  till  we  might  well  doubt  whether 
this  was  actually  a  free  country,  or  had  a  Constitu- 
tional Government.  After  this  followed  a  period  of 
successful  resistance,  and  a  swinging  round  the  circle 
of  legislation,  which  those  who  are  curious  and 
inquisitive  in  such  matters  will  contemplate  with 
surprise. 

SAMUEL    THOMSON.* 

Of  Samuel  Thomson  we  would  speak  in  terms  of 
respect  and  commendation.  The  friends  of  medical 
freedom  and  medical  reform  owe  him  a  debt  of  honor 
and  gratitude  as  a  public  benefactor.  Great  occasions 
are  met  by  individuals  who  almost  seem  to  have  come 
into  existence  for  the  purpose.  Such  persons  are 
often  set  down  as  of  inferior  mould,  or  are  overlooked 
altogether  by  those  more  favored  by  wealth  and  social 
condition,  till  the  exigency  calls  them  forth  and 
obliges  them  to  take  the  responsible  position.  We 
find  then  that  their  humbleness  of  origin,  their  pecul- 
iarities of  character  which  many  are  eager  to  point 
out  and  blame,  the  trials  which  they  have  undergone, 
were  so  many  preliminary  conditions  to  prepare  them 
for  their  work. 

*  The  orthography  of  this  name  is  a  shibboleth  by  which  are  tested  the  candor 
and  intelligence  of  every  writer  attempting  to  treat  of  the  individual  himself,  or 
of  the  peculiar  medical  practice  which  he  originated.  Not  only  has  the  surname 
been  spelled  persistently  with  the  superfluous  /,  but  several  encyclopa;dias  have 
added  the  asinine  blunder  of  describing  him  as  "  Dr.  Benjamin  Thompson,  of 
Concord,"  and  also  as  a  founder  of  the  Eclectic  School  of  Practice.  For  those 
who  care  for  the  actual  truth,  it  is  proper  to  Slate  that  Dr.  Benjamin  Thompson 
was  an  entirely  different  person,  and  that  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson,  as  he  always 
wrote  his  name,  never  lived  at  Concord,  and  always  heartily  opposed  and  de- 
nounced the  /\eyor»iet^  pr^ciice  oi  medicine  since  known  as  Eclectic. 


450  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Indeed,  it  is  a  very  general  fact  that  the  persons 
who  save  us  in  the  hour  of  mortal  peril,  are  seldom  of 
our  own  selecting.  Not  many  who  are  regarded  as 
scholarly,  able,  or  of  superior  social  rank,  are  at  hand 
for  such  occasions,  but  chiefly  individuals  of  another 
class.  The  records  of  the  past  abound  with  examples. 
Mirkhond,  the  historian  of  Ancient  Persia,  tells  us  of 
the  blacksmith  who  upreared  the  standard  of  revolt 
and  expelled  the  murderous  Zahak  from  the  throne, 
and  that  his  leathern  apron  became  the  banner  of  the 
liberated  nation.  Another  record,  somewhat  more 
familiar  to  us,  treats  of  a  youth  of  ignoble  origin, 
whom  his  family  hesitated  to  acknowledge,  but  who 
came  from  the  tending  of  sheep  to  deliver  his  country- 
men from  their  oppressors.  In  the  last  century  a  fa- 
vorite play  in  the  theatres  of  London  burlesqued  as 
tailors  and  mechanics,  the  commanders  who  had,  both 
in  council  and  in  the  field,  achieved  American  inde- 
pendence. In  the  later  days  of  the  Republic,  it  was 
Lincoln  from  the  prairie,  untrained  in  statecraft  and 
diplomacy,  who  guided  the  ship  of  state  through  its 
most  critical  period. 

Samuel  Thomson  was  one  of  this  little  number  of 
exceptional  men.  He  possessed  the  qualities  which 
characterize  the  leader  and  reformer:  deep  conviction 
and  unflinching  tenacity  of  purpose.  His  early  disci- 
pline and  experience  brought  these  qualities  into 
action.  He  was  born  at  Alstead,  then  a  frontier  set- 
tlement in  the  colony  of  New  Hampshire,  and  passed 
his  youth  in  hardship  and  privation.  The  region  had 
hardly  been  reclaimed  from  the  wilderness,  and  every 
one's  efforts  were  required  to  gain  a  simple  livelihood. 
Thomson  early  displayed  a  passion  for  learning 
the  names  and   medicinal  virtues  of  plants,  but  his 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       45 1 

opportunities  for  even  simple  elementary  instruction 
were  limited.  When  it  was  proposed  to  let  him  be- 
come a  student  of  Dr.  Fuller,  a  Botanic  physician  in 
the  neighboring  town  of  Westmoreland,  he  was  re- 
jected because  of  his  defective  education.  He  was 
considered  as  fit  only  to  work  on  the  land.  He  was  in 
a  far  worse  case  than  Grant  and  Jules  Faure,  the  tan- 
ners, of  Roger  Sherman  and  Henry  Wilson,  the  shoe- 
makers, and  Franklin,  the  chandler's  son. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  not  permitted  that  Samuel 
Thomson  should  bury  himself  in  obscurity.  He  mar- 
ried and  became  the  father  of  a  family.  The  frequent 
occurring  of  sickness  with  his  wife  and  children  oc- 
casioned the  employing  of  physicians,  and  he  soon 
began  to  observe  that  with  the  medical  treatment  the 
sufferings  of  the  patients  were  aggravated.  Presently, 
in  sheer  desperation,  he  ventured  to  undertake  their 
care  himself,  meanwhile  paying  the  physician  for  the 
professional  visits.  His  efforts  were  rewarded  by  their 
speedy  recovery.  He  had  already  acquired  much  in- 
formation in  regard  to  the  use  of  simples  and  in 
nursing  from  an  elderly  woman,  who  was  a  Florence 
Nightingale  in  the  neighborhood.  The  fact  now  im- 
pressed him  forcibly  that  under  the  medical  treatment 
in  vogue,  the  term  of  sickness  was  unnecessarily  pro- 
longed, and  that  it  was  very  often  followed  by  a 
permanent  condition  of  ill  health.  "  I  had  found  from 
experience,"  he  declared  in  his  Narrative,  "  that  doctors 
made  more  diseases  than  they  cured."  He  thus  inad- 
vertently reiterated  the  assertion  of  Dr.  Rush,  frankly 
uttered  about  the  same  time.  Thenceforward  he  dis- 
pensed with  the  services  of  physicians,  and  took 
charge  of  his  family  through  a  formidable  array  of 
maladies  ;  among  which   were  measles,  scarlet  fever, 


452  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

diphtheria  and  small-pox.  In  the  last  of  these  he  was 
his  own  patient ;  and  under  his  care  they  all  recovered. 

His  neighbors  soon  observed  his  aptitude  in  treating 
sickness,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  avail  themselves  of 
his  services.  As,  however,  he  was  regarded  only  as  a 
farmer  like  themselves,  they  did  not  consider  that 
though  they  employed  him,  he  was  entitled  to  fee  or 
remuneration  like  a  professional  man.  The  demands 
upon  his  time  and  efforts  prevented  him  from  working 
steadily  upon  his  farm,  and  threatened  to  keep  him 
from  providing  for  his  family.  He  finally  resolved  to 
change  his  employment. 

This  was  in  the  year  1805.  He  traveled  about  for 
several  years,  afterward  making  his  home  at  Beverly, 
in  Massachusetts,  and  later  he  opened  his  ofhce  and 
establishment  in  Salem  street,  in  the  city  of  Boston. 

Thomson  did  not  adopt  the  methods  employed  by 
the  Botanic  physicians  and  Herbalists  of  the  time,  but 
some  of  them  were  current  with  the  aboriginal  in- 
habitants of  the  country.*  He  propounded  a  theory 
and  adopted  the  procedures  which  were  distinctively 
known  by  his  name  ;  and  discarded  utterly  the 
methods  in  common  use, — the  lancet,  leech,  cupping- 
glass  and  Spanish  fly,  together  with  the  various 
mineral  drugs  and  poisonous  vegetable  productions 
which  constituted  the  fashionable  physician's  arma- 
ment. The  results  were  generally  and  often  singularly 
beneficial. 


*  Dr.  Thomas  Cooke,  who  was  a  student  of  Dr.  Howell,  a  Botanic  physician 
from  London,  propounded  this  question  in  the  Botanic  Medical  Re/oriner,  of 
May  20,  1841  :  "  We  should  like  to  know  of  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson  whether  he  ever 
perused  a  work  entitled  IVoodivard's  State  of  Physic  and  o/  Diseases^  London, 
1718  ;  for  it  is  so  much  like  his  system  that  we  can  only  tell  them  apart  by  a  little 
difference  in  the  Materia  Medica." 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.      453 

To  think  is  to  theorize  ;  whether  it  be  the  specu- 
lation of  the  philosopher,  the  deduction  of  the  scien- 
tist or  the  conjecture  of  the  private  individual. 
Thomson's  theories  were  very  simple.  He  adopted 
the  dogma  of  the  Ionian  and  Grecian  sages,  that  heat, 
the  calorific  force  or  excitative  energy,  is  the  sub- 
stance of  life,  and  following  it  to  its  logical  conclu- 
sion, he  entertained  as  truth  the  sentiment  pro- 
pounded by  Lord  Bulwer-Lytton,  in  his  favorite  work, 
that  this  primordial  principle  of  life  may  also  be  its 
renovator  and  the  restorer  of  health.  He  expressed 
the  sentiment,  however,  in  quainter  terms  :  "  That  all 
diseases  are  the  effect  of  one  general  cause,  and  can  be 
removed  by  one  general  remedy."  This  he  afifirmed 
to  be  the  foundation  upon  which  he  had  erected  his 
fabric* 

This  one  general  remedy  or  principle  may  be  ap- 
plied in  a  great  variety  of  forms.  Thomson's  com- 
mon procedure,  however,  consisted  in  emesis  pro- 
duced by  the  administration  of  Lobelia  inflata,  in  the 
abundant  use  of  the  vapor-bath,  and  such  vegetable 
remedies  as  the  case  might  seem  to  require.  The 
catalogue  of  medicinal  plants  employed  by  him  and 
his  school  of  practitioners,  consisted  principally  of 
the  following,  to  which  we  give  the  technical  in 
preference  to  the  common  names  : 

Achillea,  Aletris,  Althaea,  Amygdalus  Persica, 
Angelica,  Anthemis,  Apium,    Apocynum,    Artemisia, 


*  "  Let  the  unprejudiced  man — "  says  Professor  Waterhouse,  "  let  him  remem- 
ber that  Thomson,  without  knowing  it,  has  adopted  a  theory  of  Galen  ;  and  his 
idea  of  the  preserving  power  of  Nature,  the  curer  of  disease  and  the  preserver 
of  life,  appears  to  be  the  same  as  that  acknowledged  by  Hippokrates.  He  tells  all 
he  knows  in  as  plain  a  manner  as  he  possibly  can,  and  leaves  you  to  form  your 
own  judgment,  provided  you  divert  yourself  of  the  fashion  of  this  world  in  physic, 
which,  with  priestcraft,  is  fast  passing  away." 


454  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Arum,  Asarum,  Aster,  Berberis,  Betula,  Capsicum, 
Cassia  Marylandica,  Ceanothus,  Centaurea,  Chelone, 
Chimaphilla,  Chrysanthemum  parthenium,  Cochleria, 
Cornus,  Cypripedium,  Eugenia,  Eupatorium  perfolia- 
tum.  Ferula,  Fragaria,  Galium,  Geranium,  Geum, 
Hamamelis,  Hedeoma,  Hydrastis,  Ictodes,  Inula, 
Juglans,  Lactuca  virosa,  Lappa,  Laurus  camphora  et 
cinnamomum,  Leonorus,  Ligusticum,  Lobelia,  Macro- 
trys,  Marrubium,  Mentha  viridis  et  piperita,  Myrica 
gale  et  cerifera,  Myristica,  Myrtus,  Nepeta,  Nymphaea 
odorata,  Osmunda,  Panax,  Pinus  Canadensis,  Piper 
nigra  et  cubeba,  Polygonum,  Populus,  Prunus  Vir- 
giniana,  Quercus  alba  et  rubra,  Rhamnus  catharticus, 
Rhus  glabra,  Rubus  strigosus,  Rumex  crispus.  Salvia, 
Sanguinaria,  Sinapis,  Solanum  dulcamara,  Solidago, 
Statice,  Symphytum,  Tanacetum,  Taraxacum,  Tri- 
folium  pratense,  Trillium,  Ulmus  fulva,  Verbascum, 
Verbena,  Xanthoxylum,  Zinziber. 

It  will  be  observed  that  many  of  these  are  enu- 
merated by  Rafinesque,  and  that  they  were  in  use 
among  the  aboriginal  tribes  in  the  United  States.  As 
the  procedures  which  Thomson  employed  were  also 
familiar  among  them,  and  as  the  district  in  which  his 
earlier  years  were  spent  was  not  far  from  their  terri- 
tory, the  charge  has  been  made,  or  rather  insinuated, 
that  he  had  gained  his  knowledge  from  them.  Very 
probably  much  of  it  was  indirectly  so  derived,  but  there 
is  no  sufficient  evidence  impugning  his  truthfulness 
and  sincerity  in  the  matter.  Many  persons  discover 
what  others  already  knew,  and  honestly  suppose  that 
they  were  the  first.  Thomson  was  not  strenuous  to 
declare  himself  original  in  what  he  laid  down,  but  was 
diligent  to  learn  whenever  he  could,  and  he  pos- 
sessed the  talent  to  elaborate  it  into  a  distinct  method. 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       455 

One  man  possessed  the  sagacity  to  peer  beneath  the 
rough  garb  of  the  farmer-physician  and  find  the 
precious  metal  beneath.  This  was  Dr.  Benjamin 
Waterhouse,  for  twenty-seven  years  the  professor  of 
the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine  in  the  Harvard 
Medical  School.  He  spoke  boldly  in  his  behalf.  "Had 
John  Hunter,"  said  he — "  had  John  Hunter,  whom 
I  well  knew,  been  born  and  bred  where  Samuel 
Thomson  was,  he  would  have  been  just  such  another 
man  ;  and  had  Samuel  Thomson  been  thrown  into  the 
same  society  and  associations  as  John  Hunter,  he 
would,  in  my  opinion,  have  been  his  equal,  with 
probably  a  wider  range  of  thought  ;  but  both  are 
men  of  talent  and  originality  of  thought." 

Dr.  E.  M.  Hale,  professor  of  Materia  Medica  and 
Therapeutics  in  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  in 
Chicago,  writing  at  a  later  period,  pays  him  this 
tribute  :  * 

"  This  man,  although  uneducated,  had  in  him  the 
elements  of  a  great  reformer  ;  and  had  he  had  the 
literary  advantage  of  some  of  his  allopathic  perse- 
cutors, would  have  done  more  for  the  advance  of  med- 
ical science  than  most  any  other  man  of  his  day.  Dr. 
Hollembaek  declares  that  he  was  '  one  of  the  greatest 
and  best  of  medical  benefactors,  whose  crude  system  of 
practice  broke  the  mysterious  chains  which  had  bound 
the  people  of  America  and  Europe  for  about  two  cent- 
uries.' Certain  it  is  that  Thomson  was  the  first  to 
publicly  attack  Allopathy  in  America  ;  and  his  attack 
may  be  said  to  be  the  first  that  shattered  the 
foundations  of  that  school,  and  made  way  for  such 
scientific    reforms  as    Homoeopathy.     In  every   state 

*  Netv  Remedies^  vol.  11,  p.  432. 


4S6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

of  the  Union,  the  '  Botanic  '  practice  of  medicine  pre- 
ceded the  Homoeopathic,  and  broke  down  those  legal 
barriers  that  Allopathy  had  placed  around  her.  That 
order  of  practice  is  now  nearly  extinct  *  or  has  been 
merged  into  Eclecticism." 

Such  was  the  impression  which  Thomson  made 
upon  men  capable  of  measuring  his  character  and 
quality.  Much  stress  has  been  laid  upon  his  illiter- 
acy, especially  by  individuals  who  forget  that  at  that 
time  few  physicians,  even  in  the  favored  school,  were 
scholarly.  Such  criticisms  have  little  weight  with 
men  who  are  really  intelligent.  These  are  generally 
willing  to  be  just,  and  are  desirous  to  find  out  merits 
rather  than  faults. 

"  He  who  aspires  to  be  a  reformer  of  physic,"  said 
William  Harvey,  three  centuries  ago,  "  must  resolve 
to  run  the  hazard  of  the  martyrdom  of  his  reputation, 
life,  and  estate."  In  the  person  of  Samuel  Thomson 
this  was  fully  verified.  It  is  a  disgraceful  fact  in  the 
history  of  medicine  in  America  that  he  was  not  only 
defamed  and  vilely  calumniated,  but  also  persecuted 
with  a  malignity  which  no  candid  or  honorable  man 
can  extenuate.  "  The  little  dogs.  Tray,  Blanch  and 
Sweetheart,"  all  barked  at  him.  The  ignorant  ac- 
cused him  of  witchcraft,  while  those  of  greater  attain- 
ments sought  to  prohibit  him  from  practice  as  not 
being  of  the  favored  school.  Medical  orthodoxy  has 
always  been  as  intolerant  and  bigoted  as  religious  or- 
thodoxy, and  about  as  ready  to  torture  and  destroy. 


*  This  statement  requires  some  qualification.  There  are  yet  several  thousand 
physicians  in  the  United  States,  known  as  "  Botanic,"  '"Reform,"  "Physiopathic," 
or  "  Physio-Medical,"  who  are  essentially  Thomsonians.  They  have  a  National 
Association,  meeting  annually,  with  auxiliary  societies  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa, 
Ohio  and  Washington,  and  medical  colleges  in  Chicago  and  Indianapolis. 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       457 

It  was  a  literal  copying  of  the  examples  recorded  in 
the  Gospels,  in  which  the  Pharisees  vilified  Jesus  as 
casting  out  devils  by  the  power  of  Baal-Zebul,  and  the 
Apostles  themselves  forbade  a  man  because  he  was  not 
of  their  company.  [Ltike  ix.  49  ;  xi.  15.) 
.  Thomson  was  virtually  outlawed.  The  professional 
craft  of  physicians  and  lawyers  were  opposed  to  him, 
and  seem  to  have  purposed  that  he  should  never  re- 
ceive just  treatment,  whatever  the  right  of  the  case 
or  evidence  in  his  behalf.  This  appeared  conclusively 
in  1809.  Dr.  Waterhouse  attributed  it  partly  to  profes- 
sional and  partly  to  political  spite.  In  a  letter  to 
Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchill,*  he  says:  ''Dr.  Samuel 
Thomson  will  deliver  you  this.  He  has  cured  and 
relieved  many  disorders  which  others  could  not — 
without  being  a  diplomatized  physician,  and  dared  to 
be  a  Republican  in  a  hot-bed  of  Federalism  ;  for  which 
he  has  been  shamefully  ill-treated,  even  to  perse- 
cution." 

Dr.  Waterhouse  here  referred  to  the  indictment  of 
Dr.  Thomson  on  frivolous  testimony  for  wilful  mur- 
der. A  Doctor  French,  in  Massachusetts,  had  railed 
against  him,  even  threatening  to  assassinate  him,  and 
had  been  placed  under  bonds  for  it  to  keep  the  peace. 
His  next  device,  with  several  fellow-conspirators,  was 
to  compass  Thomson's  death  behind  the  aegis  of  the 
law.  Accordingly,  in  the  late  autumn  of  1 809,  just  as  the 
Court  then  in  session  at  Salem  had  concluded  its  bus- 
iness and  was  about  to  adjourn,  an  indictment  was 
procured,   charging   him    with   the    murder   of    Ezra 


*  Doctor  Mitchill  was  a  resident  of  New  York  and  a  Republican  [Jeffersonian] 
in  politics.  He  was  a  member  of  Assembly  in  New  York  in  1791,  1798,  and  1810  ; 
and  also  of  both  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives.    He  aided  Doctor  Thomson  in  procuring  his  patent. 


458  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Lovett,  a  patient  for  whom  he  had  prescribed  a  year 
previous. 

Dr.  Thomson  was  arrested  and  incarcerated  in  the 
jail  in  Newburyport,  in  a  cell  without  fire,  abounding 
with  vermin  and  reeking  with  foul  and  deadly  vapors. 
Not  a  table,  chair  or  stool  was  allowed  him.  Friends 
who  visited  him  were  actually  made  sick  by  the 
noisome  atmosphere.  Lest  his  death  should  ensue  from 
their  inflictions,  an  application  was  made  to  the  Chief 
Justice,  Mr.  Theophilus  Parsons,  who  accordingly 
held  a  special  term  of  the  Court  for  his  trial.  The 
prosecution  failed  utterly  to  make  out  a  case.  Dr. 
Howe,  on  whom  the  main  dependence  had  been 
placed,  produced  a  sample  of  the  medicine  which  Dr. 
Thomson  had  administered.  He  testified  that  it  was 
Lobelia,  and  a  deadly  poison  ;  but  he  was  unable  to 
describe  that  plant  or  its  actual  properties.  One  of 
the  attorneys  for  the  defense  taking  the  sample,  ate 
it  in  the  presence  of  the  Court.  It  was  shown  to  be 
Statice,  or  marsh  rosemary.  Even  Dr.  French,  who  had 
procured  the  indictment,  acknowledged  that  Dr 
Thomson  had  made  cures,  and  that  his  medicines 
were  harmless.  Justice  Parsons  interrupted  the  pro- 
ceedings and  sent  the  case  to  the  jury  for  an 
acquittal. 

Indeed,  it  is  plain  that  a  trial  of  this  indictment 
was  no  part  of  the  plan  of  Thomson's  enemies.  The 
evident  purpose  was  to  imprison  him  for  the  winter, 
in  the  hope  that  he  would  die  of  privation  and  prison- 
distemper.  Dr.  Waterhouse  tells  the  story  of  Thomson 
and  the  Chief  Justice  in  a  way  hardly  creditable  to 
the  latter. 

"  Samuel  Thomson,  like  most  reformers,  has  en- 
dured in  our  county  of  Essex  as  much  severe  perse- 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       459 

cution  as  ever  was  perpetrated  in  it  ;  which  is  saying- 
a  great  deal,  when  we  call  in  mind  the  days  of  the 
delusion  of  witchcraft.  Though  capitally  indicted 
for  murder  by  using  Lobelia,  he  was  discharged  with- 
out a  trial,  after  something  like  a  reprimand  of  the 
Solicitor-General,  by  the  Court.  Yet  it  is  remarkable 
that  Chief  Justice  Parsons  deemed  it  worth  while  to 
write  the  report  of  it  in  the  Sixth  Volume  of  Tyng's 
Collections'' 

Indeed,  it  does  not  appear  that  Justice  Parsons  was 
at  all  impartial  in  the  matter,  or  even  that  he  dis- 
missed the  case  willingly.  The  evidence  against  Dr. 
Thomson — part  of  it — was  virtually  suborned,  if  not 
absolutely  perjured,  and  he  affected  to  regard  it  as 
true,  in  default  of  his  own  intelligence.  When  Thom- 
son afterward  brought  a  suit  against  his  chief 
adversary.  Justice  Parsons  distinctly  charged  the  jury 
adversely,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  recommend 
application  to  the  Legislature  for  a  special  enactment 
to  deprive  Botanic  physicians  of  their  legal  right  to 
remuneration  for  services.  This  would  be  a  placing 
of  the  Reform  Practice  under  a  stigma,  like  negotia- 
tions for  counterfeit  money,  or  disreputable  purposes. 

This  seems  to  have  been  the  prelude  to  a  legislative 
onslaught. 


THE    THOMSON    PATENTS. 

Occasion  has  been  taken  to  decry  Dr.  Thomson  for 
having  procured  patents  for  his  medicines.  "  In 
England,"  says  Dr.  Waterhouse,  "Parliament  would 
probably  have  purchased  the  procedure  by  a  liberal 
grant.  In  France,  at  least  under  the  old  regime,  the 
King  would  have  bought  it.  But  we,  wiser  than  any  of 
them,  have  only  tried  to  pick  it  to  pieces."  It  is  of  little 


460  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

use,  to  plead  in  one's  behalf  before  a  tribunal  very  cer- 
tain to  condemn  him  at  any  rate.  Thomson  was 
driven  by  flagrant  injustice  and  persecution  to  seek 
the  protection  which  the  law  afforded.  He  had 
learned  by  bitter  experience  to  despair  of  fair  treat- 
ment in  the  courts,  and  now  he  was  further  threat- 
ened with  unfriendly  legislation.  The  Patent  Laws, 
there  was  hope,  might  give  him  adequate  security. 
Accordingly,  he  made  a  journey  to  Washington  in. Feb- 
ruary, 1813.  Aided  by  Governor  Martin  Chittenden, 
of  Vermont,  he  prepared  the  required  specifications, 
but  he  had  much  difficulty  from  the  caviling  and 
equivocation  of  Dr.  Thornton,  the  clerk  of  the  Patent 
Office,  in  regard  to  the  proper  naming  of  his  medi- 
cines. Finally  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  instru- 
ment from  the  Hon.  James  Monroe,  then  Secretary  of 
State. 

He  had,  nevertheless,  been  in  some  way  outwitted. 
Having  brought  a  suit  for  trespass  before  Justice  Story 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  ruling  was  made  that  the 
specifications  had  not  been  made  sufficiently  explicit 
to  found  an  action  upon.  A  second  patent  was  pro- 
cured in  1823,  in  which  Dr.  Thomson  had  the  aid  of 
Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchill,  of  New  York.  At  the  request 
and  advice  of  the  National  Thomsonian  Convention, 
he  applied  for  its  renewal  in  1836. 

"In  obtaining  a  patent,"  he  declared,  "it  was  my 
principal  object  to  get  the  protection  of  the  Govern- 
ment against  the  machinations  of  my  enemies,  more 
than  to  take  the  advantage  of  a  monopoly."  He  pro- 
ceeds to  justify  his  action  as  a  recognized  principle 
in  business.  "  In  all  cases  where  a  person  possesses 
desirable  information  from  his  own  experience  or 
ingenuity,  there  can  be  no  reason  why  he  should  not 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       461 

have  a  right  to  sell  it  to  another,  as  well  as  any  other 
property." 

A    VISIT    TO    DOCTORS    RUSH    AND    BARTON. 

It  was  on  his  return  from  Washington,  in  1813,  with 
his  first  patent,  that  Dr.  Thomson  visited  Doctors 
Rush  and  Barton,  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
His  errand  was  to  confer  with  them  upon  the  subject 
of  introducing  the  Botanic  Practice  to  the  world.  He 
seems  to  have  been  by  no  means  overawed  by  their 
exalted  professional  standing,  or  to  have  expected 
any  contention  or  essential  difference  in  relation  to 
his  theories  or  procedures.  He  met  with  none.  "  I 
have  found,"  he  says,  "  that  those  practicing  physi- 
cians who  were  really  great  in  their  profession,  and 
have  had  the  most  experience,  condemn  as  much  as 
I  do,  the  fashionable  practice  of  the  present  day." 

Doctor  Rush  received  him  with  apparent  courtesy, 
but  pleaded  the  want  of  necessary  time  for  any 
extended  investigation,  and  referred  him  to  Doctor 
Barton,  the  professor  of  Medical  Botany.  The  latter 
was  himself  the  author  of  a  work  upon  the  vegetable 
Materia  Medica.  He  took  samples  of  Doctor  Thomson's 
medicines,  and  promised  to  make  a  fair  trial  of 
them,  giving  them  such  credit  as  he  might  find  them 
to  deserve.  He  freely  acknowledged  that  no  art  or 
science  was  in  a  state  so  uncultivated  as  that  of 
medicine. 

Neither  of  these  distinguished  men  seems  to  have 
taken  exception  to  his  action  in  procuring  a  patent 
for  his  medicines.  His  expectations  from  them,  how- 
ever, were  never  realized.  Both  Dr.  Rush  and 
Dr.  Barton  died  not  many  months  after  these 
interviews. 


462  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Yet  the  endeavor  was  not  without  its  fruit.  Several 
leading  physicians  and  professors  gave  their  testi- 
mony in  favor  of  his  procedures  ;  among  them  Pro- 
fessor Powell,  of  Vermont  University  ;  Professor 
William  Tully,  of  Yale  College  ;  Professor  George 
McClellan,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Medical  College,  and 
Dr.  William  Robinson.  The  latter  was  a  friend  of 
Dr.  Rush.  He  became  an  earnest  champion  of  the 
new  doctrines,  and  both  wrote  and  lectured  in  their 
favor.  He  declared  positively  that  "Doctor  Thomson 
had  very  much  of  Dr.  Rush's  qualifications  for  a 
physician — all,  indeed,  but  his  book-learning." 

"  FRIENDLY    BOTANIC    SOCIETIES." 

Even  before  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  the 
crusade  of  unfriendly  medical  legislation  which  suc- 
ceeded, Dr.  Thomson  had  found  it  by  no  means  easy  to 
obtain  a  just  remuneration  for  his  services,  either  from 
professed  friends,  or  by  a  suit  at  law.  He  devised 
the  plan  of  organizing  "  Friendly  Botanic  Societies," 
in  which  the  members  were  to  be  instructed  in  his 
procedures,  and  to  pay  him  a  stipulated  amount, 
pledging  themselves  at  the  same  time  not  to  give  the 
information  to  others  except  on  certain  conditions. 
It  was  purely  a  question  of  honor,  and  he  often  found 
them  unwilling  to  keep  their  word.  He  prepared  a 
little  treatise  setting  forth  his  modes  of  treatment 
and  the  remedies,  but  with  little  better  result.  After 
procuring  his  patent,  he  revised  his  plan  by  making 
all  who  purchased  a  right  members  of  the  one  and 
sole  Friendly  Botanic  Society,  with  full  liberty  to 
communicate  with  one  another.  He  was  better  satis- 
fied with  the  later  arrangement. 

No  exception  was  made  on  account  of  sex.     Women 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       463 

became  members  as  well  as  men.  When  the  further 
organization  of  societies  in  counties,  districts  and 
States  took  place,  the  same  right  of  membership  was 
recognized  without  question.  This  was  the  first 
acceptance  of  women  in  the  United  States  as  medical 
practitioners.  This  grain  of  mustard-seed  was  indeed 
a  very  humble  affair,  but  it  became  the  great  tree  for 
the  birds  of  heaven  to  lodge  in  its  branches, 

PROSCRIPTIVE    MEDICAL    LEGISLATION. 

"  Many  laments  thou  'It  utter,  and  vain  groans, 
For  unrelenting  is  the  heart  of  Zeus, 
And  ever  harsh  is  he  whose  rule  is  young." 

— ^SCHYLUS  :  Prometheus. 

Zeus  or  Jove,  newly  placed  on  the  throne  of  Heaven, 
we  are  told  in  mythologic  story,  sentenced  Prome- 
theus, the  Titan,  to  crucifixion,  because  he  gave  fire 
and  skillful  art  to  men,  and  "  thus  betrayed  his  glory  " 
to  a  hated  race. 

This  was  one  of  the  former  counts  against  Reform 
physicians.  Thomson,  Beach,  Smith,  and  their  fol- 
lowers were  of  and  for  the  people,  and  sought  to  make 
known  to  them  the  ways  to  preserve  and  restore 
health.  We  may  see  the  reason  why  the  English  lan- 
guage is  proscribed  in  medical  formulas,  and  terms 
elaborately  coined  are  so  much  employed. 

We  are  told  again,  that  physicians  "  suspect  every 
theory  that  proposes  to  conduct  the  cure  of  disease 
on  a  few  general  principles."  However  philosophic 
and  practical  this  would  be,  it  is  not  accepted  as 
"professional." 

John  Wesley,  commenting  upon  the  ways  of  modern 
medical  men,  remarked  that  those  who  did  not  know 
their   abstruse    terminology,    but    "  understand    only 


464  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

how  to  restore  the  sick  to  health,  they  branded  with 
the  name  of  Empirics^  Thus  a  term  which  was  once 
employed  like  the  later  one  of  quacks,  to  designate  a 
School  of  Medicine,  was  degraded  into  one  of  oppro- 
brium. Such  has  been  the  case  in  England,  and  the 
example  has  been  imitated  in  the  American  states. 

The  next  step  was  to  invoke  arbitrary  legislation 
An  application  was  actually  proposed  in  New  Hamp- 
shire for  an  enactment  which  should  prohibit  Samuel 
Thomson  by  name  from  treating  the  sick.  The  notion 
seems  to  have  been  entertained  that  a  legislature  had 
ample  power  to  do  whatever  the  majority  decreed, 
however  monstrous  or  unjust,  even  to  changing  wrong 
into  right,  and  making  of  the  Right  a  crime  and  mis- 
demeanor. 

When  the  Federal  Constitution  was  submitted  to 
the  people  of  the  several  States  for  ratification,  there 
were  amendments  also  proposed,  on  purpose  to  secure 
its  approval,  one  -'f  which  mnibited  Congress  from 
making  any  law  '  respecting  the  establishing  of  relig- 
ion, or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof."  It  was 
not  imagined  that  any  other  than  a  religious  body 
would  aspire  to  such  a  recognition,  or  that  a  safeguard 
would  be  needed  against  other  usurpations  of  a  kin- 
dred nature.  Yet,  the  question  of  personal  rights 
and  even  of  liberty  of  conscience,  hardly  appears  to 
have  been  well  understood.  Several  States  continued 
to  have  their  Established  Church,  which  all  were 
required  to  support. 

Legislation  was  also  pushed  further,  and  laws  were 
enacted  ostensibly  "  to  regulate  the  practice  of  med- 
icine," but  actually  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the 
dominant  school  from  innovation,  and  to  suppress 
rival  and  competing  practitioners.    Physicians  sought 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       465 

to  be  elected  to  the  legislatures  on  purpose  to  pro- 
cure such  measures,  and  their  unwary  associates  read- 
ily, and  even  obsequiously,  yielded  to  their  wishes. 
After  the  conclusion  of  the  war  of  1812,  this  work  was 
undertaken  with  redoubled  energy.  Laws  were  passed 
in  the  different  States  clearly  resembling  in  spirit,  as 
well  as  in  form,  those  providing  for  the  discovery  and 
punishment  of  witches.  From  Maine  to  Georgia, 
medical  proscription  was  the  order  of  the  day,  and 
"  Black  Laws  "  were  enacted  in  almost  utter  disregard 
of  the  common  rights  of  human  beings.  In  the  zeal 
to  imitate  the  arbitrary  legislation  of  Europe,  the 
right  and  obligation  of  contracts  with  proscribed 
physicians  were  set  aside,  as  though  heterodox  views 
in  medicine  were  immoralities.  Thus,  a  Medical 
Hierarchy  was  established,  aiid  its  ministers,  the  reg- 
ular practitioners,  so  called,  were  invested  with  the 
dignity,  the  authority,  and  all  the  paraphernalia, 
except  the  gowns,  of  the  repudiated  priesthood. 

This  legislation,  it  need  not  be  added,  was  enforced 
in  the  same  spirit  of  malice  and  cupidity  which  had 
inspired  the  procuring  of  their  enactment.  The  vet- 
eran Doctor  E.  J.  Mattocks,  of  Troy,  forcibly  depicts 
the  medical  Inquisition  and  autos-de-fe  :  "  Collect  all 
the  facts  you  may,"  says  he,  "  and  still  you  will  be 
unable  to  give  but  a  tithe  of  the  malicious  prosecu- 
tions, and  in  some  cases,  the  imprisonment,  these 
early  pioneers  had  to  suffer  in  consequence  of  their 
faith  and  practice.  Such  men  as  Wooster  Beach, 
Elisha  Smith,  Samuel  Thomson,  Thomas  Lapham, 
Cyrus  Thomson,  Ira  Wood,  A.  N.  Burton,  vS.  W. 
Frisbee,  Abiel  Gardner,  H.  M.  Sweet,  John  Wesley 
Johnson,  and  a  host  of  others,  could  their  voices  be 
heard,  would  confirm  my  statement." 


466  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Such  has  been  Medical  History  through  the  centu- 
ries, from  Galen  down  to  the  present  time — alike  in 
Imperial  Rome,  Modern  Europe,  and  Republican 
America.  Like  to  it,  as  we  see,  is  the  history  of 
Reform  Medicine  in  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

"  The  doctors  were  enraged  at  me  for  no  other 
reason,"  said  Samuel  Thomson,  "  than  because  I  had 
cured  persons  whom  they  had  given  up  to  die  !  " 

THE    LAST    STRAW    AND    THE    RESULT. 

In  1827,  the  legislature  of  New  York,  at  a  snecial 
session,  enacted  an  amendment  to  the  medical  statute, 
declaring  that  any  person  who  shall  practice  physic 
or  surgery,  not  being  duly  authorized  by  law,  "  shall 
be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by 
fine  or  imprisonment,  or  both,  in  the  discretion  of 
the  Court  by  which  he  shall  be  convicted," 

The  full  scope  of  the  proscription  of  this  section  is 
admirably  set  forth  in  the  Reports  of  the  Select  Com- 
mittee of  the  Assembly  of  1830  : 

"Your  Committee  have  searched,  with  some  indus- 
try and  care,  and  can  find  no  statute  of  Great  Britain, 
or  any  other  State  or  country,  of  equal  severity,  with 
the  last  clause  of  the  said  twenty-second  section  of  said 
Title  Seventh.  The  only  law  which  they  can  find 
bearing  any  resemblance  to  it  is  a  statute  of  Virginia, 
by  which  any  slave,  free  negro  or  mulatto,  Is  forbidden  to 
administer  medicine  on  pain  of  death.  Provided,  that  if 
such  medicine  is  administered  without  any  ill  intent, 
or  is  not  attended  with  any  bad  consequences,  such 
slave  is  to  be  acquitted  on  trial,  and  not  extending  to 
any  slave  administering  such  medicine  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  owner  of  the  slave,  and  the  consent  of  the 
master  or  mistress  of  the  family  ;  nor  to  any  free 
negro  or  mulatto  administering  such  medicine  in  any 
family,  with  the  consent  of  the  master  or  mistress 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       467 

thereof.  But  oiir  statute  punishes  the  unlicensed 
physician,  where  his  intention  was  good  ;  where  the 
medicine  was  administered  at  the  request,  and  with 
the  consent  of  the  patient  ;  where  it  produced  no  bad 
consequences,  and  afforded  the  intended  and  expected 
cure.  It  not  only  punishes  the  unlettered  Empiric, 
and  the  Botanic  phj'sician,  but  the  man  of  learning 
and  science  in  his  profession.  He  may  have  obtained 
diplotnas  from  Leiden  and  Edinburgh,  and  from  every 
medical  college  and  every  legally-incorporated  med- 
ical society  in  the  Old  and  New  World,  beyond  the 
limits  of  this  State  ;  *  he  may  stand  first  in  the  first 
rank  of  his  profession,  and  he  becomes  a  practicing 
physician  in  one  of  the  counties  of  this  State,  and 
neglects  for  sixty  days  to  unite  himself  with  the  med- 
ical society  of  the  county,  his  license  is  forfeited,  he 
is  in  some  respects  deemed  an  outlaw,  may  be  con- 
victed of  misdemeanor,  fined,  and  sentenced  to  a 
dungeon. 

"  So  that  our  free  white  male  citizens,  learned  and 
unlearned,  are  treated  with  greater  severity  by  our 
statute  than  are  the  free  negroes,  or  even  the  slaves, 
of  Virginia,  by  the  laws  of  that  State." 

The  same  spirit  and  disposition  which  had  inspired 
the  application  for  such  a  statute  was  fully  exempli- 
fied in  its  enforcement.  The  Medical  Inquisition  was 
established,  and  the  Reform  physicians  were  out- 
lawed and  placed  at  its  mercy.  Every  medical  soci- 
ety in  the  State  became  virtually  a  police  station, 
to  which  resorted  spies  and  informers  to  communicate 
evidence  for  prosecutions.  Immediately  began  the 
hunt  and  the  havoc.  Many  practitioners  were  arrested 
and  fined,  many  were  fined  and  imprisoned  for  two 
months.  In  this  latter  number  may  be  enumerated 
several  members  of  the  famous  family  of  Sweets,  the 

*  Compare  Federal  Constitution,  Article  IV.,  sect,  ii.,  subd.  i  :  "  The  citizens 
of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the 
several  Slates." 


468  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

"  natural  bone-setters."  Their  art  and  skill  had  been 
eagerly  sought  by  generals  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
when  the  army  surgeons  failed  ;  but  in  this  medical 
war  such  considerations  were  of  no  account. 

The  sentence  of  outlawry  thus  passed  by  the  legis- 
lature upon  Reformed  physicians,  and  the  atrocious 
persecutions  which  followed,  had  the  effect  to  deter- 
mine them  to  concerted  endeavors  for  a  restoration  to 
the  common  rights  of  free-born  citizens.  Dr.  Elisha 
Smith,  wary  and  far-seeing,  counseled  organization 
and  the  adoption  of  a  better  standard  of  scholarship. 
This  would  enable  them  to  meet  their  enemies  upon 
common  ground,  as  peers  in  learning  as  well  as  in 
natural  rights.  It  was  no  longer  safe  to  indulge  in 
jealousy  and  prejudice,  giving  the  assailants  oppor- 
tunity to  attack  them,  one  by  one,  and  destroy  them 
utterly.  He  organized  the  New  York  Botanic  Med 
ical  Association,  and  took  measures  to  establish  a 
school  for  instruction  in  medicine.  Dr.  Wooster  Beach 
and  his  friends  adopted  a  similar  course,  opening  the 
"  New  York  Medical  Academy,"  and  forming  the 
Reformed  Medical  Society  of  the  United  States. 

JOHN    THOMSON. 

The  foremost  and  most  energetic  to  raise  the  stand- 
ard of  opposition  to  the  pernicious  legislation  was 
Dr.  John  Thomson.  He  was  a  man  of  indefatigable 
energy,  and  sagacious  to  perceive  the  true  policy,  to 
attack  the  adversary  at  the  point  where  he  was  the 
most  vulnerable.  Coming  to  Albany  in  1824,  he  came 
in  contact  with  the  peculiar  restrictions  of  physicians. 
One  was  that  a  practitioner,  duly  legalized  by  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  was  not  a  lawful  physician  by 
the  law  of  New  York,  even  when  of  the  privileged 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       469 

school.  He  was  also  told  that  his  father's  patent 
could  not  be  entailed  on  the  children.  When  the 
legislation  of  1827  had  placed  the  Botanic  and  other 
practitioners  outside  of  the  protection  of  the  law, 
making  statutory  criminals  of  honorable  and  worthy 
men,  he  determined  upon  appealing  to  the  People  to 
right  the  wrong.  From  that  time  he  spared  neither 
effort  nor  money  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the  obnox- 
ious measure.  To  him  and  his  fellow-laborers  is 
chiefly  due  the  reactionary  legislation  which  began  in 
New  York  in  1830,  and  extended  to  the  other  States, 
with  the  result  of  eliminating  the  prescriptive  meas- 
ures from  all  the  statute-books. 

It  certainly  appeared  like  a  hazardous,  unpropitious 
undertaking.  It  seemed  as  chough  the  doctors  had 
cowed  the  members  of  legislatures  till  hardly  a  man 
dared  open  his  mouth  or  peep.  "This  barbarous  law 
we  declared  war  against  in  1828,"  said  he,  "and  so 
great  was  the  public  prejudice  against  us,  that  it  was 
with  much  difficulty  that  we  could  find  a  member 
who  had  independence  enough  to  present  a  petition 
to  the  House  for  us."  It  was  done,  however,  on  the 
17th  of  January,  the  name  of  John  Thomson  heading 
the  first  one  offered.  Others  followed  from  twenty 
counties,  showing  that  there  was  a  constituency  in 
favor  of  repeal,  and  that  the  reaction  had  begun.  The 
next  year  the  effort  was  renewed,  and  petitions 
numerously  signed,  were  presented  from  half  the 
counties  of  the  State,  asking  the  repeal  of  the  medical 
prohibitory  law. 

At  this  time  a  significant  political  movement  was 
agitating  the  State.  The  abduction  of  William  Morgan, 
and  his  myterious  disappearance,  had  produced  a  great 
excitement,  and  under  the  lead  of  Myron  Holley,  of 


470  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Rochester,  an  Anti-Masonic  party  had  been  formed,, 
which  carried  the  elections  in  the  principal  western 
counties.  Many  of  the  members  of  the  legislature  of 
1830  became  afterward  men  of  distinction  in  the 
State  and  nation  ;  among  them  Millard  Fillmore, 
Francis  Granger,  Thurlow  Weed,  Nathaniel  P. 
Tallmadge,  Luther  Bradish,  Abijah  Mann,  Jr.; 
George  H.  Davis,  Stephen  Allen,  Alonzo  C.  Paige, 
Andrew  B.  Dickinson.  The  Speaker,  General  Erastus 
Root,  was  warmly  in  favor  of  Liberal  Medicine.  It 
has  been  the  practice  in  the  Assembly  of  New  York 
for  the  Speaker  to  constitute  the  Medical  Standing 
Committee  entirely  of  physicians.  It  was  so  uniformly 
done,  as  to  be  considered  almost  as  an  unwritten  law. 
Only  Henry  J.  Raymond,  in  1861,  ever  purposely  set 
it  aside.  A  committee,  thus  virtually  packed,  is  an 
important  factor  in  a  legislative  body.  It  gave  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  the  opportunity  to  influ- 
ence materially,  and  even  to  control  the  action  of  the 
Assembly  upon  medical  questions.  Nobody  had  ven- 
tured to  question  its  prerogative.  Having  a  giant's 
strength,  it  had  used  it  like  a  giant.  This  accounts 
for  the  severity  of  the  medical  proscription  in  the 
State  of  New  York.  Similar  influences  had  been 
employed  in  other  States,  and  with  like  result. 

In  1830,  the  Assembly  authorized  the  appointment 
of  a  Select  Committee  on  the  Botanic  Practice.  Mr. 
Dickinson,  the  Chairman,  made  an  elaborate  report  set- 
ting forth  the  injustice  of  the  law,  the  right  of  every 
man  to  select  his  own  physician,  and  the  impropriety 
of  arbitrary  legislation. 

"If  the  physician  is  distinguished,"  it  says,  "by  his 
superior  intellect,  his  superior  virtue  and  attainments 
in  medical  science,  a  discerning  people  will  discover  it. 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       47 1 

and  he  will  receive  the  rewards  of  an  extensive  and 
successful  practice,  which  he  would  never  obtain  by 
binding-  and  imprisoning  his  humble  opponent.  The 
strife  of  the  professional  man,  ennobled  by  genius 
and  talent,  and  exalted  by  virtue,  is  generous  and 
noble  ;  and  he  needs  not,  he  asks  tiot,  the  aid  of  severe 
laws  to  insure  it." 

The  committee,  accordingly,  reported  a  bill  to 
repeal  the  inhibition  and  penalties,  which  passed  the 
House  by  a  vote  of  74  to  27,  and  the  Senate,  17  to  5. 
It  was  promptly  signed  by  Governor  Throop.  "  That 
law,"  says  John  Thomson,  "  cost  me  three  sessions' 
perplexity  and  hard  labor,  and  upward  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars  in  cash,  expended." 

The  victory,  however,  was  by  no  means  final.  The 
State  and  County  Medical  Societies  were  three  thou- 
sand strong,  and  now  put  forth  prodigious  efforts  to 
recover  their  lost  supremacy.  The  staple  pretext 
was  employed,  which  has  since  been  reiterated,  that 
the  physicians  were  not  laboring  selfishly  for  their 
own  emolument,  but  for  the  protection  of  the  people 
from  quackery.  Nevertheless,  few  except  the  mem- 
bers of  medical  societies  signed  petitions  for  their 
proscriptive  measures,  while  the  remonstrances  bore 
the  names  of  tens  of  thousands.  On  the  28th  of 
March,  1832,  the  Hon.  Francis  Granger  presented 
the  petitions  of  John  Thomson  and  fifty  thousand 
others,  inhabitants  of  the  State,  asking  equal  legisla- 
tive protection  for  the  Botanic  practice.  The  popula- 
tion of  New  York  was  then  about  two  millions. 

OTHER    STATES. 

Similar  efforts  for  equal  rights  before  the  law  were 
made  by  Reform  practitioners  in  other  States,  and  with 
encouraging  results.  The  invasion  of  Asiatic  Cholera, 


472  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

which  was  experienced  for  the  first  time  in  America, 
had  been  a  powerful  agency  in  their  favor.  The  leg- 
islature of  Ohio,  in  February,  1833,  repealed  her  med- 
ical act.  Other  States  went  even  further.  The 
legislature  of  Alabama  passed  a  bill  expressly  declar- 
ing its  purpose  to  be  the  upholding  of  the  Botanic 
practice.  The  next  winter  witnessed  a  similar  meas- 
ure in  Mississippi. 

The  legislature  of  Indiana,  having  convened  in 
January,  1834,. a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, himself  a  physician,  presented  a  bill  in  the 
usual  form,  to  prohibit  Botanic  physicians  from 
receiving  compensation  for  their  services.  It  was 
summarily  rejected  by  a  vote  of  forty-five  to  thirty. 
The  Western  States,  as  they  were  then  classified,  were 
unanimously  on  the  side  of  equal  rights  before  the 
law  for  medical  practitioners.  They  further  showed 
it  by  the  appointing  of  several  Reform  physicians  to 
official  positions. 

CONFLICT  RENEWED  IN  NEW  YORK. 

The  medical  leaders  in  New  York  chafed  over  the 
liberal  legislation  of  1830.  In  1832,  when  the  cholera 
first  invaded  the  country,  although  the  Reformed 
practitioners  were  successful  beyond  others  in  its 
treatment,  panic  as  well  as  organization  enabled  their 
adversaries  to  procure  the  election  of  fifteen  physi- 
cians to  the  legislature  that  autumn,  and  twice  that 
number  the  following  year.  They  set  about  to  regain 
their  lost  ground.  They  employed  the  procedure  now 
almost  universal,  to  make  use  of  the  forms  of  law 
to  destroy  the  substance  of  liberty.  Dr.  Barent  P. 
Staats,  of  Albany,  took  the  lead,  and  introduced  a 
bill   in   the  Assembly,  early  in  the  session,   for  the 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       473 

repeal  of  the  Act  of  1830.  The  friends  of  impartial 
liberty  opposed  this  retrograde  policy  by  every  reason- 
able argument,  without  avail.  Mr.  Mordecai  Myers 
declared  the  restricting  of  medical  practice  to  be  an 
infringement  of  public  rights,  and  that  it  curtailed 
the  right  of  every  man  to  exercise  his  knowledge  or 
his  skill  for  the  benefit  of  his  species  ;  while  profes- 
sional skill,  licensed  or  unlicensed,  always  would  and 
ought  to  command  a  preference.  The  regular  practi- 
tioner, if  really  qualified  to  practice  in  his  profession, 
would  never  need  the  aid  of  legislative  protection. 

Mr.  Haskell  took  the  ground  that  a  law  that  restricted 
the  practice  of  medicine  to  any  particular  class  of 
persons  was  unconstitutional  ;  and  quoted  the  veto  of 
Governor  Pope  on  a  bill  containing  similar  restrictions 
as  creating  a  sort  of  "  intellectual  aristocracy." 

The  bill  passed  the  Assembly,  and  was  favorably 
reported  in  the  Senate.  The  debate  upon  it  was 
characteristic.  Among  the  advocates  of  restrictive 
legislation  were  Messrs.  Albert  H.  Tracy,  William  H. 
Seward,  and  John  W.  Edmonds. 

One  Senator,  a  Mr.  Macdonald,  declared  himself  in 
favor  of  prohibiting  the  use  of  vegetable  remedies 
entirely,  and  denounced  the  Botanic  practitioners  as 
being  very  often  destitute  of  even  an  elementary 
education.  Mr.  W.  H.  Seward  demanded  a  strict  law 
to  protect  the  public. 

The  opposing  Senators  were  equally  forcible  in 
their  rebuttals,  and  from  being  in  the  right  of  the 
issue,  were  in  consequence  more  eloquent.  Mr. 
Kemble  declared  that  if  a  law  was  to  pass  forbidding 
physicians  to  practice,  who  had  no  diploma,  there 
ought  likewise  another  to  be  enacted  to  define  which 
physicians,    among    those   who    had    diplomas,    were 


474  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

capable  practitioners  ;  for  very  many  of  the  licensed 
practitioners  knew  little  of  the  business.* 

The  bill  passed  the  Senate  by  a  vote  of  sixteen  to 
fourteen,  and  was  approved  by  Governor  William  L. 
Marcy. 

Thus,  the  long  step  backward  was  taken.  The 
medical  societies  had  triumphed.  The  members  of 
legislature  professing  liberality  beyond  preceding 
bodies,  had  yielded  in  a  point  vital  to  liberty  itself. 

Judge  Haskell  described  the  object  of  this  legisla- 
tion to  be  :  "  To  proscribe  all  undiplomatized  Botanic 
practice,  however  scientific  ;  and  to  bolster  up  diplo- 
matized practitioners,  however  ignorant  of  the  science 
of  Medical  Botany  ;  and  also  to  facilitate  the  attain- 
ment of  the  purpose  of  confining  medical  teaching  to 
incorporated  medical  schools  and  colleges,  and  to  the 
professional  men  connected  with  them."  This,  he 
declared,  was  "  a  measure  not  so  certainly  calculated 
to  facilitate  the  attainment  of  medical  science,  as  to 
subserve  the  exclusive  interest  of  those  exclusively 
privileged  to  practice  physic  and  to  become  medical 
teachers."  He  questioned  the  right  or  policy,  "by 
which  a  self-taught  medical  practitioner,  professor  or 
teacher,  is  refused  an  examination,  rejected  as  a 
quack,  and  regardless  of  his  qualifications,  however 
learned  and   competent   he  may  be,  prohibited  from 


*  Judge  Griffin,  in  liis  argument,  quoted  a  conversation  of  the  Emperor  o( 
China, who,  having  heard  that  in  England  the  physicians  were  paid  for  their  visits, 
besides  the  medicines,  inquired  : 

"  Did  the  patients  ever  get  well  ?" 

Being  answered  that  they  did,  he  asked  again  : 

"Are  there  not  constantly  great  numbers  who  are  permanently  crippled  and 
diseased  ? " 

He  was  told  in  reply  that  this  was  indeed  the  case.  He  rejoined,  that  with  that 
system  it  would  always  be  so.  His  physician  was  paid  only  for  the  time  he  was  in 
health. 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       475 

exercising  his  profession,  because,  and  only  because  he 
chose  not  to  study  under  a  privileged  teacher,  or 
happened  to  be  too  poor  to  encounter  the  cost  of  an 
attendance  at  an  expensive  incorporated  institution." 

A  few  days  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  Dr.  John 
Thomson  was  asked  to  go  fourteen  miles  to  visit  a 
patient.  He  was  presented  two  dollars  for  this  ser- 
vice. Dr.  Staats  inquired  the  matter  out,  and  made  a 
complaint,  and  Thomson  was  tried  and  fined.  At  the 
instance  of  a  few  hundred  professional  men,  desirous 
of  special  privileges,  there  had  thus  been  disregarded 
the  rights  of  as  many  more,  and  the  prayer  of  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  petitioners.  "  To  the 
everlasting  scandal  of  the  learned  Faculty,"  said  the 
intrepid  Lapham  of  the  Thomso)iian  Recorder,  "in  any 
State  where  any  law  has  existed,  or  does  now  exist, 
regulating  medical  practice,  it  has  never  originated 
with  the  people,  but  with  a  class  of  men  who  subsist 
on  the  miseries  of  the  people.  Fines,  prisons,  dun- 
geons, chains  and  death  are  accounted  better  security 
to  their  standing  than  all  the  combined  skill  and  wis- 
dom of  all  the  ancient  schools  of  Medicine." 

To  submit  in  silence  would  have  been  equivalent  to 
confessing  the  legislation  and  penalties  just.  A  State 
Convention  was  called  at  once.  The  note  of  warning 
was  sounded  all  over  the  country.  The  response  was 
prompt,  the  language  resolute  and  determined.  "  Be 
assured/'  Charles  Thompson  once  wrote  to  Dr. 
Franklin,  "we  shall  light  torches." 

ALABAMA    AND    HER    WATCHWORD. 

The  Medical  Botanic  Society  of  Alabama  at  once 
issued  an  Address  to  the  People  of  that  State  declar- 
ing the  enactment  in  New  York  "  the  most  infamous 


476  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

that  ever  disgraced  a  .statute-book."  It  added  the 
honest  boast,  that  in  Alabama  the  peo^ple  were  free- 
men, and  acted  as  such,  having  no  legislative  enact- 
ments to  enable  a  few  lordly  aristocrats  to  live  in 
luxury  on  honest  industry. 

"  Let  the  example  of  New  York  be  a  warning  and  a 
watchword,"  said  the  Address;  "  and  if  it  be  known  to 
any  member  of  this  Society  that  there  is  a  candidate 
for  office  who  is  in  favor  of  establishing  a  privileged 
order  of  physicians,  let  him  speak.  For  it  is  in  your 
power,  by  dropping  all  minor  considerations  of  party, 
to  ease  him  of  the  heavy  burden  of  public  employment. 

"  All  other  subjects  sink  into  insignificance  com- 
pared with  this.  When  the  ministers  of  death  apply 
for  exclusive  privileges,  sound  the  tocsin  :  '  New 
York  ! ' " 

convention  of  medical  protestants. 

Nor  were  the  Medical  Reformers  of  New  York 
silent  or  quiet  under  the  legislative  decree  of  outlawry. 
Immediately  after  the  Statute  of  1834  had  been  signed 
by  Governor  Marcy,  a  State  Convention  was  called  to 
take  the  matter  into  consideration.  It  met  at  Geddes, 
on  the  first  of  September,  and  promptly  resolved  to 
keep  up  agitation,  and  to  continue  to  memorialize  the 
legislature  for  just  treatment.  A  series  of  resolutions 
was  adopted  pledging  the  members  and  their  constit- 
uents to  use  all  laudable  endeavors  for  such  equaliz- 
ing of  legislation,  so  that  every  school  of  Medicine 
should  rest  on  its  merits,  instead  of  being  bolstered 
up  by  legislative  favor. 

"  Better  to  have  no  laws  regulating  the  practice  of 
medicine,"  one  resolution  expressively  declared,  "  than 
to  place  all  power  in  the  hands  of  a  privileged  few, 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       477 

and  those  using  the  most  dangerous  poisons  as  med- 
icines." 

The  following  significant  declaration  was  also  sub- 
joined :  "  That  we  consider  a  free  people  as  compe- 
tent to  select  their  physicians  as  to  elect  their  legis- 
lators ;  and  every  law  preventing  the  same  charges 
the  people  with  ignorance,  and  infringes  on  their 
rights." 

The  policy  thus  announced  met  with  an  echo  in 
every  part  of  the  country. 

Conventions  were  held  at  Jackson,  in  Louisiana, 
and  Indianapolis,  in  Indiana,  at  each  of  which  a  state 
society  of  the  Reformed  School  was  organized. 

TABLES    TURNED    AGAIN    IN    NEW    YORK. 

The  election  of  1834  placed  a  more  liberal  body  of 
men  in  the  Assembly  of  New  York.  Mr.  Seward  had 
been  defeated  for  governor,  and  several  other  adver- 
saries of  Botanic  Medicine  had  been  replaced  by 
others  who  were  friendly.  The  Reformed  physicians 
of  the  New  York  School  had  also  petitioned  the  legis- 
lature, and  appeared  in  behalf  of  the  repeal  of  the 
obnoxious  laws.  This  year  Mr.  Job  Haskell  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly.  At  the  instance  of  Dr. 
Wooster  Beach  and  Dr.  Isaac  S.  Smith,  Dr.  Thomson 
concurring,  he  was  selected  as  the  champion  of  the 
Reformers.  That  j^ear  the  petitions  were  presented 
by  scores,  coming  from  all  the  principal  counties  of 
the  State,  signed  sometimes  by  hundreds,  and  several 
exceeding  a  thousand.  There  were  forty  thousand 
petitioners.  Mr.  Haskell  asked  that  they  be  referred 
to  a  Select  Committee,  and  secured  it  by  a  majority 
of  two. 


478  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  report  was  presented  on  the  i6th  of  February. 
It  boldly  declared  the  law  permitting  a  Botanic  prac- 
titioner to  administer  medicine,  but  prohibiting  him 
to  receive  compensation,  an  anomaly  in  legislation. 
The  Committee  had  not  been  informed  of  any  ill 
consequences  resulting  from  the  practice  of  any  such 
physician  to  justify  this  forfeiture,  by  legislative 
enactment,  of  the  immunities  enjoyed  by  his  fellow- 
citizens.  There  is  a  provision  in  the  Divine  Code 
that  "  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,"  which  has  so 
much  sacredness,  that  it  should  stay  every  effort  of 
legislation  to  reduce  it  to  a  dead  letter. 

In  short,  the  Committee  reported  that  they  had 
found  nothing  to  justify  a  continuance  of  the  laws 
"  regulating  the  practice  of  physic,"  as  they  now 
existed.  The  petitions  before  them,  thus  numerously 
signed,  showed  that  the  public  mind  was  excited  on 
the  subject.  All  history  shows  that  when  the  people 
are  stirred  up  it  is  not  commonly  the  result  of  imagi- 
nary causes.  An  instance  of  recent  occurrence  in 
Western  New  York  [the  abduction  of  William 
Morgan,]  demonstrated  that  the  people  in  their 
strength  are  not  to  be  disregarded  with  impunity. 

The  Committee  criticised  the  extensive  vending  of 
the  Thomsonian  patent  without  regard  to  the  quali- 
fications and  character  of  the  purchaser  ;  which  had 
resulted  in  the  starting  into  notoriety  of  a  "  mush- 
room phalanx  consisting  of  the  old  and  the  young, 
and  of  both  sexes,  till  then  only  distinguished  by 
their  ignorance  and  obscurity."  But  the  fault  did 
not  lie  in  the  system  itself,  and  the  discreet  and 
experienced  Botanic  practitioner  was  among  the 
severest  sufferers  from  this  cause. 

Finally,  if  the  existing  laws  regulating  the  practice 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       479 

of  physic  were  necessary,  as  regards  the  encourage- 
ment of  science  and  the  protection  of  the  Faculty,  the 
Committee  did  not  perceive  any  good  reason  why  the 
fair  Botanic  practitioner  was  not  entitled  to  equal 
protection,  nor  why  this  branch  of  medical  knowledge 
and  improvement  might  not  receive  the  same  encour- 
agement. 

The  alternatives  between  no  law  and  the  law  in 
force,  constrained  the  Committee  to  prefer  the  former 
as  the  lesser  evil.  In  Pennsylvania,  the  Medical 
Faculty  had  never  enjoyed  the  monopoly  of  a  privi- 
leged order  protected  by  law  ;  and  in  Ohio  the  med- 
ical profession  had  been  left  to  stand  on  its  own 
merits,  without  a  legislative  nurse  or  legal  restriction. 
The  Committee  were  clear  that  it  would  be  more  dis- 
creet, as  well  as  more  republican,  to  leave  the  whole 
matter  to  be  regulated  by  public  opinion,  and  place 
both  orders  of  practice  upon  the  same  footing,  leaving 
the  field  of  benevolent  competition  open  to  both. 
They  accordingly  introduced  a  bill  to  repeal  the  stat- 
ute of  the  previous  year,  and  authorizing  any  one  to 
apply  Botanic  medicines  for  the  benefit  of  a  sick  per- 
son, and  to  collect  or  receive  a  reasonable  compensa- 
tion for  medicines,  attendance  and  services. 

When  the  bill  was  considered  in  Committee  of  the 
Whole,  Mr.  Haskell  made  a  very  forcible  speech, 
reviewing  the  medical  legislation  of  New  York  from 
1760,  in  the  Colonial  period,  and  declared  that  it  dis- 
franchised respectable  physicians  and  established 
legal  quackery.  He  added,  with  peculiar  significance, 
that  it  showed  that  the  Botanic  practice  was  consid- 
ered safe,  and  that  the  Mineral  Doctors  were  not 
afraid  that  the  people  would  be  injured  by  it  ;  but 
that   the   only   crime    in    their    eyes,    for    which    the 


480  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Botanic  physician  ought  to  suffer,  was  the  receiving 
of  the  fee. 

Dr.  Isaac  S.  Smith,  of  New  York,  described  the 
effort  in  glowing  terms  :  "  He  made  a  stirring  speech 
on  the  subject  of  the  unjustness  of  the  existing  med- 
ical laws.  I  was  present,  and  well  remember  him  as 
he  stood  upon  the  floor,  with  Dr.  Wooster  Beach's 
book  in  one  hand  and  my  father's  in  the  other.  His 
language  was  bold,  defiant  and  eloquent,  and  at  inter- 
vals the  hall  fairly  shook  with  applause." 

The  Assembly,  however,  struck  out  the  section 
recognizing  the  right  of  Botanic  physicians  to  com- 
pensation. The  bill  was  then  passed  and  became 
a  law. 

Several  of  the  friends  of  Dr.  Thomson  were  cha- 
grined at  the  prominence  given  to  the  works  of  Dr. 
Beach,  and  his  medals  from  the  various  sovereigns  of 
Europe,  and  the  lower  estimate  placed  by  Mr.  Haskell 
upon  their  system.  This,  however,  was  probably  a 
parliamentary  necessity.  Literature  is  essential  to 
the  existence  and  success  of  any  movement,  and  illit- 
eracy is  a  fearful  drag-weight  upon  any  enterprise. 
It  is  due  to  Dr.  John  Thomson,  however,  to  state  that 
he  was  awake  to  this  fact.  He  set  himself  vigorously, 
to  the  great  discomfiture  of  his  father,  to  remedying 
this  deficiency.  It  made  a  new  departure  for  the 
school  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  brightest  lumi- 
naries. 

THANKS    TO    ASSEMBLYMAN    HASKELL. 

The  passage  of  the  Haskell  bill  was  treated  in 
Reform  circles  everywhere,  with  warm  delight.  It 
was  nut  only  a  long  step  in  the  way  of  justice,  but  it 
showed  that  by  organized  effort  and  a  waiving  of  pro- 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       481 

fessional  jealousies,  the  reformers  could  win.  A  victory 
in  New  York  was  a  victory  for  the  whole  country,  and 
it  gave  a  new  impetus  to  effort  elsewhere. 

The  Botanic  practitioners  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
held  a  meeting  on  the  5th  of  May,  1835,  at  No.  95 
Eldridge  street,  to  acknowledge  the  services  of  their 
champion  in  the  legislature.  Dr.  Wooster  Beach  was 
elected  chairman.  A  series  of  resolutions  were  pre- 
sented and  unanimously  adopted.  We  give  a  copy  of 
the  first. 

Resolved^ — That  the  Botanic  physicians  of  New 
York  entertain  a  just  sense  of  the  important  services 
rendered  by  the  Hon.  Job  Haskell,  on  the  floor  of  the 
legislature  of  this  State,  vindicating  the  rights  of  his 
fellow-citizens  from  the  unjust,  arbitrary  and  uncon- 
stitutional laws  relating  to  the  practice  of  physic  and 
surgery,  that  have  so  long  disgraced  the  statutes  of 
this  state 

ORGANIZATION. 

The  necessity  of  organization  was  easy  to  perceive. 
To  divide  the  adversaries  and  conquer  each  division 
in  turn,  often  with  the  help  of  some  of  its  rival 
factions,  has  been  a  frequent  strategic  policy.  The 
fierce  contentions  between  the  various  Reform  forces 
in  medicine,  were  often  more  perilous  than  the  iron 
hand  of  the  dominant  school.  A  cordial  union  of  the 
Thomsonian  with  the  Reformed  school,  and  of  the 
Homoeopathists  with  the  Eclectics,  on  a  fair  and  lib- 
eral basis  of  common  justice  and  fraternity,  would  have 
long  since  divested  medical  monopoly  of  its  supreme 
power  in  the  legislation,  jurisprudence  and  political 
patronage  in  the  United  States.  There  were  men 
wise  to  apprehend  what  might  be  secured;  there  were 
those   too,    who   were   ready   on  various   pretexts    to 


482  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

promote  discord,  as  if  preferring"  dominion  in  hell  to 
service  in  heaven. 

The  Reformed  physicians  of  western  New  York 
appear  to  have  taken  the  lead  in  endeavors  to  secure 
united  action.  In  that  region,  Botanic  practitioners, 
the  disciples  of  Samuel  Thomson  and  others,  were 
numerous.  Every  prescriptive  act  of  legislation  was 
a  signal  for  launching  upon  their  heads  the  bolts  of 
remorseless  persecution.  They  were  thoughtful  and 
self-reliant  men,  and  the  law  of  1827,  conceived  of  the 
spirit  that  outlawed  the  New  England  patriots  of 
1774,  aroused  them  to  vigorous  action. 

A  meeting  was  held  at  Rochester,  on  the  twenty- 
third  of  January,  1828,  at  which  was  formed  "  The 
Reformed  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York." 
The  constitution  tersely  set  forth  as  its  objects:  "To 
improve  the  practice  of  medicine,  encourage  the 
employment  of  herbaceous  remedies,  undertake  the 
repeal  of  unjust  laws  restricting  the  practice  of 
medicine,  which  were  passed  at  an  extra  session  of 
the  legislature  in  1827,  and  to  diffuse  knowledge 
among  the  People  for  their  enlightenment  upon  med- 
ical subjects." 

This  was  the  first  of  the  several  Societies  formed  to 
represent  and  combine  the  Reform  physicians  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  It  set  about  its  operations  with 
great  energy.  Concert  of  action  was  established,  and 
the  sentiment  of  the  community  in  western  New  York 
soon  began  to  favor  the  New  School  of  Practice.  The 
president,  Dr.  Daniel  J.  Cobb,  published  a  journal  for 
several  years,  entitled  The  Botanic  Sentinel  atid  Enquirer, 
Auxiliary  societies  were  formed  in  many  of  the  coun- 
ties. In  addition  to  these  were  several  independent 
organizations;    among     them    the    "  Genesee    Union 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       483 

Botanic  Society,"  formed  at  Port  Byron,  in  1832,  the 
"Reform  Medical  Society,"  at  Conesus,  in  the  same 
year,  and  two  others,  each  bearing  the  name  of  "  The 
Reformed  Medical  Association  of  Western  New  York," 
one  at  Dansville  and  the  other  at  Fredonia. 

These  Societies  continued  in  active  existence  for 
many  years,  co-operating  with  great  cordiality  in  the 
promulgating  of  their  doctrines,  petitioning  the  legis- 
lature and  in  various  ways  upholding  the  cause.  At 
a  later  period  they  were  merged  into  the  Eclectic 
organization. 

THE    FIRST    NATIONAL    ASSOCIATION. 

In  1829  a  national  association  was  formed  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  called  the  "  Reformed  Medical 
Society  of  the  United  States."  Dr.  Wooster  Beach 
was  the  president  of  this  organization.  He  was  at 
this  time  very  enthusiastic  of  the  immediate  success 
of  the  cause.  There  were  enlisted  with  him  several 
young  men,  graduates  in  medicine  and  otherwise  well 
educated,  who  were  in  warm  sympathy  with  his  doc- 
trines and  ambitions.  Of  this  number,  two  were  con- 
spicuous beyond  others:  Thomas  Vaughan  Morrow 
and  Ichabod  Gibson  Jones.  With  such  auxiliaries  as 
these  Dr.  Beach  aspired  to  extend  his  field  of  opera- 
tions to  the  West  and  South,  the  outermost  limits  of 
the  twenty-four  states  of  the  American  Union.  A  cir- 
cular letter  was  prepared  and  copies  sent  to  prominent 
individuals  living  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi.  It  speedily  resulted  in  a  correspondence 
with  Colonel  James  Kilbourne,  of  Worthington,  Ohio. 

WORTHINGTON    AND    IIS    COLLEGE. 

The  town  of  Worthington  had  been  laid  out  in  1803, 
by  Colonel   Kilbourne,  of   the    Scioto   company,    and 


484  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

colonized  from  the  state  of  Connecticut.  Ohio 
became  a  state  at  this  time,  and  the  purpose  was 
fondly  cherished  to  procure  its  selection  for  the 
capital.  These  hopes  were  disappointed,  A  little 
while  afterward,  dissensions  arose  in  Kenyon  College, 
and  its  retiring  president,  the  Rev.  Doctor  Chase, 
obtained  a  charter  for  a  rival  institution  at  Worth- 
ington.  It  began  its  career  with  glowing  expec- 
tations, but  the  election  of  Dr.  Chase  as  Bishop  of 
Illinois,  and  the  adjustment  of  the  controversy  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  was  followed  by  the 
closing  of  the  new  college. 

In  this  condition  of  affairs,  the  proposition  of  Dr. 
Beach  to  establish  a  Reformed  medical  school  was 
readily  accepted,  and  an  act  was  obtained  from  the 
legislature  to  establish  a  medical  department  in  the 
institution  at  Worthington. 

This  was  the  first  institution  of  the  Reformed 
School  that  was  recognized  by  a  legislative  enact- 
ment. Even  the  colleges  of  John  Hunter,  and  other 
distinguished  instructors  in  England,  were  only  pri- 
vate ventures.  Their  terms  of  study  lasted  about 
six  weeks,  and  their  diplomas  conferred  no  legal 
authority. 

Doctor  Morrow  was  selected  by  the  Reformed  Med- 
ical Association,  at  its  meeting  in  New  York,  to 
organize  the  new  institution  at  Worthington,  and  to 
be  its  president.  The  college  was  opened  in  1831,  and 
held  two  terms  each  year,  covering  a  period  of  ten 
months.  This  was  somewhat  longer  than  had  been 
usual  in  schools  for  medical  instruction.  Indeed,  at 
that  time,  the  illiteracy  of  medical  men  in  the  United 
States  was  but  too  common,  and  the  proportion  that 
had  never  been  students   at   a  medical  college  was 


THE  GREAT  CONFLICT  FOR  MEDICAL  FREEDOM.   485 

exceedingly  large.  The  professors  at  Worthington 
were  obliged  to  adopt  a  medium  policy  between  the 
condition  of  facts  as  it  was,  and  the  higher  stand- 
ard at  which  they  aimed.  They  appear  to  have  had 
no  specified  requirement  for  attendance  at  lectures, 
as  a  condition  of  graduating.  Any  student  might 
receive  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  Medicine,  who  could 
satisfactorily  undergo  the  examinations. 

Worthington  College  had  numerous  foes  and  diffi- 
culties to  encounter.  The  physicians  of  the  region 
were,  to  a  man,  vindictive  and  unrelenting  in  their 
hostility.  The  disciples  of  Dr.  Thomson  added  their 
criticisms,  denouncing  the  doctrines  as  mongrelism, 
and  as  having  been  in  a  large  degree  plagiarized  from 
their  school.  The  warfare  was  characterized  by  all 
the  animosity  so  general  between  individuals  largely 
agreeing  in  principles,  but  at  issue  in  details  Lead- 
ers of  a  party,  and  partisans  of  a  point  of  doctrine, 
are  bitterly  hostile,  and  sometimes  even  murder- 
ously cruel,  to  those  who  do  not  subscribe  unques- 
tioningly  to  their  opinions  or  authority.  The  fate  of 
Michael  Servetus  is  significant  in  the  history  of  mod- 
ern Protestanism.  When  the  prisons  of  London,  in 
the  reign  of  Mary  Tudor,  were  filled  with  Reformers 
awaiting  trial,  and  death  by  burning  at  the  stake, 
many  among  these  were  eager  to  proscribe  others  of 
their  own  number  as  heretical  and  reprobate,  for  not 
concurring  with  their  belief  on  certain  dogmas  of 
religion. 

The  early  reformers  in  medicine  appear  often  to 
have  been  inspired  by  a  similar  disposition.  Wooster 
Beach  and  Elisha  Smith  had  each  a  Medical  Society 
in  New  York,  one  assuming  to  be  national,  and  the 
other   embracing    the    State.      In    1832,    Dr.    Thomas 


486  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Hersey,  a  veteran  physician  of  superior  ability,  who 
had  embraced  the  doctrines  of  Samuel  Thomson, 
established  at  Columbus,  a  monthly  periodical,  The 
Thomsonian  Recorder^  for  their  promulgation.  He  was 
a  bold  and  vigorous  writer,  resolute  of  purpose,  and 
zealous  in  controversy.*  He  seems  not  to  have  long 
delayed  in  turning  his  weapons  upon  the  physicians 
of  the  college  at  Worthington.  Dr.  Alva  Curtis 
became  a  contributor  to  the  Recorder,  and  subsequently 
succeeded  as  editor. 

About  this  time  occurred  an  episode,  perhaps  the 
first  of  the  kind  ever  coming  to  light  in  the  United 
States.  A  charter  for  the  "  University  of  Indiana," 
and  the  "Christian  College," at  New  Albany,  had  been 
conferred  by  the  Legislature  in  i  833.  The  mover  in 
the  matter,  and  the  titular  president,  or  chancellor  of 
the  institution,  was  one  John  Cook  Bennett,  afterward 
attaining  notoriety  from  his  relations  with  Joseph 
Smith,  the  Mormon  Apostle,  in  Nauvoo.  The  institu- 
tion did  not  go  into  operation,  but  its  degrees  were 
distributed  wherever  individuals  could  be  induced  to 
accept  and  pay  for  them.  Bennett  visited  Worth- 
ington and  attempted  to  vend  his  commodities  among 
the  students.  He  boasted  that  he  had  conferred  them 
on  the  professors,  naming  Dr.  Morrow,  but  this  was 
shown  to  be  a  slander.  He  next  attempted  to  pro- 
cure a  charter  from  the  legislature  of  Ohio,  but  the 
fact  that  he  had  been  engaged  in  the  selling  of 
diplomas  was  set  forth,  and  the  application  was 
refused.  Bennett  afterward,  for  a  brief  period,  held 
a  chair  in  the  Willoughby  University,  and  a  few  years 


*  Dr.  Hersey  afterward  repudiated  the  exclusive  notions  of  Dr.  Thomson,  and 
became  an  advocate  for  the  union  of  all  the  Reform  Schools. 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       487 

later  in  the  Botanico-Medical  College.  This  affair 
served  a  purpose  in  giving  enemies  a  cue  for  calum- 
niating Reform  institutions,  thus  to  divert  attention 
from  the  fact  that  diploma-selling  was  a  feature  in 
other  medical  colleges,  both  in  the  United  States 
and  in  Europe. 

In  1836,  Dr.  Morrow  and  his  colleagues  established 
the  Western  Medical  Refor?}ier,  to  support  their  enter- 
prise. In  the  prospectus,  it  significantly  proclaimed 
its  adherence  to  Scientific  Medical  Reform  as  promul- 
gated by  Dr.  Wooster  Beach — "  Not  to  cultivate  the 
idea  of  a  fixed  or  routine  system,  but  to  relieve  the 
mind  from  the  dogmas  of  creeds  and  systems,  the 
philosophy  of  medical  schools,  as  these  were  then 
taught,  and  to  direct  it  into  an  unlimited  field  of 
inquiry."  Referring  to  the  various  limited  schemes 
proposed  for  the  acceptance  of  mankind,  it  predicted 
that  they  "  must,  as  a  matter  of  course,  be  ephemeral 
in  their  existence  and  extremely  circumscribed  in 
their  operation."  It  further  declared  that,  "  there  is 
no  effort  making  to  reform  the  abuses  of  the  Healing 
Art  by  men  of  liberal  scientific  attainments  as  a  body, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Reformed  Medical  Society, 
and  the  advocates  of  a  reform  based  on  enlightened 
and  philosophic  principles.  It  is  worse  than  folly  for 
men,  who  are  themselves  ignorant  of  the  very  first 
principles  of  Medicine,  to  talk  about  reforming  and 
revolutionizing  the  Science." 

This  language  appears  to  have  been  a  taking  up  of 
the  gauntlet  which  had  been  thrown  down.  The 
point  at  issue  was  the  allegation  of  Dr.  Thomson  and 
his  friends,  that  the  Reformed  physicians  had  plagi- 
arized his  methods  and  remedies  ;  while  Dr.  Morrow 
strenuously  asserted    that  there  was   no   connection 


483  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

between  the  two  schools,  that  the  Reform  System 
originated  even  before  that  of  Thomson  was  known, 
and  had  been  improved  and  developed  without  refer- 
ence to  it,  and  for  the  most  part,  without  the  knowl- 
edge that  Dr.  Thomson  and  his  system  even  existed. 
The  severity  of  language  and  vituperation  on  both 
sides  of  this  controversy  reflect  little  credit  upon 
either  party.  They  are  closely  related  to  the  disposi- 
tion that  in  previous  centuries  made  the  torture- 
chamber,  and  the  penal  fire  the  final  resort ;  and 
truth  is  not  furthered  by  them.  Our  eyes  should  be 
open  to  others'  merits  rather  than  to  their  faults. 


THOMSONIAN    NATIONAL    CONVENTIONS. 

The  Thomsonian  Recorder  was  begun  by  Dr.  Thomas 
Hersey,  on  the  15th  of  September,  1832.  Its  prospectus 
declared  its  purpose  in  no  equivocal  language.  It 
arraigned  the  press  of  the  United  States  for  the 
delinquency  of  its  conductors  in  persistently  publish- 
ing notorious  calumnies  of  Dr.  Thomson  and  his 
Botanic  Practice,  and  at  the  same  time  excluding 
every  thing  in  defense.  He  charged  this  upon  the 
Medical  Faculty,  who  vamly  imagined  themselves  to 
be  the  only  rightful  oracles  of  Medical  Science,  and 
never  failed  to  unite  their  influence  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  any  man  or  system  that  exposed  the  effects  of 
their  practice.  The  different  Medical  laws  then  in 
force.  Dr.  Hersey  boldly  declared,  were  disgraceful  to 
the  legislatures  that  enacted  them.  But,  he  signifi- 
cantly added,  there  was  a  point  beyond  which  oppres 
sion  cannot  be  endured. 

In  the  first  number  of  the  Recorder  was  published  a 
call  b}'  Dr.   Samuel   Thomson   for  a  "  United  States 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       489 

Thomsonian  Convention  "  of  delegates  from  the 
"  Friendly  Botanic  Societies,"  to  meet  at  Columbus, 
in  Ohio,  on  the  17th  of  the  ensuing  December.  Few 
National  Conventions  of  any  kind  had  ever  then  been 
held  in  the  United  States.  They  were  a  new  depart- 
ure in  politics,  and  Dr.  Thomson  now  began  a  new 
movement  in  action  among  medical  men.  He  simply 
announced  a  desire  to  meet  his  numerous  friends,  and 
to  obtain  from  them  their  knowledge  in  regard  to 
medicinal  plants,  remedial  procedures,  and  the  gen- 
eral progress  of  the  cause  of  Botanic  Medicine. 

At  a  later  period  he  stated  likewise,  that  the  purpose 
was  to  communicate  further  with  his  friends  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Union  in  reference  to  the  Asiatic 
Cholera,  and  its  proper  treatment. 

Many  physicians  were  present  on  this  occasion  who 
afterward  became  prominent  teachers  of  the  new 
doctrines.  Dr.  Alva  Curtis,  of  Richmond,  in  Virginia, 
sent  a  communication,  setting  forth  his  remarkable 
success  with  the  Thomsonian  procedures.  Of  two 
hundred  patients,  he  had  lost  but  one  ;  and  several 
were  in  the  stage  of  collapse  with  cholera  Others 
present  had  like  testimony.  The  treatment  by  the 
physicians  of  the  dominant  school  had  been  marked  by 
extraordinary  fatality  ;  that  of  the  Thomsonians  by 
almost  unanimous  recoveries. 

This  Convention  gave  great  encouragement  to  the 
Botanic  practitioners.  Resolutions  were  adopted  in 
respect  to  the  prescriptive  legislation  in  the  several 
States.  Concerted  action  produced  its  results.  The 
legislature  of  Ohio  met  a  few  days  afterward  and 
repealed  its  medical  act ;  and  Alabama  also  extended 
to  Thomsonian  practitioners  the  same  rights  as  were 
enjoyed  by  other  physicians. 


490  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  second  "  United  States  Thomsonian  Conven- 
tion "  was  held  in  Pittsburg,  in  Pennsylvania,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1833.  Its  action  was  as  decided  as  the  other. 
"  It  gave  an  impetus  to  the  cause,  before  unbeknown." 
It  was  agreed  to  hold  annual  meetings  thenceforward. 
"  So  long  as  National  Conventions  are  well  attended 
and  properly  conducted,"  said  Dr.  H.  Wood,  of  Colum- 
bus, "they  will  continue  to  be  the  most  powerful 
engine  to  advance  our  cause,  and  will  enable  us  more 
successfully  to  combat  with  our  enemies.  Much  good 
has  already  been  accomplished  by  them,  and  much 
more  remains  to  be  done.  Upon  them  mainly  depends 
the  success  of  our  cause  ;  and  it  is  by  them  only  that 
we  can  maintain  that  concert  of  action  so  necessary  to 
effect  any  object."  At  this  meeting  a  permanent 
organization  was  accomplished. 

The  enterprise  was  also  attempted  to  establish  a 
"  National  Thomsonian  Infirmary,"  at  Baltimore.  A 
committee  was  appointed  to  procure  an  act  of  incor- 
poration from  the  legislature  of  Maryland,  a  bill  pre- 
pared, and  introduced  into  the  House  of  Delegates. 
It  was  favorably  received  by  that  body,  but  met  in  the 
Senate  the  full  force  of  the  hostile  medical  profession 
of  Baltimore  and  the  State.  The  controversy  of  Dr. 
Curtis  and  Dr.  Williams  about  the  measure  was  one 
of  the  chapters  in  the  medical  history  of  the  time ; 
and  exhibited  the  implacable  hostility  and  sordid 
motives  then  rampant  and  supreme. 

Infirmaries  for  the  reception  of  the  sick  and  clinical 
instruction  of  medical  students,  were  a  characteristic 
feature  of  the  early  Reform  Practice.  Dr.  Wooster 
Beach  began  his  career  in  New  York  as  an  instructor 
in  medical  knowledge,  by  opening  an  Infirmary  at  No. 
95  Eldridge  street.     From  this  modest  beginning  was 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       49I 

developed  the  Medical  Academy  and  afterward  the 
Reformed  Medical  College,  from  which  the  institu- 
tion at  Worthington  had  its  inception.  Dr.  Benjamin 
Thompson*  also  established  an  infirmary  in  Boston, 
where  he  barely  lost  one  patient  in  more  than  one 
thousand.  When  the  Asiatic  Cholera  prevailed  in 
Boston,  in  1834,  he  attended  about  half  of  those 
attacked  by  it,  every  one  of  whom  recovered.  He 
afterward  removed  to  Concord,  in  New  Hampshire, 
where  he  had  a  large  field  of  operations  and  even 
greater  success.  The  Hon.  Isaac  Hill,  Governor  and 
United  States  Senator,  became  his  warm   friend. 

Dr.  Samuel  Thomson  afterward  opened  an  infirmary 
in  Boston.  Among  other  similar  institutions  were 
those  of  Dr.  Tatem  at  Norfolk,  in  Virginia  ;  Dr. 
Gregory  at  Montreal,  in  Canada  ;  Dr.  Alva  Curtis  at 
Columbus  ;  Dr.  Hiram  Piatt  at  Hartford  ;  Dr.  John 
Thomson  at  Albany,  Dr.  Thomas  Lapham  at  Pough- 
keepsie ;  Dr.  Abiel  Gardner  at  Hudson  ;  Dr.  E.  J. 
Mattocks  at  Troy  ;  Dr.  vSamuel  Tuthill  at  Kingston  ; 
Dr.  William  Jones  at  Haverstraw.  These  were  but  a 
small  part  of  the  whole  number,  and  they  had  a 
powerful  influence  to  make  the  Reform  practice 
popular. f 

The  Third  United  States  Thomsonian  Convention 
assembled  at  Baltimore  on  the    13th   day  of  October, 

♦Dr.  Thompson  was  a  disciple  of  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson.  He  is  represented  by  a 
writer  in  Appleton' s  Cyclopaedia  and  his  copyist  in  the  Encyclopiedia  Americana, 
as  the  founder  of  the  Thomsonian  practice  in  America,  and  one  of  the  oldest 
members  of  the  Eclectic  School !  Ecclesiasticism  is  seldom  more  untruthful  or 
more  ridiculously  absurd.  The  publishers  seem  disposed  to  perpetuate  the  error' 
by  persistently  neglecting  to  correct  it. 

tAt  the  same  period,  the  report  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Miller,  of  the  Baltimore  Almshouse, 
was  published,  in  which  was  contained  the  astounding  statement  that  institutions 
of  this  character  were '■  known  as  the  Portals  of  Oblivion  into  which  are  thrown 
many  of  the  'victims  of  malpractice.'  " 


492  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

1834,  and  remained  in  session  four  days.  In  the 
absence  of  the  president,  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson  him- 
self opened  the  meeting.  The  address  for  the  session 
was  delivered  by  Dr.  H.  Wood  of  Columbus,  Ohio. 
The  document  known  as  the  "Test  Resolution," 
adopted  at  the  previous  meeting,*  was  then  presented 
and  signed  by  all  who  participated  in  the  proceedings. 
A  code  of  By-laws  was  adopted  and  much  important 
business  transacted.  Reports  were  adopted  asking 
Dr.  Thomson  to  renew  his  patent  and  the  copyright 
of  his  Guide  to  Health,  "  for  the  preservation  of  the 
exclusive  right  of  preparing  and  using  the  medicines 
in  said  system,  and  also  to  prevent  any  trespass  on  the 
same."  An  address  to  the  People  of  the  United  States 
was  also  issued,  and  a  resolution  adopted  to  present 
copies  of  it,  with  Dr.  Thomson's  treatise,  to  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  and  to  the  Governors  of  the 
several  States  of  the  American  Union. 

DIVISION    OF    THE    THOMSONIAN    SCHOOL. 

Another  resolution  contained  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  services  of  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson,  with  the  sig- 
nificant suggestion  :  "  That  he  will  warn  his  friends 
against  being  jealous  of  each  other,  and  not  to  indulge 
in  a  mercenary  or  proscriptive  spirit  to  the  injury  of 
the  great  cause  which  they  have  espoused." 

There  were  heart-burnings  smouldering  in  the 
bosoms  of  many  in  the  ranks.  There  was  a  disposi- 
tion to  resent  the  claims  of  Dr,  Thomson  himself  to 
be  the  umpire  of  what  was  genuine  and  what  was 
heterodox  in  the  views  of  others.     He  was  dictatorial 

♦This  resolution  prescribed  that  no  member  should  use  as  medicine  any  animal, 
mineral  or  vegetable  poisons,  bleed  or  blister,  or  use  or  sell  any  compounds  the 
component  parts  of  which  are  kept  a  secret,  or  any  other  article  contrary  to  the 
principles  laid  down  by  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson. 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       493 

of  temper,  and  jealous  of  every  individual  differing 
from  him  or  disposed  to  question  his  ascendency. 
He  was  uneducated  and  distrusted  educational  insti- 
tutions and  educated  men  as  certain  to  complicate 
and  transform  his  system.  For  a  time  he  was  in  con- 
troversy and  estranged  from  his  own  sons  on  these 
same  grounds.*  It  was  apparent  that  the  Thomsonian 
physicians  could  not  be  held  together  by  any  arbi- 
trar)^  test,  but  must  inevitably  divide,  and  to  a  consid- 
erable degree  modify  their  procedures,  to  accord  with 
their  change  of  views. 

The  annual  conventions  were  held  till  183S.  That 
year  the  meeting  was  at  Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  Thom- 
son made  the  annual  address.  He  was  conscious  of 
the  diverging  sentiments  that  were  springing  up  in 
the  ranks,  and  that  many  who  were  reckoned  as  his 
followers,  were  transcending  the  boundaries  till  they 
could  hardly  be  regarded  as  his  disciples.  He  gave  a 
history  of  the  several  conventions  and  the  difficulties 
which  had  been  encountered,  closing  with  the  sen- 
tence : 

"  With  these  considerations  and  with  no  other 
object  than  the  permanent  good  of  us  all,  so  far  as 
my  System  of  Practice  can  contribute  to  that  end,  I 
ask  that  this  Convention  may  be  forever  dissolved." 

The  Convention,  however,  did  not  adopt  the  motion 
and  the  formal  division  which  he  had  forseen  took 
place.  Dr.  Alva  Curtis,  of  Ohio,  and  his  friends 
formed  a  new  organization,  styling  it  the  "  Indcpend- 

*The  Botanic  IVatchtnan,  of  January,  1834,  published  by  Dr.  John  Thomson, 
contained  a  card  with  ihis  notice  : 

"  This  may  certify  that  all  matters  in  controversy  between  myself  and  my  son. 
Dr.  John  Thomson  of  the  city  of  Albany,  have  been  this  day  amicably  settled,  and 
I  have  appointed  him  my  agent. 

"  Sa.mukl  Thomson. 
"Albany,  Dec.  24,  1833." 


494  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ent  Thomsonian  Botanic  Society."  Those  who  ad- 
hered strictly  to  the  doctrines  and  procedures  laid 
down  by  Dr.  Thomson  organized  as  the  "United 
States  Thomsonian  Society." 

Both  held  their  annual  meetings  the  next  year  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  The  Independents  met  on  the 
tenth  of  September,  and  in  the  absence  of  Dr.  Curtis, 
their  president,  made  choice  of  Dr.  Thomas  Lapham, 
the  editor  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Thomsonian,  with  Dr. 
John  W.  Johnson,  of  Waterbury,  in  Connecticut,  for 
secretary.  The  Botanic  State  Societies  of  Connecti- 
cut, Maryland  and  Rhode  Island  announced  their 
adhesion  to  the  new  organization.  The  Society  of 
Maine,  which  had  been  formed  the  previous  year,  and 
the  State  Society  of  New  York,  the  members  of  which 
had  been  prominent  in  the  discussion,  made  no  dem- 
onstration, but  left  their  members  free  to  affiliate  as 
they  chose.  An  address  was  issued  setting  forth  the 
position  of  the  Society.  The  attempt  to  dictate  was 
distinctly  repudiated  and  the  reason  given  in  these 
terms  : 

"  Circumstances,  personal  and  local,  which  we  have 
long  regretted  and  endeavored  in  vain  to  remedy, 
have  compelled  those  who  desire  the  progress  of 
Reform  upon  true  principles,  to  assume  a  name  for 
themselves,  unshackled  by  any  influence  that  would 
prevent  improvement." 

Then,  as  though  their  opposition  was  not  in  any  way 
a  departure  from  principle,  the  address  alludes  to 
"  the  sacrifice  of  all  moral  rectitude  by  the  persecutors 
of  the  Founder  of  our  System,  and  the  prostitution 
of  justice  to  accomplish  his  downfall  and  that  of 
many  of  his  adherents."  The  people,  it  declares, 
*'  are  as  much  ridden  by  the   doctors  as  the  degraded 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       495 

peasant  of  Portugal  is  by  his  priest.  They  surrender 
their  bodies  to  the  doctors  as  implicitly  as  even  the 
devoted  religionist  submitted  his  soul  to  his  con- 
fessor." They  have  been  excluded  from  all  knowledge 
of  medicine.  "  Neither  is  the  cause  of  the  doctors  in 
opposing  all  innovation  singular.  It  has  always  been 
so  and  always  will  be  so.  No  body  of  men  every 
voluntarily  undertook  a  reform  of  themselves  ;  they 
always  have  been,  and  always  will  be, — reformed. 
The  people  have  but  to  demand,  and  it  is  done." 

The  address  spoke  hopefully  of  additions  to  their 
numbers  by  converts  and  men  of  influence  and 
talent,  and  appealed  to  the  practitioners  in  behalf  of 
liberal  culture  and  improvement.  "  If  we  are,  as  our 
enemies  declare,  ignorant,  let  us  strive  to  become 
learned  ;  if  in  any  other  way  we  are  behind  the 
times,  let  us  strive  to  come  up." 

This  sentiment  was  the  key-note  of  the  movement. 
The  next  meeting  was  appointed  at  Baltimore,  in 
October  of  the  ensuing  year. 

MORRIS    MATTSON. 

In  the  summer  of  1837,  Dr.  Morris  Mattson  an- 
nounced the  contemplated  publication  of  a  treatise  on 
the  Vegetable  Materia  Medica.  Directly  afterward  a 
proposal  was  made  to  him  by  Dr.  Thomson  to  unite 
with  it  an  edition  of  the  Guide  to  Health.  Dr.  Mattson 
was  averse  to  this  proposition,  but  friends  of  Dr. 
Thomson  urged  him  to  make  a  contract  for  that 
purpose,  pleading  the  necessity  of  a  work  on  the 
Reformed  Practice  which  would  meet  with  the  appro- 
bation of  an  intelligent  community.  He  remained 
two  years  with  Dr.  Thomson  and  prepared  the  book. 
An  altercation  and  angry  controversy  followed.     Dr. 


496  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Thomson  was  unwilling  that  the  book  should  be  pub- 
lished, broke  the  contract  and  endeavored  to  procure 
possession  of  the  manuscript.  Failing  in  this,  he 
threatened  to  thwart  the  whole  plan.  Dr  Mattson 
then  revised  his  manuscript  and  published  the  work 
under  the  title  of  The  American  Vegetable  Practice.  It 
was  erudite,  well  written  and  adapted  to  the  urgent 
wants  of  those  who  believed  in  Botanic  Medicine. 

He  prefaced  the  volume  with  an  address  to  the 
American  public,  setting  forth  his  account  of  the  mis- 
understanding between  himself  and  Dr.  Thomson. 
The  veteran  septuagenarian  was  praised  and  criticized. 
He  was  described  as  illiterate,  coarse  in  his  manner 
and  extremely  selfish  ;  that  his  great  merit  consisted 
in  having  made  himself  acquainted  with  remedies  in 
popular  use,  and  introducing  them  in  a  connected 
form.  His  actual  discoveries  were  extremely  limited. 
Lobelia  w^as  used  in  New  England,  particularly  in 
Maine,  as  an  emetic  before  Thomson  was  born,  and  the 
vapor  bath  was  a  familiar  procedure  of  the  American 
Indians.  "  I  have  ascertained,"  says  Dr.  Mattson, 
"  that  the  medical  practice  of  the  Marshpee  Indians, 
the  remnant  of  whom  are  now  to  be  found  at  Martha's 
Vineyard,  in  Massachusetts,  is  closely  analogous  to 
that  of  Dr.  Thomson." 

While  refusing  to  defer  his  judgment  or  to  acknowl- 
edge that  Dr.  Thomson  had  originated  a  perfect  sys- 
tem of  practice,  Dr.  Mattson  gives  him  this  generous 
testimony  : 

"  There  is  no  man  in  the  country  who  has  labored 
more  effectually  in  the  cause  of  Medical  Reform  than 
Dr.  Thomson  ;  and  notwithstanding  his  ignorance,  he 
has  been  a  prominent  instrument  in  accomplishing  a 
mighty  revolution  m  the  healing  art.     As  a  successful 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       497 

medical  reformer  he  is  entitled  to  respect,  whatever 
may  be  the  frailties  and  imperfections  of  his  character; 
and  while  I  seek  to  imvail  his  errors.  I  shall  ever 
accord  to  him  the  meed  of  praise  for  his  useful  dis- 
coveries." 

He  insisted,  nevertheless,  that  the  gigantic  strides 
made  in  the  way  of  medical  reform,  and  the  great 
perfection  which  it  had  attained,  were  chiefly  due  to 
the  zeal  and  philanthropy  of  intelligent  persons  who 
had  devoted  themselves  exclusively  to  the  practice, 
making  new  discoveries  of  vegetable  remedies,  or 
who  had  entered  the  arena  from  a  sense  of  duty  alone 
to  save  their  fellow-beings. 

It  is  not  wonderful  that  the  endeavor  thus  made  to 
place  the  new  practice  upon  a  basis  of  knowledge  and 
intelligence,  with  a  wide  scope  for  further  expansion 
and  improvement,  would  soon  command  the  field,  and 
perhaps  in  a  brief  period  cast  the  memory  of  the  great 
Founder  into  the  shade.  Indeed,  a  decade  of  years 
did  not  pass,  before  every  Botanic  society  in  the 
United  States  has  dropped  the  name  of  Thomson  as  a 
designation. 

THE    UNITED    STATES    THOMSONIAN    SOCIETY. 

The  first  annual  meeting  of  the  United  States 
Thomsonian  Society  was  also  held  in  New  York,  on 
the  twenty-second  of  October,  1840.  The  number  in 
attendance  W£S  small.  Only  the  State  Society  of 
Delaware  signified  its  adhesion  to  the  old  ways.  The 
evidences  of  disintegration  were  manifest. 

Dr.  Thomson  presented  an  address  setting  forth  the 
causes  of  the  recent  dissension  as  being  "  a  disposition 
on  the  part  of  the  mongrel  Thomsonians  to  keep  his 
system  in  their  own  hands,  and  thereby  make    it    a 


498  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

monopoly."  He  asserted  that  they  were  chiefly  prac- 
titioners endeavoring  to  keep  every  body  but  them- 
selves Ignorant  of  the  practice,  and  also,  that  they 
made  use  of  medicines  of  a  deleterious  character,* 
and  dealers  in  secret  nostrums,  thus  bringing  the 
Thomsonian  system  into  disrepute. 

The  Convention  adopted  his  sentiments,  and  issued 
an  address  in  similar  temper.  The  Thomsonian 
practice,  it  declared,  had  been  introduced  into  every 
part  of  the  United  States,  the  Territories,  the  Canadas, 
West  India  Islands  and  Europe.  The  seceding  mem- 
bers were  described  as  "speculating  upon  the  discov- 
eries of  Dr.  Thomson,  amalgamating  his  medicines 
with  deleterious  articles,  and  using  their  efforts  to 
get  the  system  into  the  hands  of  the  practitioners,  as 
is  the  case  with  the  Medical  Faculty." 

It  was  another  form  of  the  old  conflict  of  the  world 
between  the  less  cultured  and  the  more  intelligent. 
The  division  was  never  healed.  Dr.  Thomson  had 
nearly  run  his  career,  and  was  not  able  to  stem  the 
current.  He  could  only  protest,  and  see  his  warnings 
little  heeded. 


LEGAL    RESTRICTIONS    ON    MEDICINE    REPEALED. 

A  sentiment  favorable  to  the  Reform  treatment  was 
active  in  Old-School  circles.  "  We  must  adopt  the 
Thomsonian  medical  agents,  or  lose  our  practice," 
said  Dr.  George  McClellan,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Med- 
ical College,  father  of  the  late  Union  General.  "I  have 
used  steam,  cayenne  and  Lobelia,"  he  added,  "  and 
found  them  iiseful  to  remove  disease." 

*  Meaning  mandrake,  Iris,  wild  indigo  and  bitter  root. 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.     '499 

With  such  testimony  from  the  really  learned  mem- 
bers of  the  medical  profession,  medical  proscription 
had  a  very  frail  platform  to  stand  upon.  It  was  little 
else  than  forensic  trickery  of  third-grade  lawyers,  tlie 
greed  of  inferior  physicians,  and  brute  force. 

The  effort  for  the  repeal  of  the  laws  in  the  several 
States  proscribing  Botanic  practice  and  Botanic 
physicians,  was  pushed  with  increasing  earnestness. 
The  legislatures  of  the  several  States  were  flooded 
with  petitions.  The  Reform  physicians  had  taken  the 
people  into  their  confidence,  and  the  people  warmly 
responded. 

The  wars  for  religious  liberty  and  freedom  of  con- 
science were  never  more  fiercely  and  stubbornly  con- 
tested. The  leaders  of  the  Reformers,  John  Thomson, 
Nicholas  Smith,  Moses  Griffith,  D.  F.  Nardain,  found 
their  exertions  largely  embarrassed  by  the  compact 
organization  of  their  adversaries,  who  were  also  more 
familiar  than  they  with  the  applying  of  legislative 
machinery.  They  found  it  necessary  to  employ  sim- 
ilar agencies.  They  could  work  to  greater  advantage 
if  they  had  effective  medical  societies  in  the  States  and 
districts.  They  could  thus  bring  the  politicians  into 
closer  quarters,  and  cause  the  legislatures  to  respond. 

One  by  one  the  Medical  Black  Laws  were  repealed 
or  made  innocuous.  Rhode  Island,  Pennsylvania, 
Indiana,  and  a  few  other  commonwealths,  had  never 
been  disgraced  by  the  exclusive  legislation.  Ohio  had 
repealed  her  medical  statutes  as  early  as  1833,  Mary- 
land in  1838,  and  Vermont  in  1839.  (  ther  States  now 
did  the  same. 

THE    VICTORY    IN    MAINE. 

Maine  was  also  true  to  her  position  as  the  "  Star  in 
the  East."     She  fell  early  into  line,  holding  a  State 


500  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Convention  in  1837,  at  which  a  Botanic  Medical  Soci- 
ety was  organized.  A  vigorous  propagandism  was 
also  set  in  operation.  A  journal  was  established  by 
Dr.  Benjamin  Colby,  and  lecturers  employed  to  go 
through  the  State  to  address  the  people  upon  the 
subject  of  Reform  Medicine.  Everywhere  they 
received  a  cordial  welcome,  which  became  enthu- 
siasm. The  members  of  the  State  Society  also 
planned  the  establishing  of  an  Infirmary,  and  with  it 
a  Medical  College.  Dr.  Nicholas  Smith  attended  the 
meeting  of  the  legislature,  and  superintended  the 
circulating  and  presenting  of  petitions.  These  were 
signed  by  upward  of  four  thousand  citizens.  The 
endeavor  was  made  to  overwhelm  them  by  sneers  and 
calumny,  and  the  usual  finesse  of  legislation. 

A  champion  was  found  in  Mr.  Smart  of  the  Senate. 
He  laid  stress  emphatically  upon  the  fact,  which  has 
been  true  everywhere,  that  the  medical  statute  had 
never  been  demanded  by  the  people,  but  that  when 
they  expressed  a  wish  it  was  invariably  for  repeal. 
He  charged  that  it  shielded  and  protected  a  favored 
class  of  men,  while  it  debarred  honest  practitioners 
from  reaping  the  benefits  of  their  industry.  It  was 
opposed  to  the  Constitution  of  the  State ;  and  he 
added  the  prediction,  which  has  since  been  abun- 
dantly realized,  that  its  abolishment  would  raise  the 
standard  of  medical  practice.  The  effort  was  success- 
ful, and  the  statute  was  repealed. 

GEORGIA    AND    THE    REFORMERS. 

The  conflict  for  medical  freedom  in  Georgia  was 
begun  by  Dr.  Moses  Griffith.  Making  his  home  at 
Augusta,  in  1832,  he  reared  the  standard  of  Botanic 
Medicine,  doing   battle   bravely   till    his  death    from 


THE    GREAT    CC  N^LICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       50I 

yellow  fever  in  1839.  His  success  was  commensu- 
rate with  his  efforts.  At  the  instance  of  Dr.  Lanier 
Bankston  the  Southern  Botanico-Medical  College  was 
incorporated  in  December  of  that  year,  and  the  med- 
ical statutes  were  also  repealed. 

The  legislature  of  Ohio,  a  few  weeks  before,  had 
incorporated  the  Botanico-Medical  College  of  Colum- 
bus, so  that  the  two  parent  institutions  began  exist- 
ence almost  simultaneously.  The  Southern  College 
began  its  career  at  Forsyth  immediately,  removing 
in  1846  to  Macon.  Its  influence  was  widely  extended 
over  the  whole  South,  and  it  enjoyed  the  favor  of 
leading  statesmen  like  Governor  Brown,  Alexander 
H.  Stephens  and  others.  During  the  Civil  War  its 
graduates  were  employed  without  reserve  as  Surgeons 
in  the  Confederate  armies.  Indeed  medical  partisan- 
ship did  not  rage  so  violently  there  as  in  the  opposing 
ranks. 

In  1841,  sixteen  states  had  removed  the  obnoxious 
medical  laws  from  their  statute-books.  Of  the 
remaining  ten,  only  some  four  or  five  had  ever 
enacted  them,  New  York,  Connecticut,  Massachusetts 
and  South  Carolina  remained  last  in  the  number. 

HOW    CONNECTICUT     OBTAINED     LIBERTY. 

Connecticut  had  been  the  scene  of  a  prolonged  con- 
flict for  the  equal  rights  of  medical  practitioners 
before  the  law  of  the  state.  Its  Constitution  pre- 
scribed explicitly  that  "  no  man,  or  set  of  men  are 
entitled  to  exclusive  public  emoluments  or  privileges 
from  the  community."  In  the  face  of  this  solemn 
declaration,  the  exclusive  right  10  r^ractice  medicine 
had  been  conferred  by  the  legislature  in  1792  upon 
members  of  the  Connecticut  Medical  Society  ;  and  in 


502  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

1810  another  statute  was  enacted  taking  the  right  to 
recover  debts  for  medical  service  from  all  per- 
sons except  individuals  licensed  by  a  medical 
society  or  college  of  physicians.  No  such  society  or 
college,  at  that  time,  would  license  anybody,  however 
well  qualified,  who  did  not  subscribe  to  their  dogmas. 
Constitutional  safeguards  are  often  very  flexible  in 
the  hands  of  courts  and  legislatures,  seldom  availing 
to  inhibit  any  measure  which  it  is  desired  to  promote. 
The  Thomsonians  of  Connecticut  were  able,  reso- 
lute and  determined  men.  Led  by  the  veteran  B.  W. 
Sperry,  and  men  like  Kelsey,  Johnson  and  Lyman, 
they  were  certain  not  to  flinch,  or  yield  the  conflict. 
They  must  take  action  as  well  as  counsel  together, 
understand  fully  their  rights,  as  men  and  citizens,  and 
resolve  to  persevere  in  their  claims  till  these  should 
be  conceded.  As  to  unite  had  been  the  motto  of  their 
Revolutionary  ancestors,  so  to  organize  was  felt  to  be 
necessary  now.  A  Convention  was  held  at  Middletown 
in  1836,  and  organized  a  State  Society.  A  memorial 
was  prepared,  signed  by  several  thousand  citizens, 
and  presented  to  the  General  Assembly.  It  was  disre- 
garded by  the  Legislature  ;  and  the  Society  at  its  next 
annual  meeting,  voted  to  continue  its  policy,  adding 
this  significant  resolution  : 

"  That  should  our  petition  be  again  rejected  and  a 
large  number  of  our  citizens  continue  to  be  branded  as  outlaws, 
we  will  thenceforth  demand  at  the  ballot-box  a 
restoration  of  those  rights  which  have  been  denied  to 
humble  and  respectable  petitioners." 

Dr.  Isaac  J.  Sperry,  of  Hartford,  was  appointed  a 
year  later  to  conduct  the  case  before  the  Legislature. 
He  reported  at  the  ensuing  annual  meeting  that  from 
fifteen  to  seventeen  thousand  had   petitioned   in    1838 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       503 

for  the  abrogation  of  the  proscriptive  laws,  and  that 
the  House  of  Representatives  had  reported  a  bill  in 
their  favor.  Nobody  had  appeared  before  the  Com- 
mittee to  oppose  it,  but  there  were  thirteen  physi- 
cians in  the  Legislature,  who  employed  their  influence 
successfully  to  procure  its  rejection. 

Four  years  more  passed  with  no  better  success.  In 
1840  it  was  resolved  to  change  the  policy  for  one 
more  aggressive.  Doctors  I.  J.  wSperry,  John  W. 
Johnson  and  M.  Gordon  were  appointed  a  Committee 
to  apply  in  the  name  of  the  Society,  for  an  act 
of  incorporation.  There  was  no  better  result  and 
it  was  resolved  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  people 
of  the  State.  Four  medical  periodicals  were  estab- 
lished and  widely  circulated,  several  of  them 
gratuitously.  The  sagacity  of  this  policy  was  speed- 
ily proven.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Society  in  1842, 
all  was  ripe  for  more  direct  action.  The  Democratic 
candidate  for  Governor,  the  Hon.  Chauncey  F. 
Cleveland,  had  always  been  willing  to  accord  impar- 
tial justice  to  all  parties.  It  was  resolved  to  give 
him  the  support  of  the  Reformers.  He  was  elected 
and  confirmed  their  expectations.  The  Society  peti- 
tioned for  an  act  of  incorporation.  This  would  give 
it  power  equal  to  that  of  the  Connecticut  Medical 
Society,  in  the  matter  of  licensing  physicians.  The 
proposition  filled  the  members  of  that  body  with  dis- 
may* and  they  were  glad  to  be  let  off  with  the  repeal 
of  the  obnoxious  eighth  section  of  the  Medical  law. 

MEDICAL    CONFLICT    AND    BIGOTRY    IN    NEW    YORK. 

The  great  struggle  for  medical  freedom  in  New  York 
was  being  characterized  by  uncertain   results.     The 

"■The  Connecticut  Dotanico-Medical  Society  was  finally  incorporated  in  1848, 
with  full  power  to  establish  a  medical  college. 


504  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

discussions  which  paralyzed  the  influence  of  the  Na- 
tional Conventions  of  Botanic  physicians  and  divided 
them  into  rival  factions,  had  a  detrimental  influence 
here.  The  Governor  in  office  at  this  time  had  always 
been  unfriendly.  A  change,  however,  was  taking 
place  in  medical  and  political  sentiment.  Resolution, 
courage,  and  conscious  right  were  having  their  ac- 
complishment. The  House  of  Assembly  of  1841, 
referred  the  petition  for  equal  justice,  to  a  Select 
Committee,  of  which  the  Hon.  Erastus  D  Culver  was 
chairman.  Judge  Culver  was  a  man  of  advanced 
views  and  pronounced  anti-slavery  sentiments.  He 
made  an  extended  report  declaring  the  provisions  of 
the  Revised  Statutes  in  relation  to  the  practice  of 
medicine  to  be  at  war  with  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  individuals.  The  Committee  could  not  disregard 
the  prayer  of  thirty  to  forty  thousand  petitioners 
asking  for  even-handed  justice.  The  legal  enact- 
ments had  fretted  the  public  mind,  and  increased  the 
advocates  of  the  new  system.  Students  believing  in 
the  superiority  of  the  Thomsonian  practice  could  not, 
though  they  passed  the  ordeal  of  examination,  obtain 
diplomas  from  the  colleges,  nor  licenses  from  the  med- 
ical societies,  and  able  physicians  owning  their  belief 
in  the  superiority  of  the  new  practice  were  expelled 
from  membership.  The  alternative  was  to  sacrifice 
honest  conviction,  or  stand  proscribed  by  an  act  of 
legislature.  Other  states  were  repealing  their  med- 
ical   laws,    and   several    had    never   had    them. 

The  Committee,  therefore,  chose  to  rest  the  mat- 
ter on  the  broad  ground  of  justice  and  absolute 
right  to  the  petitioners,  and  as  a  measure  of  public 
policy. 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       505 

A  bill  was  accordingly  introduced,  which  passed 
the  House  by  a  vote  of  forty-eight  to  thirty-nine.  It 
was  then  favorably  received  by  the  Senate,  but  the 
rule  forbade  a  bill  to  be  read  twice  on  the  same 
day.  Dr.  Laurens  Hull  objected,  and  the  next  day 
the  Legislature  adjourned. 

The  political  overturn  of  1841  placed  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  the  ascendency  in  the  House  of 
Assembly.  The  Committee  on  Rules  attempted  to 
dispense  with  the  Standing  Committee  on  Medical 
Societies.  As  the  practice  had  always  been  to  pack 
this  Committee  with  physicians,  who  were  thus 
enabled  to  have  their  own  way  almost  arbitrarily,  the 
purpose  was  evident  to  give  all  parties  a  fair  oppor- 
tunity. One  man,  however,  was  always  the  bitter  foe 
of  the  Reform  practitioners.  This  was  Michael 
Hoffman,  the  leader  of  the  radical  wing»of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  At  his  instance  the  Committee  was 
reinstated,  and  constituted  in  the  usual  way. 

Another  man,  destined  to  become  even  more  promi- 
nent in  the  councils  of  his  party,  was  bold  and  manly 
in  advocacy  of  equal  rights  and  opportunity.  The 
Hon.  Horatio  Seymour,  a  few  days  later,  presented  a 
petition,  and  moved  its  reference,  together  with  others 
of  similar  purport,  t(^  a  select  Committee.  In  the 
debate  which  ensued,  he  remarked  that  it  was  a  very 
serious  question  whether  the  Legislature  should 
sanction  the  morality  of  what  was  a  subject  of  com- 
plaint on  the  part  of  the  petitioners, — the  employing 
of  a  physician  and  then  refusing  to  pay  for  his 
services. 

The  Hon.  Charles  Humphrey  supported  the  motion, 
protesting  against  referring  petitions  to  a  Committee 
that  from  its  organization  was  hostile  to  the  object 


506  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

sought.  The  Speaker,  Hon.  Levi  S.  Chatfield,  was 
opposed  to  the  proposition  ;  but  the  Assembly  by  a  vote 
of  eighty-one  to  twenty-seven,  adopted  the  measure. 
This  Committee  set  about  its  work  promptly  and 
introduced  a  bill,  ten  days  later,  authorizing  Botanic 
physicians  to  collect  remuneration  for  services. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Medical  Committee,  Dr. 
William  Taylor,  had  been  president  of  the  State 
Medical  Society,  and  was  in  favor  of  the  most  arbi- 
trary restrictive  enactments.  Having  by  the  finesse 
of  the  Speaker  got  possession  of  several  petitions,  he 
procured  delay  till  he  should  also  make  a  report. 
This  is  a  common  artifice  for  defeating  legislation.  It 
was  not  till  the  last  of  March,  an  interval  of  two 
months,  that  the  bill  from  the  Select  Committee  was 
considered  in  Committee  of  the  Whole.  Hon.  Sanford 
E.  Church  then  moved  a  substitute  repealing  all 
restrictions,  and  providing  that  any  person  might 
practice  medicine  and  receive  compensation.  This 
would  extend  the  benefit  to  members  of  the  Homoeo- 
pathic School,  which  was  then  coming  into  favorable 
notice.  The  substitute  was  adopted,  but  created 
apprehension  in  regard  to  the  possibility  of  its  pas- 
sage. Accordingly  the  whole  matter  was  recommitted 
for  amendment,  and  reported  in  a  form  confirming  its 
provisions  to  Botanic  practitioners,  without  the 
restriction  to  indigenous  remedies.  It  then  passed 
the  Assembly.  Before  its  reception  in  the  Senate, 
the  Hon.  A.  B.  Dickinson  and  General  Erastus  Root 
moved  to  place  it  at  once  upon  its  final  passage.  It 
was,  however,  referred  to  the  Medical  Committee, 
and  the  Chairman,  Dr.  Sumner  Ely,  reported  a  new 
bill  instead.  It  was  another  legislative  subterfuge.  It 
provided  that  no  person  should   receive  a  license  to 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       5^ 

practice  medicine  till  he  had  served  as  clerk  to  a 
physician  for  seven  years  ;  and  no  physician  should 
receive  the  medical  degree  till  he  had  been  three 
years  in  practice  or  had  spent  six  months  in  a  hospi- 
tal.    That  bill  was  laid  upon  the  table. 

This  action  was  received  with  general  indignation. 
Leading  men  proposed  the  organization  of  an  Anti- 
Monopoly  political  party.  The  trend  of  public  senti- 
ment at  that  time  was  toward  more  direct  participation 
of  the  people  in  the  management  of  affairs.  Examples 
were  at  hand  to  encourage  the  notion.  Myron  Holley 
and  his  friends  had  organized  the  Anti-Masonic  party 
in  1828,  with  very  encouraging  results.  Mr.  Holley 
had  again  brought  into  existence  the  Liberty  party  in 
1840,  and  immediately  the  legislature  had  passed 
laws  abolisning  negro  slavery  in  New  York,  and  free- 
ing of  the  slaves  brought  into  the  vState  from  else- 
where. It  was  believed  that  out  of  the  hundred 
thousand  and  more  who  were  unqualifiedly  opposed 
to  unjust  discriminations  between  medical  practi- 
tioners, ten  to  fifteen  thousand  would  act  together 
and  hold  the  balance  of  political  power. 

The  proposition  met  with  much  favor.  Dr.  Amos 
N.  Burton,  however,  was  bold  in  opposing.  He  was 
the  associate  of  Dr.  John  Thomson,  and  had  much  of 
the  active  work  to  perform.  He  deprecated  the  notion 
of  turning  the  Thomsonian  cause  into  a  political 
machine.  He  counselled  the  deserving  of  success 
before  making  any  such  attempt — "  turning  our  atten- 
tion to  improving  the  qualifications  of  our  practi- 
tioners by  establishing  a  more  thorough  system  of 
education,  and  inculcating  a  rigid  system  of  honor, 
integrity  and  ability  to  practice  in  our  profession  ; 
and  THEN  to  use  our  united  political  influence  in  favoi 


500  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

of  electing,  without  respect  to  party,  such  men  to  tli^ 
legislature  as  know  our  rights  and  dare  to  maintaiu 
them." 

He  predicted  confidently  that  the  day  was  not  far 
distant  when  their  merits  would  generally  be  con- 
ceded by  the  people,  and  their  wrongs  redressed  by 
the  legislature. 

This  counsel  prevailed,  and  the  prediction  was  real- 
ized. The  legislature  of  1843  followed  the  example  of 
its  predecessors.  The  political  exigencies,  however, 
were  favoiable.  The  two  parties  were  about  equally 
divided  through  the  country  as  well  as  in  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  action  of  Connecticut  was  suggestive. 
The  several  Reform  parties  perceived  their  oppor- 
tunity, and  joined  in  a  strenuous  appeal  to  the  legis- 
lature of  1844.  The  New  York  Tribune  gave  them 
hearty  support.  Its  illustrious  founder,  Horace 
Greeley,  was  always  a  zealous  friend  to  their  cause. 

There  were  able  men  in  that  legislature.  Many  of 
them  were  afterward  prominent  in  the  State,  and  in 
National  politics.  Michael  Hoffman  had  been  again 
elected,  but  his  influence  was  diminished.  Among  the 
others  were  Horatio  Seymour,  Thomas  G.  Alvord, 
Clark  B.  Cochrane,  William  F.  Allen,  Joseph  S. 
Bosworth,  Calvin  T.  Hulburd,  General  Auguste 
Davczac,  Erastus  Corning,  Henry  A.  Foster,  John 
B.  Scott.  It  was  a  body  of  men  sure  to  give  prestige 
to  their  legislation. 

THE    MEDICAL    PETITION. 

The  great  Medical  Petition  was  the  feature  of  the 
session.  Memorials  from  all  parts  of  the  State  hao 
been  collected,  and  attached  together  as  a  single  docu- 
ment.    John   Thomson   placed    it   in    a   wheelbarrow 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       509 

and  in  company  with  a  party  of  friends,  conveyed  it 
up  State-street  to  the  Capitol.  It  was  carried  into  the 
Assembly  chamber,  and  there  unrolled  by  Dr.  E.  J. 
Mattocks,  in  presence  of  the  members.  It  has  been 
described  as  thirty-one  yards  long,  and  closely  signed. 
Enthusiastic  individuals  declared  that  it  contained 
the  names  of  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  State. 
This  may  be  an  exaggeration,  but  there  were  enough 
to  show  that  it  would  be  no  longer  safe  to  trifle  with 
their  patience.  New  York  was  to  decide  who  should 
be  the  next  President.  Mr.  Carpenter,  of  the  Assembly, 
and  Judge  Scott,  of  the  Senate,  warmly  advocated  the 
repeal  of  the  obnoxious  legislation.  A  bill  for  that 
purpose  was  reported,  and  opposed  with  the  usual 
stock  and  stale  babbling  about  ignorance  and  quack- 
ery. Judge  Scott  boldly  hurled  the  charges  back  to 
those  who  made  them.  He  challenged  the  evidence 
that  the  physicians  of  the  Medical  societies  were  men 
of  superior  education,  and  declared  that  "  there  are 
more  quacks  wearing  the  dignified  title  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  than  are  to  be  found  anywhere  else." 

Opposition  was  in  vain,  and  the  bill  became  a  law 
on  the  sixth  of  May,  1844.  It  repealed  the  act  of  1830, 
the  objectionable  section  in  the  Revised  Statutes,  and 
all  laws  of  the  State  from  prohibiting  any  person  from 
recovering  by  suit  or  action  due  compensation  for 
medical  service  rendered  to  the  sick.  It  further 
exempted  from  liability  to  criminal  prosecution  or 
indictment  for  practicing  physic  or  surgery  without 
license,  excenf  for  malcractice.  gross  ignorance  or 
immoral  conduct  ;  and  imposed '  severe  penalties  in 
these  cases. 

The  passage  of  this  act  was  announced  by  the  New 
York   Tribune   in    language    of    triumph.     It   was    the 


5IO  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

first  medical  law  ever  passed  in  strict  obedience  to 
the  wishes  of  the  people  of  the  State  of  New  York, — 
and  the  last.  The  physicians  of  the  several  schools  of 
practice,  Thomsonian,  Reformed  and  Homoeopathic, 
received  the  news  with  joyful  exultation.  The  con- 
flict was  over,  and  they  had  wrested  the  prize  of  inde- 
pendence from  the  hands  of  obdurate  and  desperate 
men.  The  pa;an  of  gratitude  was  repeated  from  one 
end  of  the  Union  to  the  other.  Even  South  Carolina 
made  ready  to  shake  off  the  hoodoo  incubus,  and 
repealed  her  statute  a  year  later. 

The  Thomsonian  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  held  its  ninth  annual  meeting  at  Albany 
the  ensuing  June,  and  hastened  to  award  the  medal 
of  honor  to  the  men  who  had  conducted  the  contest 
to  its  successful  issue.  The  following  resolution 
was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Society  be  and 
are  hereby  rendered  to  Doctors  William  B.  Stanton, 
Oliver  Cook  and  Amos  N.  Burton  for  their  active 
exertions  in  procuring  the  repeal  of  an  Unjust  Law, 
the  intent  of  which  was  to  create  an  odious  monopoly 
and  to  cut  off  a  portion  of  the  people  of  the  State 
from  their  Constitutional  and  unalienable  rights." 

REJOICING    IN    OHIO. 

The  Reformed  Medical  School  at  Worthington  had 
been  closed  in  1842,  and  Dr.  Morrow  and  his  associates 
had  transferred  their  operations  to  Cincinnati.  He 
visited  the  former  place  in  the  spring  of  1845,  to  take 
part  in  a  presentation  to  Colonel  James  Kilbourne,  at 
the  College  building.  He  delivered  an  address  upon 
the  occasion,  recapitulating  the  early  history  of  the 
enterprise  and  the  achievements  of  the  physicians  of 


THE    GREAT    CONFLICT    FOR    MEDICAL    FREEDOM.       5 II 

Reformed  Practice.  Referring  to  the  time  when  he 
began  his  labors  at  Worthington  and  the  restrictive 
medical  laws  then  in  force,  he  said  : 

"  How  changed  the  scene  !  Since  then,  by  the 
aid  and  influence  of  the  friends  of  this  benev- 
olent enterprise  [the  Worthington  College]  and  the 
assistance  of  others  having  kindred  objects  in  view,, 
the  illiberal  and  intolerant  spirit  of  Medical  monopoly 
has  been  most  signally  rebuked  on  every  side. 

"  State  after  State  has  marched  forward  to  the 
noble  work,  and  blotted  out,  //  is  hoped  forever,  from 
the  statute-books  all  laws  granting  exclusive  privi- 
leges to  one  class  of  medical  practitioners  to  oppress 
another  ;  thus  placing  each  before  the  community  on 
its  own  proper  basis." 

A  dark  chapter  in  American  history,  both  medical 
and  legislative,  was  thus  brought  to  an  end.  The 
Medical  Inquisition  was  closed  ;  the  occupation  of  the 
informer  and  persecutor  was  gone.  It  was  truly  like 
the  scene  of  the  pouring  out  of  the  Vial  of  the  Fifth 
Angel  upon  the  seat  of  the  Apocalyptic  Beast.  But 
over  the  whole  country  the  result  was  most  salutary. 
Skill  in  healing  became  more  esteemed  than  a  mere 
factitious  medical  orthodoxy.  Liberty,  once  estab- 
lished through  the  land,  produced  its  legitimate 
fruits.  Medical  knowledge  became  more  thorough, 
medical  skill  more  expert.  The  educational  require- 
ments of  the  medical  colleges  were  steadily  elevated 
to  an  altitude  which  they  had  never  before  attained. 
The  ratio  of  mortality  was  actually  lessened,  and  epi- 
demics became  less  deadly.  The  medical  world  was, 
for  the  time,  in  that  part  of  its  orbit  nearest  the  sun, 
and  the  dismal  winter  was  made  glorious  summer. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS. 

The  leaders  in  the  several  movements  for  the 
reform  of  Medical  Practice  were  awake  to  the  impor- 
tance of  technical  instruction  in  the  Art  of  Healing. 
The  action  of  Dr.  Beach  and  Dr.  Isaac  S.  Smith  in 
this  matter  has  already  been  noticed.  They  believed 
implicitly  in  native  genius  for  the  work,  but  they 
insisted  none  the  less  for  adequate  knowledge  of 
scientific  details  and  procedures.  Few  individuals 
went  from  their  schools  ill-qualified  for  their  vocation. 

It  has  been  sometimes  affirmed  that  the  medical 
institutions  of  the  dominant  school,  already  estab- 
lished, are  ample  for  the  purpose,  and  give  a  higher 
quality  of  technical  instruction.  Yet  it  is  notorious 
that  they  have  been  exclusive  in  their  ethics,  not 
only  refusing  to  teach  any  thing  outside  their  own 
prescribed  partisan  curriculum,  but  withholding 
from  the  student  ready  to  graduate  his  justly-earned 
degree,  except  he  would  swear  to  practice  medicine 
as  he  had  been  taught.  No  Roman  seminary  was 
ever  more  arbitrary,  exclusive,  or  exacting  of  a 
pledge  of  absolute  and  perpetual  orthodoxy,  and  one 
requirement  was  an  evident  copy  of  the  other. 

Besides  this,  observation  has  failed  to  show  the 
superiority  in  quality  of  instruction,  of  which  boast 
has  been  made.  It  has  been  principally  a  bandying 
of  opprobrious  epithets  belonging  in  the  category 
with  those  of  the  fish-market,  and  little  else.  A  large 
majority  of    the  physicians    called    scientific   by  the 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  513 

authorized  parlance  were  actually  defective  in  pri- 
mary instruction,  and  unable  to  write,  pronounce,  or 
vven  to  spell  technical  words  correctly.  The  very 
Latin  in  which  they  wrote  prescriptions  was  a  bid- 
ding of  defiance  to  etymology  and  syntax.  As  late  as 
1884,  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  at  Washington, 
added  his  testimony  that  in  most  of  the  medical  col- 
leges, "no  examination  for  entrance,  nor  any  evidence 
of  the  possession  of  a  respectable  disciplinary  educa- 
tion is  called  for."  *  He  added  the  sweeping  assertion 
that,  "  those  who  control  such  professional  schools, 
by  their  practice,  advertise  to  the  world  that  neither 
Law,  Medicine  nor  General  Science  demands  any 
more  training  than  the  common  handicrafts,  or 
farming." 

From  men  and  institutions,  of  which  this  is  true, 
the  vile  and  depreciating  imputations  which  they 
place  on  those  of  different  sentiment,  come  with  very 
ill  grace.  It  is  rather  the  tirade  of  the  politician  of 
the  slums  than  the  speech  of  scholarly  men — the 
abuse  of  the  partisan,  and  not  the  candid  criticism  of 
the  lover  of  learning  and  science. 

WORTHINGTON  MEDICAL  COLLEGE. 

The  "Reformed  Medical  Academy  "  had  got  fairly 
into  successful  operation  when  Dr.  Beach  and  his 
associates  began  to  conceive  ambitious  schemes  of  an 
extensive  propagandism.  Circulars  were  sent  to  dif- 
ferent individuals  living  in  the  Western  and  South- 
ern States.  A  reply  from  a  prominent  citizen  of  the 
State  of  Ohio  served  to  turn  effort  in  that  direction. 


*  The   United  States  Medical  College  of  New  York,  from  the  first,  made  such 
examinations  an  express  condition  for  entrance. 


514  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Worthington  had  been  laid  out  by  Colonel  James 
Kilbourn,  of  the  Scioto  Land  Company,  in  the  year 
1803,  and  speedily  became  a  thrifty  town.  Its  leading 
inhabitants  were  ambitious  that  it  should  become  the 
capital  of  the  State.  Failing  in  this,  they  had  accepted 
the  proposition  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Philander  Chase,  and 
established  a  college.  An  acrimonious  controversy 
in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Ohio,  respecting 
the  administration  of  Kenyon  College,  had  led  him  to 
resign  the  presidency  and  direct  his  energies  to  the 
founding  of  a  new  educational  institution.  For  a 
time  the  enterprise  prospered,  till  the  unhappy  breach 
was  reconciled,  and  Dr.  Chase  was  elected  Bishop  of 
Illinois.  About  this  time  the  circular  of  Dr.  Beach 
was  received  with  glad  welcome,  and  the  rooms  of 
the  college  were  placed  at  his  service.  An  act  of  the 
General  Assembly,  in  1829,  conferred  the  necessary 
legal  authority. 

A  meeting  of  the  Reformed  Medical  Society  of  the 
United  States  was  held  on  the  third  day  of  May,  in 
that  year,  and  a  resolution  adopted  declaring  it 
"  expedient  to  establish  an  additional  medical  school 
in  some  town  on  the  Ohio  river,  or  some  of  its  navi- 
gable tributaries,  in  order  that  the  people  of  the  West 
may  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  resulting 
from  a  scientific  knowledge  of  Botanic  Medicine."  * 

Dr.  Thomas  Vaughan  Morrow  was  selected  to  be  the 
principal  of  the  new  institution.  He  was  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  well  educated,  enthusiastic  and  persever- 
ing, in   the  flower  of  his  age,  and  liberally  endowed 

*  At  that  time  the  Reforvied  School  was  termed  "  Botanic."  There  were  but 
twenty-four  States  in  the  American  Union,  and  all  except  Missouri  and  Louisiana 
were  east  of  the  Mississippi  river.  The  "  West  "  comprised  all  the  country  beyond 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  As  there  were  no  railroads,  navigable  waters  had 
an  importance  not  easy  to  imagine. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  515 

with  energy  and  those  qualities  of  heart  and  mind 
that  characterize  the  true  leader.  Dr.  Ichabod  G. 
Jones,  his  fellow-laborer,  aided  him  in  the  under- 
taking. 

Before  the  Legislature  would  permit  the  College  at 
Worthington  to  be  opened  with  the  medical  depart- 
ment, Dr.  Morrow  was  required  to  submit  to  an  exam- 
ination by  a  leading  medical  teacher  of  Philadelphia 
in  regard  to  his  proficiency  and  fitness.  He  passed 
the  ordeal  successfully. 

The  new  institution  had  two  regular  terms  in  each 
year,  covering  a  period  of  ten  months.  Every  student 
was  required  to  possess  a  good  English  education,  but 
his  medical  attainment  and  not  any  particular  length 
of  attendance,  was  made  the  condition  for  graduating. 
The  standard,  nevertheless,  was  higher  than  that  of 
the  great  majority  of  medical  colleges  in  the  United 
States.  When  we  remember  that  even  the  school 
that  John  Hunter  established  was  purely  a  private 
enterprise  and  had  only  a  term  of  six  weeks,  we  can 
the  better  appreciate  the  state  of  affairs  at  Worthing- 
ton. Whatever  deficiency  existed  was  general,  and 
by  no  means  confined  to  institutions  that  were  not  of 
the  prescribed  orthodox  party. 

The  medical  department  at  Worthington  was  con- 
ducted with  signal  ability.  It  speedily  became  the 
object  of  attacks,  characterized  by  diabolic  malignity, 
as  though  to  engulf  it  in  the  poisonous  current  of 
spite  and  calumny.  The  institution,  nevertheless, 
weathered  the  storm,  and  its  graduates  became  popu- 
lar as  physicians. 

In  1836,  the  Faculty  began  the  publication  of  the 
Western  Medical  Refortner.  In  this  they  declared  them- 
selves to  be  Botanic  physicians,  but   a  distinct  school 


5l6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

entirely  from  the  disciples  of  Samuel  Thomson.  They 
positively  affirmed  that  "  the  honor  of  attempting  to 
introduce  a  Scientific  Botanical  System  of  Medicine 
and  Surgical  Practice  seemed  to  be  reserved  for  the 
celebrated  Doctor  Wooster  Beach,  of  New  York."  It 
was  originated,  they  added,  without  the  least  reference 
to  other  Reform  Systems,  "  and  for  the  most  part, 
without  even  the  knowledge  that  such  a  system  as  the 
Thomsonian,  or  such  a  being  as  Samuel  Thomson  was 
in  existence."  They  even  repudiated  the  Thomsonian 
system  as  having  the  tendency  and  aim  of  a  total 
subversion  of  all  science,  and  a  substitution  of  a  lim- 
ited method,  founded  on  the  dogmas  of  a  single 
individual. 

These  utterances,  bitter  as  they  were,  had  been 
anticipated,  and  were  followed  by  others  from  the 
Thomsonians,  even  more  harsh  and  vituperative.  It 
seems  to  be  a  law  in  human  nature,  that  bodies  of 
men  that  agree  most  closely  in  sentiment,  are  most 
severe  and  vindicti^'e  over  points  of  difference.  The 
broadening  of  professional  knowledge,  and  the  neces- 
sity which  come  to  act  together  against  their  common 
persecutors,  tend  afterward  to  assuage  much  of  this 
animosity.  Dr.  Morrow  himself,  in  later  years,  sought 
a  union  and  cooperation  with  those  whom  he  had  so 
warmly  opposed. 

The  medical  college  at  Worthington  was  compelled 
to  depend  for  support  upon  its  receipts  for  tuition, 
and  contributions  from  its  friends.  With  the  spring 
of  1837,  there  came  a  period  of  crushing  financial 
disaster,  which  for  years  arrested  the  business  and 
industries  of  the  country.  The  instructors  at  the 
College  were  compelled  to  close  their  infirmary,  and 
to  suspend  the  publication  of  their  journal.     Personal 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  517 

superadded  to  professional  enmity,  was  also  encoun- 
tered. A  professor,  who  had  been  superseded,  became 
the  most  rancorous  and  unscrupulous  of  adversaries. 
Persecution  was  renewed  in  different  form.  Dr. 
Morrow  was  himself  prosecuted,  but  without  success. 
Both  he  and  the  institution  were  popular  at  Worth- 
ington.  Attack  came  next  from  distant  places. 
Exaggerated  stories  were  told  of  disinterments  of  the 
dead  for  dissection,  till  the  less  intelligent  of  the  popu- 
lation were  excited  into  fury.  It  was  the  period  of 
mob  law  in^  America,  and  physicians  in  that  region 
were  not  unwilling  to  employ  that  agency.  In  the 
spring  of  1840,  a  body  of  several  hundred  lawless 
individuals  was  conducted  to  Worthington,  and 
turned  loose  upon  the  town,  to  sack  the  College,  rifle 
buildings  and  perhaps  to  murder.  The  professors  and 
students,  however,  made  good  their  escape,  but  the 
college  building  was  pillaged,  and  the  town  placed  at 
the  mercy  of  the  drunken  rabble. 

Dr.  Morrow  and  his  assistants  remained  bravely  at 
their  posts  after  this  occurrence,  but  foresaw  that 
their  enterprise  must  be  transferred  to  a  larger  field. 
The  college,  however,  was  maintained  two  years 
longer,  before  a  final  abandonment. 

BOTANIC     MEDICAL    COLLEGES. 

By  no  means  did  the  professional  disciples  of  Samuel 
Thomson  continue  indifferent  in  the  matter  of  pre- 
liminary and  more  thorough  instruction  in  Medicine. 
Even  the  Conventions  held  annually  under  his  imme- 
diate direction,  had  a  powerful  influence  to  awaken 
their  consciousness  of  its  necessity.  To  be  sure  there 
were  many,  chiefly  holders  of  the  patent,  who  were, 
like  their  veteran    leader,    sticklers  for  the  contrary 


5l8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICIXF. 

notion.  It  was  felt  in  all  quarters  that  the  lack  of 
technical  knowledge,  as  well  as  of  literary  accomplish- 
ments, was  certain  to  lower  Botanic  practitioners  in 
general  estimation,  and  eventually  to  wreck  the 
school.  It  was  acknowledged  and  believed  that  nat- 
ural gift  or  intuitive  faculty  was  essential  to  the 
genuine  physician,  but  even  then  liberal  culture  and 
professional  instruction  would  make  him  more  useful 
and  acceptable.  Hence,  in  the  states  where  there 
were  Botanic  Societies  or  any  considerable  number  of 
Botanic  physicians,  the  project  of  a  medical  college 
became  a  theme  of  anxious  consideration. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Colby,  of  the  Thonisonian  Recorder^ 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Thomsonians  were 
debarred  from  admission  into  the  Medical  College  of 
Maine,  and  likewise,  that  the  ordinary  physicians 
would  not  even  attend  patients  who  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  employing  Botanic  practitioners.  "  The 
importance  of  Thomsonians  having  a  general  knowl- 
edge of  anatomy,  physiology,  pathology,  surgery  and 
midwifer)',"  he  declared  "  to  be  deeply  felt  by  every 
one  who  enters  the  practice  ;  he  cannot  obtain  the 
confidence  of  the  community  without  this  knowl- 
edge." 

At  his  instance,  the  Thomsonian  Medical  Society  of 
the  State  of  Maine,  at  its  meeting  in  1839,  appointed 
a  committee  to  consider  the  subject.  A  plan  was 
reported  the  nexc  year  and  accepted. 

Dr.  John  Thomson  and  his  brothers  were  actually 
at  odds  for  years  with  their  father  upon  this  subject 
of  medical  education.  There  was  likewise  a  general 
feeling  that  the  literature  of  the  Botanic  School  was 
meagre  and  insufificient.  When  it  was  learned  in 
1837,  that  Dr.  Morris  Mattson  contemplated  the  pre- 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  5  19 

paring  of  a  work  on  the  Vegetable  Materia  Medica,  there 
was  general  gratification  expressed.  The  hope  was 
entertained  that  he  would  unite  it  with  Thomson's 
Guide  to  Health,  and  thereby  disguise  and  eventually 
remove  the  deficiencies  palpable  in  that  work.*  The 
arrangement,  however,  failed.  Dr.  John  Thomson 
himself  published  a  work,  in  1841,  purporting  to  be  a 
revised  edition  of  the  Thovisoniati  Materia  Mcdica,  cred- 
iting it  to  his  father,  except  in  certain  feaiures  from 
which  the  latter  dissented,  and  dedicating  it  to  their 
faithful  friend  and  defender,  Professor  Benjamin 
Waterhouse,  of  the  Harvard  Medical  School.  It  was 
a  very  complete  work  for  the  time,  including  a  treat- 
ise on  Anatomy,  and  a  very  thorough  exposition  of 
Medical  Botany  and  Botanic  Pharmacy.  King  Louis- 
Philippe,  of  France,  and  several  other  European 
rulers,  presented  him  with  medals  in  honor  of  the 
publication. 

The  same  year,  the  Thomsonian  Medical  Society  of 
New  York,  of  which  he  was  president,  appointed  a 
committee  to  consider  the  expediency  of  establishing 
a  college  in  that  State,  and  the  propriety  of  petition- 
ing the  legislature  to  incorporate  such  an  institution, 
and  also  of  inviting  the  Botanic  physicians  of  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  to  cooperate  in  the  enterprise. 

Dr.  Samuel  Thomson  himself  was  present  at  this 
meeting,  but  made  no  opposition.  He  was  in  declin- 
ing health,  and  was  made  the  recipient,  on  this  occa- 
sion, of  many  personal  honors  and  attentions. 

A  Convention  was  also  called  in  New  England  to 
confer  upon   the  proposition   to  establish   a  medical 

*  Dr.  Mattson  says  :  "His  [Thomfon's]  friends  urged  me  to  remain  [in  Boston] 
and  enter  into  a  contract  with  him,  if  possible ;  representing  to  me  the  necessity  of 
having   a  work  on   the  Reformed  or  Vegetable  Practice,  which   would   meet  the 

apijfohation  of  an  inlelligent  community.  ' 


520  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

institution  in  the  Eastern  States.  It  failed  to  assem- 
ble at  the  time  appointed,  but  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  Thomsonian  Medical  Society  of  Connecticut,  a 
meeting  was  held  at  Boston  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year.  This  Convention  proposed  a  very  definite 
course  of  procedure,  the  founding  of  a  college  and 
the  establishing  of  a  curriculum  of  medical  study. 

This  excited  alarm  in  the  orthodox  medical  circles, 
and  Dr.  J.  V.  C.  Smith,  then  editor  of  the  Boston 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  thus  belabored  the 
projectors  : 

"  They  voted  that  the  lectures  embrace  the  follow- 
ing branches  of  medical  study,  viz.:  Thomsonian 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine,  Anatomy,  Surgery, 
Physiology,  Obstetrics  and  Chemistry.  Query  :  How 
long  will  it  be  before  the  Thomsonian  Theory  and 
Practice  of  Medicine  be  lost  sight  of,  and  the  new 
school  be  a  rational  one,  conducted  on  scientific  prin- 
ciples and  under  the  control  of  a  respectable  learned 
Faculty  ?" 

In  addition  to  this  scoff,  Dr.  Smith  mentioned  the 
nomination  of  Dr.  William  Taylor  as  a  candidate  for 
member  of  the  House  of  Assembly  of  New  York.  He 
desired  physicians  to  support  Dr.  Taylor,  without 
regard  to  party,  in  the  hope  that  "  he  will  keep  at  bay 
the  petitioners  of  the  Thomsonians,  who  claim  equal 
standing  with  the  learned  profession  in  the  State  by 
leofislative  enactment."  * 


*  The  tortuous  action  of  Dr.  Taylor,  which  the  noble  and  manly  course  of  the 
Hon.  Horatio  Seymour  largely  circumvented,  the  favorable  legislation  in  the 
Assembly  of  1842,  and  its  defeat  in  the  Senate  by  an  artful  parliamentary 
obstruction,  have  been  already  described.  Dr.  Smith  himself  lived  to  see  the 
prescriptive  medical  laws  repealed,  to  be  himself  disfellowshiped  for  having 
become  more  generous  and  liberal,  and  even  to  be  a  lecturer  in  a  Woman's 
Homoeopathic  Medical  College. 


MEDICAL   COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  52I 

Dr.  Morris  Mattson  ungenerously  added  his  criti- 
cisms to  those  of  the  other  adversaries.  The  Boston 
True  Thomsonian,  which  had  been  established  by  his 
supporters  in  opposition  to  Dr.  Thomson,  actually 
went  so  far  as  to  advise  young  men  who  were  desirous 
of  obtaining  a  thorough  medical  education,  and  quali- 
fying themselves  for  medical  practitioners,  to  enter 
the  "  regular  "  schools  at  once.  It  even  declared  that 
students  graduating  from  such  schools  would  be 
more  acceptable  to  New  Englanders  generally  than 
they  would  be  if  educated  in  Thomsonian  schools  or 
colleges. 

If  this  advice  was  sincere,  it  was  short-sighted  and 
impracticable.  Only  young  men  of  extraordinary 
mental  and  moral  stamina  would  graduate  at  an  insti- 
tution enjoying  political  favor  and  social  distinction, 
and  then  deliberately  undertake  for  conscience'  sake 
to  walk  in  the  rugged  path  of  the  reformer.  There 
was,  however,  another  obstacle  even  harder  to  sur- 
mount. Students  of  Reform  proclivities  would  not, 
on  any  account,  be  permitted  to  graduate  at  such  a 
school. 

Several  attempts,  however,  were  made  to  establish 
private  courses  of  lectures.  Dr.  Mattson  himself 
announced  his  purpose  to  open  a  medical  school  in 
Boston.  Dr.  Colby  also,  having  suspended  the  publi- 
cation of  the  TJwiusonian  Recorder,  and  removed  to 
Nashua,  in  New  Hampshire,  delivered  a  course  of 
lectures  at  his  new  home.  Several  of  the  Thomsonian 
medical  societies  also  employed  lecturers.  But  there 
were  no  permanent  results. 

In  the  State  of  New  York  there  was  little  better 
success.  While  the  conflict  for  medical  enfranchise- 
ment was  in  progress,  the  energies  of   the    Reform 


522  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

physicians  were  expended  in  the  struggle.  The  pre- 
scriptive statutes  having  been  annulled  in  1844,  the 
Thomsonian  Medical  Society,  meeting  in  June,  took 
steps  preliminary  to  the  founding  of  a  medical  col- 
lege. A  Board  of  Trustees  was  appointed,*  and  an 
invitation  extended  to  the  friends  of  Medical  Reform 
in  New  England  and  elsewhere,  as  well  as  at  home, 
to  take  an  active  part  in  the  enterprise. 

"  There  have  been,  and  now  are,  m.any  whom  col- 
leges did  not  make,"  pleaded  the  veteran  Dr.  Lapham  ; 
"yet  such  are  the  men  who  make  colleges,  and  none 
more  highly  appreciate  the  facilities  which  such 
institutions  are  capable  of  affording  to  the  student 
than  those  who  have  thus  reached  the  pinnacle  of 
fame  alone  and  unaided." 

Several  meetings  of  the  Board  were  held,  money 
was  subscribed,  and  a  site  proposed  at  Saratoga 
Springs,  but  with  no  satisfactory  result.  The  leaders, 
Samuel  Thomson,  his  sons  John  and  Jesse  Thomson, 
Abiel  Gardner,  were  dead,  and  others  superannuated. 
The  pressure  of  the  former  conflicts  was  removed, 
and  a  feeling  of  security  followed,  which  led  to  the 
general  waning  of  enthusiasm  for  aggressive  activity. 

THE    BOTANICO-MEDICAL    INSTITUTE    OF    OHIO. 

Meanwhile,  the  endeavors  in  the  South  and  West  to 
establish  colleges  for  instruction  in  Botanic  medicine, 
had  better  results.  Dr.  Alva  Curtis,  while  living  in 
New  Hampshire,  had  witnessed  in  his  own  family  the 
life  of  a  brother  made  miserable  and  cut  short  by  mer- 
curial  treatment.      He   quickly  discarded  the  whole 

*  This  Board  consisted  of  Doctors  Thomas  Lapham,  William  B.  Stanton,  E.  J. 
Mattocks,  Ebenezer  Ford,  M.  W.  Hill,  I.  K.  Averill,  and  Cyrus  Thomson. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  523 

practice  and  embraced  the  Botanic.  It  was  the  period 
of  compulsory  statutes,  when  the  whole  country- 
was  falling  into  the  slavery  of  class-legislation. 
Curtis,  fond  of  controversy,  entered  the  field  with 
tongue  and  pen,  and  his  address  at  the  first  National 
Convention  of  Thomsonians  in  Baltimore,  aroused 
wide  attention.  The  proprietors  of  the  Thomsonian 
Recorder  at  Columbus,  the  capital  of  Ohio,  invited  him 
to  become  the  editor.  He  was  not  content,  however, 
to  beat  his  oppressors  in  controversy.  He  resolved  to 
establish  a  medical  college  which  would  make  the 
work  permanent. 

He  began  in  1835  to  instruct  medical  students  at 
his  own  house,  and  followed  this  effort  by  an  applica- 
tion to  the  General  Assembly  for  an  act  of  incorpora- 
tion. His  adversaries  opposed  him  by  artifice  and 
calumny,  but  they  found  him  able  to  meet  them  at 
every  point,  to  rebut  every  objection,  and  certain  to 
win  friends  and  supporters  in  every  conflict.  At  one 
session  the  House  of  Representatives  passed  the 
measure,  and  at  the  next,  the  Senate  enacted  it  with 
few  negative  votes,  thus  making  it  a  law.*  The 
"  Literary  and  Botanico-Medical  Institute,  of  Ohio," 
was  iiicorporated  on  the  ninth  day  of  March,  1839, 
with  the  powers  of  a  university.  Its  medical  depart- 
ment was  opened  at  Columbus  the  ensuing  autumn, 
under  the  imposing  title  of  "  The  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons,"  and  has  thus  the  distinction  of 
being  the  Parent  School  of  Botanic  Medicine. 

Such  a  departure  from  his  ways  and  methods.  Dr. 
Samuel  Thomson  had  deprecated,  as  being  a  virtual 
apostasy  and  a  reverting  back  toward  the  Old  School, 

♦In  Ohio,  a  bill  passing  both  Houses  of  Legislature  is  thereby  enacted  ;  the 
governor  having  no  veto  power. 


524  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Dr.  Curtis,  however,  had  broken  with  him  and  formed 
a  new  National  Convention  of  "  Independent  Thomso- 
nians,"*  of  which  he  was  the  first  president. 

Dr.  Curtis  was  as  tenacious  as  Dr.  Thomson  of  being 
the  chief  authority  and  umpire,  and  often  lectured 
his  associates  magisterially  for  what  he  considered 
their  derelictions.  He  was  strenuously  opposed, 
almost  to  open  hostility,  to  the  establishing  of  other 
colleges  of  the  same  medical  faith.  He  had,  perhaps, 
the  discretion  not  to  arouse  their  direct  enmity,  by 
publicly  attacking  them  ;  but  he  took  pains,  from 
time  to  time,  to  declare  that  there  were  too  many  such 
institutions.  He  actually  proposed  in  1846,  that 
they  should  all  sell  their  property  and  merge  into  the 
institution  of  which  he  was  the  Chancellor. 

The  history  of  the  Botanico-Medical  College  of 
Ohio,  was,  as  might  be  expected  from  such  a  disposition, 
somewhat  checkered.  The  institution  was  removed 
in  1841,  by  legislative  permission,  from  Columbus  to 
Cincinnati.  A  year  later,  an  article  in  the  Boston 
True  Thomsonian,  announced  the  opening  of  the 
"  American  Medical  Institute,"  giving  no  locality,  but 
naming  as  the  faculty,  Doctors  Alva  Curtis,  Joseph 
Rodes  Buchanan,  Harvey  W.  Hill  and  Samuel  Curtis. 
In  185 1,  the  charter  was  again  amended.  The  Scien- 
tific and  Literary  department  was  erected  into  a 
distinct  corporation,  of  which  Dr.  Curtis  was  in 
sole  charge,  and  the  medical  department  became  the 
Physiopathic  College  of  Ohio.  The  Faculty  of  the 
latter  institution  consisted  of  Doctor  Joseph  Brown, 

*This  name  was  speedily  laid  aside  for  that  of  "  Physo-Medical,"  or  "Physio- 
Medical."  The  Eastern  Botanic  physicians  for  a  time  called  themselves  "  Phy- 
sopathists,"  but  later  the  title  of  "  Reform  Physicians"  was  for  a  time  adopted. 
Most  of  them  finally  united  with  the  Eclectic  School,  and  those  who  remain  are. 
known,  as  they  have  been  for  forty  years,  by  the  designation  of  "  Physio-Medical." 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  525 

the  dean,  Doctor  E.  M.  Parritt,  late  of  the  Worcester 
Medical  Institution,  Doctors  E.  H.  Stockwell,  J.  A. 
Powers  and  R.  C.  Carter. 

In  1859,  the  Physio-Medical  Institute  was  organ- 
ized. Dr.  William  H.  Cook,  formerly  of  the  Syracuse 
and  Metropolitan  Medical  Colleges,  in  New  York,  was 
at  the  head.  Dean  of  the  Faculty,  editor  of  the 
Physio- Medical  Recorder^  and  author  of  several  medical 
works  of  merit.  Dr.  Curtis,  after  various  adventures, 
attempting  to  establish  a  medical  school  at  Boston  to 
cripple  the  College  at  Worcester,  and  again  in  Con- 
necticut, and  holding  a  chair  in  the  Metropolitan 
Medical  College,  finally  returned  to  Cincinnati  and 
accepted  a  professorship  in  the  Physio-Medical  Insti- 
tute.    This  College  was  finally  suspended  in  1885. 

THE    SOUTHERN    BOTANICO-INIEDIC AL    COLLEGE. 

The  history  of  the  Southern  Botanico-Medical  Col- 
lege, of  Georgia,  is  in  many  respects  a  counterpart  of 
the  sister  institution  in  Ohio.  Its  founder,  Dr. 
Lanier  Bankston,  bore  a  very  similar  relation  to 
Reform  Medicine  in  Georgia  and  the  South,  to  that 
sustained  by  Alva  Curtis  in  Ohio  and  the  Northwest. 
He  was  amply  qualified  for  the  work,  scholarly  and 
eloquent,  tenacious  of  his  authority,  fluent  with 
speech  and  the  pen  and  possessing  the  endowments  of 
a  high-toned  gentleman.  He  began  practice  as  a 
Botanic  physician  in  1832,  and  quickly  became  awake 
to  the  importance  of  a  suitable  institution  for  the 
instruction  of  medical  students  in  the  Reform  prin- 
ciples. He  devoted  his  life  and  energies  to  this 
end,  laboring  diligently,  expending  freely  his  private 
fortune,  and  yielding  up  other  projects  and  ambi- 
tions. 


526  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

In  order  to  fit  himself  more  completely  for  a  teacher, 
he  began  at  the  lower  steps  and  attended  lectures  at 
the  medical  college  in  Augusta.  He  next  obtained 
the  cooperation  of  others  of  like  convictions.  It  was 
his  desire  to  establish  the  proposed  institution  at 
Macon,  then  the  capital  of  the  State,  but  in  this  he 
was  overruled.  The  College  was  opened  at  Forsyth, 
on  the  first  day  of  December,  1839,  with  but  two 
students,  and  on  the  eighteenth.  Governor  McDonald 
signed  the  bill  creating  it  a  legal  corporation. 

The  new  institution  began  with  encouraging  pros- 
pects, and  encountered  its  full  share  of  dissensions 
and  reverses.  Reformers,  with  all  their  great  merits, 
are  not  always  the  most  amiable  of  humankind,  or 
the  most  richly  endowed  with  charity.  A  division 
arose  in  1840,  which  resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  Dr. 
William  H.  Fonerden  from  the  Faculty.*  In  1841, 
Dr.  Bankston  was  elected  Dean  in  place  of  Dr. 
Hugh  Quin. 

In  1841,  a  Convention  of  Botanic  physicians  of 
Georgia  and  Alabama  assembled  at  Columbus,  in  the 
former  State,  and  organized  the  "  Southern  Botanico- 
Medical  Society."  Its  objects  were  specified  to  be, 
the  promotion  of  harmony  and  the  furthering  of  the 
interests  of  the  Southern  Botanico-Medical  College. 

The  next  year  the  legislature  made  a  grant  of  five 
thousand  dollars  to  the  institution.     This  generous 

*He  was  charged  with  keeping  up  a  constant  disturbance  with  the  students, 
threatening  that  they  should  not  graduate  except  they  received  private  instruction 
from  him,  and  with  abusive  language  of  the  other  professors.  Dr.  Alfred  N. 
Worthy  was  elected  in  his  place  to  the  chair  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of 
Medicine,  and  Dr.  Henry  Lee,  of  Middletown,  in  Connecticut,  as  professor  of 
Anatomy  and  Surgery.  The  Trustees  also  established  as  their  official  organ,  the 
Southern  Botanico-Medical  Journal,  making  Dr.  Lee  its  editor,  in  place  of  the 
Southern  Medical  Recorder,  which  Dr.  Fonerden  had  conducted.  This  last 
arrangement  seems  not  to  have  been  of  long  duration. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  527 

action  was  repeated  some  years  afterward.  The  diffi- 
culties with  Dr.  Fonerden  were  amicably  adjusted. 

In  1845,  the  college  was  removed  to  Macon.  This 
action  was  attended  by  a  division  of  the  Faculty,  Dr. 
Quin  and  others  resigning.  The  building  was 
destroyed  by  fire,  but  by  help  from  the  legislature, 
and  the  liberality  of  private  individuals,  was  soon 
replaced  by  a  new  structure.  There  was  a  disposition 
among  the  Botanic  societies  to  a  frequent  change  of 
name  ;  and  finally,  the  simple  designation  of  "  Reform  " 
became  very  general.  Accordingly  in  1854,  the  col- 
lege at  Macon  took  the  name  of  the  "  Reform  Medical 
College  of  Georgia."  It  was  now  a  favorite  institu- 
tion among  the  leading  men.  The  graduates  were 
generally  popular  and  successful  as  physicians,  and 
the  most  prominent  public  men  of  the  State  of  Georgia 
were  their  patrons.*  During  the  Civil  War,  physi- 
cians of  the  Botanic  and  Eclectic  schools  were  readily 
accepted  as  surgeons  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and 
to  their  credit,  as  well  as  to  the  lasting  honor  of  the 
authorities  employing  them,  they  justified  their 
appointment  by  their  professional  skill  and  efficiency. 

The  college,  like  all  the  other  institutions  of  learn- 
ing in  the  Southern  States,  was  compelled  during 
that  period  to  close  its  doors.  It  was  revived  again 
in  1867,  under  different  conditions.  The  Botanic 
physicians  had  generally  dropped  their  former  ani- 
mosity toward  the  Eclectic  school,  and  even  become 
partial  to  its  remedial  procedures.  When  the  col- 
lege was  opened  again,  at  Macon,  it  took  the  name  of 
"  The  College  of  American  Medicine  and  Surgery."  It, 
however,  maintained  only  a  precarious  existence  till 

♦  Hon.  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  Governor  Joseph  Brown,  Gen.  Robert  H. 
Toombs,  and  others  of  that  class,  were  patrons  of  the  Reform  practice. 


528  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

1 88 1,  when  it  was  removed  to  Atlanta,  now  the  capi- 
tal of  Georgia.  Here  a  new  Board  took  it  in  charge. 
A  few  years  later  it  was  united  with  the  Georgia 
Eclectic  Medical  College,  now  "  The  Georgia  College 
of  Eclectic  Medicine  and  Surgery  ;"  and  the  present 
arrangement  assures  greater  success  and  prosperity 
than  were  enjoyed  before. 

Dr.  Bankston,  the  veteran  Medical  Reformer  of 
Georgia,  accepted  the  invitation,  several  years  ago,  to 
visit  the  college,  at  Atlanta,  and  lecture  to  the 
students  ;  forcibly  illustrating  the  fact  that  in  his 
case,  as  well  as  in  others,  the  partisan  jealousy  and 
animosity  which  had  impelled  him  to  reject  disdain- 
fully the  overture  of  Dr.  Morrow  for  union  of  Botanic 
physicians  for  the  common  good,  had  become  now 
only  a  thing  of  the  past. 

THE    BOTANICO-MEDICAL    COLLEGE    OF    MEMPHIS. 

The  Botanico-Medical  College  of  Memphis,  the 
third  in  this  category,  had  an  analogous  origin.  Dr. 
Michael  Gabbert,  a  physician  at  Somerville,  in  Ten- 
nessee, had  early  observed  the  terrible  effects  of  the 
agents  employed  as  remedies,  in  shattering  the  health 
and  blighting  the  lives  of  patients.  So  thoroughly 
was  he  convinced  that  the  practice  of  medicine  was  a 
curse,  rather  than  otherwise,  to  the  human  race,  that 
he  determined  to  abandon  it,  and  even  to  leave  his 
own  family,  in  the  case  of  sickness,  to  get  on  as  well 
as  possible  without  medication.  He  adopted  the 
profession  of  law,  and  became  a  skillful  attorney  and 
counsellor.  At  this  period  his  attention  was  directed 
to  the  Botanic  practice.  Two  physicians,  both  of 
them  his  personal  friends,  had  given  up  a  patient  to 
die   with    pneumonia  ;     after    which    an    unlettered 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  529 

Thomsonian  took  the  case  and  restored  him  to  health. 
Dr.  Gabbert  began  at  once  an  extended  investigation 
of  the  new  practice,  and  witnessed  results  that  seemed 
miraculous.  He  resumed  his  former  profession,  but 
as  a  Botanic  physician,  and  soon  became  widely  cele- 
brated. His  method  was  to  inspire  confidence  in  the 
patient,  and  to  employ  his  remedies  as  auxiliary. 

He  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  more 
thorough  as  well  as  more  accurate  medical  instruc- 
tion. Having  removed  to  Memphis,  and  gained  a 
wide  popularity  as  a  physician,  he  resolved  to  estab- 
lish a  medical  college  in  that  city.  He  was  aided  in 
the  project  by  Dr.  James  Seaver,  who  was,  like  him- 
self, a  convert  from  the  Old  School.  The  bill  to 
incorporate  the  proposed  institution  was  introduced 
into  the  General  Assembly  early  in  the  winter  of 
1846,  and  became  a  law  on  the  second  of  February. 
The  Trustees  were  taken  from  the  most  prominent 
citizens,  and  were  in  hearty  accord  with  the  founders.* 

The  new  college  began  its  career  under  the  most 
encouraging  auspices.  It  had  a  Faculty  of  unusual 
ability,!  and  the  classes  were  large.  Following  the 
example  of  other  Reform  medical  colleges,  an  official 
organ,  the  Southivcsteni  Medical  Reformer,  was  estab- 
lished, with  the  late  Dr.  William  Byrd  Powell  for 
editor.  It  was  the  custom,  perhaps  more  honored  in 
the  breach  than  in  the  observance,  to  describe  the 
prospects  of  these  institutions  in  language' more  glow- 


*  Governor  Frederick  P.  Stanton  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Watson,  editor  of  the 
Northiuestern  Christian  Achiocate,  and  a  leading  divine  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  were  of  the  number. 

t  Besides  Doctors  Gabbert  and  Seaver,  the  Faculty  included  Dr.  G.  W. 
Morrow,  afterward  a  professor  at  Worcester  and  Syracuse;  Dr.  Hugh  Quin,  of 
the  Southern  Botanico-Medical  College  and  Alabama  Medical  Institute. 


530  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ing  than  the  facts  would  always  warrant.  Accord- 
ingly, we  find  in  the  first  numbers  of  this  periodical 
the  extraordinary  statement  that  the  Botanico-Med- 
ical  Colleges  of  Wetumpka,  in  Alabama,  and  Forsyth, 
in  Georgia,  had  been  united  with  the  new  college  at 
Memphis.  The  truth  was  that  the  institution  in 
Georgia  had  been  removed  from  Forsyth  to  Macon, 
and  that  several  of  the  professors,  not  pleased  with 
the  condition  of  affairs,  had  accepted  chairs  in  the 
"  Alabama  Medical  Institute,"  which  had  been  estab- 
lished in  the  autumn  of  1845.  This  enterprise  had 
been  given  up,  and  Dr.  Hugh  Quin  and  one  or  two 
others  had  become  members  of  the  Faculty  at 
Memphis. 

This  college  deserved  and  enjoyed  its  full  share  of 
public  favor  and  prosperity.  It  had  able  instructors, 
and  was  well  conducted.  The  graduates  were  gener- 
ally worthy  men  and  successful  practitioners. 

There  were  other  Botanico-Medical  Colleges  estab- 
lished in  different  parts  of  the  country  by  enthusi- 
astic and  sanguine  individuals,  but  after  a  brief 
career,  they  passed  out  of  existence.  They  did  not 
perish,  however,  from  want  of  merit  or  because  of 
defective  facilities  for  proper  instruction.  The  trouble 
lay  in  the  lack  of  pecuniary  means.  The  institutions 
of  the  dominant  schools  had  often  liberal  appropria- 
tions from  the  treasury  of  the  State  where  they  were 
located,  but  with  the  exception  of  the  College  in 
Georgia,  they  had  no  resources  beyond  the  fees  for 
instruction,  and  contributions  from  friends.  Mean- 
while, they  were  in  the  face  of  an  opposition,  upheld 
by  social  and  political  favor,  and  though  often  hope- 
ful beyond  bounds,  they  were  finally  compelled  to 
succumb. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  531 

EARLY    ECLECTIC    ORGANIZATIONS. 

When  the  American  Colonies  had  secured  their 
independence  and  footing  as  Commonwealths,  they 
were  cast  upon  an  ocean  of  new  peril.  There  were 
jealousies  and  even  collisions  between  them,  conflicts 
of  interest  between  state  and  state,  and  ill  feeling 
generally.  Massachusetts  was  at  loggerheads  with 
Rhode  Island,  New  York  almost  in  open  conflict  with 
New  Hampshire  over  the  possession  of  Vermont,  and 
Pennsylvanians  had  actually  expelled  hundreds  of 
colonists  from  Connecticut  out  of  their  homes  in  the 
valley  of  Wyoming.  Other  states  were  in  like  tur- 
moils. The  alliance  which  bound  them  together 
seemed  to  be  little  stronger  than  a  rope  of  sand.  It 
neither  secured  respect  abroad,  nor  peace  and  order 
at  home.  The  southernmost  states  were  beginning  to 
consider  the  policy  of  commercial  arrangements  with 
Great  Britain,  in  preference  to  friendly  relations  with 
the  trading  communities  of  New  England.  The  colo- 
nists of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys  actually 
threatened  to  place  themselves  under  British  protec- 
tion. In  the  seaboard  towns  of  Massachusetts,  was 
talk  of  a  separate  Eastern  Confederation.  Abroad, 
everything  looked  unhopeful  and  gloomy.  American 
citizens  were  made  slaves  in  the  Barbary  states,  and 
had  no  government  able  to  help  or  even  to  ransom 
them.  The  British  Ministry  bullied  us  and  refused 
to  execute  the  treaty  of  1783  ;  France  and  Spain 
insulted  us,  and  Holland,  always  our  sincere  friend, 
distrusted  us.  Anarchy,  if  it  did  not  exist  already, 
certainly  threatened  us  ;  dissolution  and  worse  condi- 
tions, perhaps  a  general  return  to  British  allegiance, 
were  all  that  the  future  appeared  to  have  in  store. 


532  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Even  a  Terentius  Varro,  who  in  the  face  of  over- 
whelming defeat,  despaired  not  of  the  Roman 
Republic,  might  have  deemed  ours  a  more  hopeless 
matter. 

Certainly  there  was  no  help  for  the  new  Common- 
wealths, no  statesman  or  government  beyond  the 
Atlantic  to  come  to  them  in  this  hour  of  need.  Their 
own  hand  alone  must  bring  them  safety,  their  own 
energy  and  patriotism  afford  the  necessary  deliverance. 

It  is  always  a  few  who  do  the  real  work  for  the 
many.  One  man  rose  the  emergency  and  a  choice 
company  took  part  with  him.  Washington  foresaw 
that  in  order  to  establish  a  more  perfect  union,  the 
East  and  the  West  must  be  bound  together  by  a  com- 
mon interest.  He  began  the  endeavor  by  the  project 
of  a  canal  from  the  Ohio  river  to  the  Potomac,  which 
Maryland  and  Virginia  should  construct.  Then  it 
was  proposed,  as  though  suggestively,  that  Delaware 
and  Pennsylvania  should  likewise  participate  in  the 
enterprise  ;  and  finally,  at  the  instance  of  James 
Madison  and  John  Tyler,  all  the  states  were  invited 
to  counsel  upon  the  subject.  The  invitation  was 
adroitly  worded  to  include  other  matters  of  general 
interest.  In  this  way  came  the  Convention  of  1787, 
and  the  Federal  Union. 

The  various  Schools  and  groups  of  Medical 
Reformers,  during  the  third  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  were  in  analogous  conditions  of  disorganiza- 
tion, mutual  jealousy,  and  in  several  instances,  of 
open  hostility.  Their  respective  medical  journals 
were  actually  at  many  times  more  unfriendly  toward 
members  of  the  other  parties  than  even  the  common 
adversary,  that  was  actively  and  persistently  seeking 
to  crush  and  annihilate  them  all. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND     ORGANIZATIONS.  533 

A  few  awoke  to  this  lamentable  condition  of  affairs, 
and  set  themselves  at  work  for  its  removal.  The  first 
effort  was  begun  by  several  Botanic  physicians  of 
Philadelphia  and  its  vicinity.  There  was  formed  there 
about  the  year  1833,  or  a  little  before,  an  organization 
by  the  name  of  the  "  Pennsylvania  Associate  Medical 
Society  of  Botanic  Physicians."  The  leading  man  in 
the  movement  was  Dr.  John  B.  Howell.  He  was  a 
native  of  England,  and  had  pursued  the  study  of  med- 
icine with  Dr.  Thornton,  of  London.  He  came  to 
America  in  1793,  and  engaged  at  once  in  the  pursuit 
of  his  profession.  He  was  zealous  in  the  promulga- 
tion of  his  peculiar  sentiments,  and  did  not  rest  till 
he  had  established  a  society  to  uphold  them.  In  his 
address  as  president,  in  1836,  he  then  made  the 
enumeration  of  the  true  leaders  of  the  movement. 

"Another  individual  arose  who  was  eminently  fitted 
to  advance  the  cause.  Possessing  by  nature  an  origi- 
nal cast  of  mind,  searching  and  inquisitive,  fond  of 
the  solitude  of  the  forest,  his  favorite  pursuit  was  in 
searching  among  the  roots  and  flowers  of  the  field  and 
forest  for  remedies  to  arrest  disease  and  ameliorate 
the  condition  of  the  human  race.  This  was  Nicholas 
CuLPEPER.  With  him  may  be  classed  the  well  known 
Parkins,  author  of  a  work  of  great  merit,  though  too 
little  known.  The  Holy  Te»iple  of  Wisdom.  Also, 
Rafinesque,  Richard  Hill,  James  Morrison,  Samuel 
Thomson,  Horton  Howard,  and  others  in  our  own 
country  particularly  calculated  for  such  pursuits." 

Dr.  Thomas  Cooke  had  been  a  student  of  Dr.  Howell, 
and  had  been  thoroughly  indoctrinated  by  him  in  the 
conviction,  that  for  the  promotion  of  the  cause  of 
Reform  in  medicine,  union  among  its  supporters  is 
absolutely  necessary  ;  because,  besides  popular  preju- 
dice, there   was    also  the  combined   opposition  to   be 


534  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

encountered  of  a  privileged  medical  aristocracy.  Dr. 
Howell  died  in  1839,  leaving  this  sentiment  as  an 
heir-loom  to  those  who  were  to  succeed  him.  Doctor 
Cooke  immediately  took  up  the  work.  Associated 
with  him  was  a  group  of  practitioners,  several  of 
whom  had  been  affiliated  with  the  different  schools, 
but  had  become  convinced  that  good  sense  and  a  true 
loyal  regard  for  the  best  interests  of  Reform  in  med- 
icine imperatively  required  the  laying  aside  of  per- 
sonal rivalship  and  animosity,  for  the  purpose  of 
friendly  professional  relations.  They  began  tenta- 
tively by  the  establishing  of  a  semi-monthly  period- 
ical at  Philadelphia,  The  Botanic  Medical  Reformer  and 
Home  Physician.  Dr.  Cooke  was  the  editor,  and 
explained  its  purpose  to  be  the  uniting  of  the  Botanic 
physicians.  He  added  that  they  would  then  be 
unconquerable.  "We  shall  do  all  in  our  power," 
said  he,  "  to  cement  the  bonds  of  affection  between 
the  Botanic  brotherhood,  who  have  so  long  been 
estranged." 

As  though  he  had  taken  the  mantle  of  Dr.  Howell, 
his  preceptor,  he  thus  began  by  reiterating  his  senti- 
ments. In  his  first  number  he  enumerated  as  "Bene- 
factors of  Mankind,"  Nicholas  Culpeper,  who  lived  in 
the  Seventeenth  Century,  and  published  a  series  of 
works  which  set  forth  a  very  complete  Botanic  Prac- 
tice ;  Samuel  Thomson,  who  had  caused  a  revolution 
in  medicine  ;  Elisha  Smith,  Horton  Howard,  and 
Wooster  Beach,  whom  he  distinguished  as  "  the  first 
man  that  attempted  by  means  of  Reform  medical 
schools  to  elevate  the  standard  of  physicians."  Doc- 
tors Thomas  Hersey,  T.  V.  Morrow,  Alva  Curtis  and 
John  J.  Steele  were  also  included. 

The   publishers   of   the  Refonner   further   declared 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  535 

that  they  were  not  the  partisans  of  any  school  or  par- 
ticular set  of  men,  neither  for  the  ancients  nor  the 
moderns,  but  of  every  age  and  nation.  They  were 
not  desirous  to  be  particularly  eminent  in  regard  to 
theoretical  medicine,  but  aimed  rather  at  the  pursuit 
of  medicine  practically.  Hence  it  was  that  they 
desired  better  instruction  for  practitioners,  and 
praised  Dr.  Beach  as  having  advanced  beyond  Dr. 
Thomson.  "  We  highly  appreciate  the  labors  of  Dr. 
Samuel  Thomson,"  said  the  veteran  Thomas  Hersey, 
"and  contend  that  much  remains  to  be  done,  beyond 
all  that  he  has  ever  known  ;  the  Healing  Art  is  yet  in 
its  cradle,  and  must  not  be  strangled  there." 

THE    NAME    "  ECLECTIC  "    CHOSEN. 

The  next  step  was  the  adopting  of  a  new  name. 
One  journal  had  denominated  the  Reformer  a  Thom- 
sonian  magazine,  while  the  Southern  Botanic  Reformer 
declared  that  its  purpose  was  "  to  support  the  Ameri- 
can Practice  of  Dr.  Wooster  Beach,  and  the  doctrine 
of  the  Reformed  College  at  Worthington." 

Dr.  Cooke  replied  that  he  had  never  professed  to  be 
a  Thomsonian,  or  supported  any  one  system  of  prac- 
tice exclusively.  "We  have  expressly  stated,"  he 
added,  "  that  we  were  Eclectics  It  is  true  that  we 
have  always  expressed  ourselves  in  favor  of  Dr. 
Beach  and  his  American  Practice,  as  also  the  Worth- 
ington College."  He  then  followed  this  avowal  with 
a  significant  retort  : 

"We  have  also  always  expressed  favorable  senti- 
ments in  regard  to  the  establishment  of  Reformed 
Botanic  Schools  and  Colleges  ;  but  we  cannot  see 
wherein  the  Thomsonian  system  requires  a  College  to 


536  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

elucidate  more  particularly  the  ideas  of  Dr.  Thomson 
en  Medicine.  The  Book  has  its  all.  Go  beyond  that, 
and  Dr.  Thomson  himself  says  :  '  He  knoweth 
it  not  !  '  " 

This  is  the  first  instance  in  which  the  term  Eclectic 
had  been  employed  as  a  distinguishing  appellation  by 
any  one  of  the  groups  of  Medical  Reformers.  It 
seems,  however,  to  have  always  been  an  attractive 
designation.  We  often  observe  the  apparent  annoy- 
ance of  physicians  of  the  orthodox  school,  and  their 
eager  protest  that  they  also  were  Eclectic.  The  term 
was  first  used  to  distinguish  a  school  of  practitioners 
in  the  reign  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Vespasian,  eigh- 
teen centuries  ago.  It  was  then  applied  to  a  branch 
of  the  Pneumatists,  who  were  distinguished  for 
their  philosophic  character  and  superior  professional 
acumen.* 

There  also  appeared  a  group  in  Germany  in  the 
Sixteenth  Century  that  endeavored  to  establish  a  sys- 
tem derived  from  the  Dogmatic  teachings  of  the 
School  of  Hippokrates,  the  psychic  doctrines  of 
Paracelsus,  and  other  notions  then  extant.  Professor 
Waterhouse  applied  the  designation  to  Dr.  Thomson 
himself,  and  a  little  while  afterward  Dr.  Isaac  J. 
Sperry,  of  Connecticut,  and  a  writer  in  the  Western 
Medical  Reformer^  simultaneously  gave  it  to  Dr.  Beach. 
Its  adoption  by  Dr.  Cooke  and  his  associates  seems  to 
have  been   suggested   by   Professor  Rafinesque,  with 


♦  Page  89.  The  Eclectics  were  characterized  for  their  extensive  learning,  and 
their  remarkable  lack  of  medical  bigotry.  Galen  himself  professed  to  be  of  their 
number,  and  he  derived  from  them  many  of  his  procedures  and  doctrines.  The 
Eclectic  school  flourished  for  sever  1  centuries,  till  the  religious  and  political 
changes  had  transformed  the  constitution  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  obscured  all 
scientific  learning. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  537 

whom    Dr.  Cooke   was   familiar,  and   who   was   then 
living-  in  Philadelphia.* 

The  next  step  was  the  organization  of  the  ^^  Eclectic 
Botanic  Medical  Association  of  Pennsylvania,"  in 
place  of  the  society  over  which  Dr.  Howell  had  pre- 
sided. This  was  effected  on  the  tenth  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1840. f  The  preamble  and  constitution  set  forth 
the  objects  to  be  organized  activity,  and  the  devising 
of  means  for  the  practical  and  theoretical  instructions 
of  medical  students.  The  organization  was  afterward 
.expanded  into  a  broader  field,  and  continued  about 
thirty  years,  under  the  name  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  of  Pennsylvania. 

DR.    morrow's    overture    FOR    ORGANIZATION. 

The  action  and  course  of  policy  indicated  by  the 
organization  at  Philadelphia,  soon  met  with  a  very 
wide  approval.  Dr.  Beach  early  signified  his  gratifi- 
cation. Dr.  Morrow  went  further,  and  welcomed  it  as 
opening  the  way  for  a  general  union  of  all  the 
Botanic  Schools. 

Dr.Morrow  had  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  Reformed 
Medicine  from  conviction.  He  had  devoted  his  ener- 
gies and  private  fortune  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  institu- 

*  They  had  purchased  the  plates  of  Professor  Rafinesque's  treatise  on  the 
Medical  Flora  0/  North  America,  and  reprinted  a  part  of  the  work  in  the 
Re/ortner.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  this  work  Rafinesque  had  described  the 
various  classes  of  physicians,  naming  Eclectics  among  them.  "  The  Eclectics," 
said  he,  "  are  those  who  select  and  adopt  in  practice  whatever  is  beneficial,  and 
who  change  their  prescriptions  according  to  emergencies,  circumstances,  and 
acquired  knowledge."  Writing  to  Dr.  Beach,  in  1840,  he  gave  his  adhesion  to  the 
American  Reformed  Practice,  in  contradistinction  to  the  "Mineral"  and 
Thomsonian. 

t  Among  the  members  were  Doctors  Thomas  Cooke,  Persius  F.  Sweet,  W. 
Brooks,  O.  K.  Sammis.  Dr.  Sweet  was  elected  president,  and  Dr.  Henry 
Hollembaek,  secretary. 


538  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

tion  at  Worthington.  He  was  not  easily  disheartened. 
When  financial  disaster  in  the  country  and  furious 
persecution  had  made  it  unwise  to  continue  longer  in 
that  place,  he  perceived  in  this  experience  a  call  to 
a  wider  field  of  activity.  It  was  a  political  war-cry  at 
that  period,  "  The  union  of  the  Whigs  for  the  sake  of 
the  Union."  As  if  taking  a  suggestion,  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  of  Pennsylvania  was  preparing 
for  an  analogous  union  of  Botanic  and  Reformed 
physicians,  for  the  sake  of  reform  in  the  Practice  of 
Medicine. 

Dr.  Morrow  now  assented  cordially  to  this  proposi- 
tion. He  desired  earnestly  an  abatement  of  the 
animosities,  and  a  final  terminating  of  the  angry  con- 
troversies between  Medical  Reformers.  Because  of 
the  want  of  union,  he  wrote  to  Dr.  Cooke,  all  efforts 
for  the  accomplishment  of  the  great  ends  so  much 
desired,  must  of  necessity  be  only  partially  successful. 
"  I  hope  the  period  is  not  far  distant,"  added  he,  "when 
the  friends  of  Medical  Reform  will  take  such  meas- 
ures as  will  lead  to  the  most  perfect  union,  prepara- 
tory to  the  inaking  of  a  great  concentrated  effort  in 
the  cause  in  which  they  are  engaged  ;  and  I  believe 
that  the  present  would  be  a  most  favorable  moment 
to  set  on  foot  some  plan  which  would  lead  to  the  con- 
summation of  that  object." 

Dr.  Morrow  accordingly  proposed  that  a  Conven- 
tion of  the  friends  of  Medical  Reform  in  the  United 
States,  should  be  held  at  Harrisburg,  Pittsburg  or 
Baltimore.  It  was  to  be  composed  of  all  who  were  in 
sympathy  with  the  purpose,  who  might  choose 
to  attend,  "  whether  professional  or  not,  or  whether 
belonging  to  one  division  of  the  Botanic  Fraternity  or 
another." 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  539 

The  object  of  the  Convention  was  explained  to 
be  to  adopt  measures  to  result  in  the  common  good 
of  all. 

Writing-  again  in  December,  Dr.  Morrow  gave  a 
more  complete  synopsis  of  the  matter.  He  proposed 
that  the  Convention  should  appoint  a  National  Exec- 
utive Committee  with  power  to  superintend  the 
interests  of  Medical  Reform.  That  Committee  was 
also  in  its  turn  to  appoint  sub-committees  in  every 
Congressional  district  in  the  Union,  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  subscriptions  to  a  fund  not  to  exceed  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

The  purpose  of  this  fund  was  to  establish  a 
National  Reformed  Medical  Institution  for  instruction, 
which  should  be  capable  of  accommodating  five 
hundred  to  one  thousand  students.  In  connection 
with  the  Institution,  he  further  proposed  to  have  an 
Infirmary  or  Hospital  for  the  reception  and  treatment 
of  patients.  This  would  afford  an  opportunity  for 
preliminary  training  in  clinical  practice,  which  at 
that  time,  was  seldom  to  be  obtained. 

The  site  for  this  National  Medical  University  was 
to  be  at  a  central  point  in  the  Union,  which  should 
combine  the  greatest  number  of  advantages,  and 
where  the  citizens  would  be  willing  to  make  liberal 
contributions,  and  the  Legislature  would  grant  a 
charter  with  suitable  privileges. 

Dr.  Morrow  submitted  a  further  plan  for  the  organ- 
izing and  maintenance  of  the  proposed  institution. 
He  made  it  an  imperative  condition,  however,  that 
the  professors  should  be  men  thoroughly  versed  in 
every  department  of  medical  knowledge,  and  devo- 
tedly attached  to  the  cause  of  Reformed  and  Botanic 
Medicine. 


540  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

In  a  third  letter  to  Dr.  Cooke,  from  Worthington, 
Dr.  Morrow  stated  that  the  proposed  measure 
was  meeting  general  favor.  Even  Dr.  Alva  Curtis 
seems  to  have  intimated  an  approval.  At  Philadel- 
phia every  voice  was  raised  in  favor  of  the  proposi- 
tion. The  Eclectic  Botanic  Medical  Association 
adopted  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Association  do  cordially  agree 
with  Professor  T.  V.  Morrow  in  regard  to  the  expedi- 
ency of  calling  a  National  Convention  of  the  Reformed 
Brotherhood,  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about  a  full, 
complete  union  of  sentiment  and  action  ;  also,  in  the 
plan  of  founding  a  Medical  College  as  a  means  of 
elevating  the  Botanic  Systems  of  Medical  Practice  to 
the  basis  of  equality  with  the  other  sciences  of  the 
age,  which  it  so  richly  deserves." 


REASONS    FOR    A    NATIONAL     ASSOCIATION. 

In  another  letter.  Dr.  Morrow  considered  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  a  National  Association.  The 
principal  impediment  was  the  jealousies  existing,  and 
the  embittered  feeling  which  practitioners  belonging 
to  the  several  divisions  of  the  Botanic  school  enter- 
tained toward  one  another. 

As  a  means  to  obviate  this  unfortunate  condition, 
he  suggested  that  a  single  journal  should  be  estab- 
lished which  should  combine  and  concentrate  the 
benefits  to  be  derived  from  the  talents  and  experience 
of  Medical  Reformers  of  every  sect.  This,  he  believed, 
would  tend  to  assuage  the  animosities  so  widely  pre- 
vailing. 

He  also  pleaded  that  common  interest  required  the 
proposed  combination.  The  improvements  and  dis- 
coveries made  by  Reformed  and  Botanic  physicians 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  541 

were  constantly  filched  from  them,  and  made  public 
as  having  originated  with  others.  At  the  same  time, 
the  men  who  had  the  right  to  the  credit  and  advan- 
tage were  "  proscribed,  persecuted,  slandered  and 
abused  by  the  merciless  parricides  of  human  weal,  in 
a  spirit  of  execrable  vengeance  and  unwarrantable 
malignity,  which  invoke  unsuccessfully  the  history  of 
the  Darkest  Ages  of  Gothic  Barbarism  to  afford  paral- 
lel instances." 


OVERTURE    FOR    A    NATIONAL    ASSOCIATION    REJECTED. 

When  Dr.  Morrow  stipulated  in  his  plan  for  union 
that  the  professors  in  the  proposed  National  Medical 
University  should  be  intelligent  in  every  department 
of  medical  knowledge,  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
he,  perhaps  unwittingly,  had  wounded  many  ambi- 
tious individuals  in  a  sensitive  place.  The  apprehen- 
sion of  being  relegated  to  some  position  of  minor 
significance  was  enough  to  rouse  their  hostility. 
Some  other  pretext  would,  of  course,  be  put  forward, 
but  this  would  be  the  secret  motive. 

There  was,  likewise,  somewhat  of  the  sectional 
animosity  existing  which  afterward  had  so  unfortu- 
nate a  culmination.  The  rejection  of  the  proposed 
union  of  Botanic  physicians  m  a  National  Association 
came  from  Dr,  Bankston,  of  the  Botanico-Medical 
College  at  Forsyth.  It  was  the  partisan  pitting 
himself  against  the  statesman.  Dr.  Bankston  pub- 
lished a  letter  to  Dr.  Curtis,  in  which  he  scorned  the 
proposition,  and  endeavored  to  screen  his  malevolence 
by  assailing  the  motives  of  others.  He  made  an  angry 
reference  to  former  controversies,  and  taunted  Dr. 
Morrow  with   a  desire  to  waft  a  "  falling  fraternity  " 


542  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Upon  the  tide  of  a  rising  system.  He  knew  of  none, 
he  averred,  who  used  the  lancet  and  calomel  with 
more  freedom  than  some  of  the  graduates  of  the 
Worthington  School,  and  concluded  with  this  ulti- 
matum: 

"  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  Doctor  Morrow,  and 
I  am  sure  that  the  Thomsonian  Fraternity  in  general 
wants  nothing  to  do  with  him  until  he  shall  adopt 
their  leading  Principles  of  Medicine." 

Dr.  Morrow  in  reply  denied  the  imputations  made 
against  him.  He  likewise  questioned  the  authority 
of  Dr.  Bankston  to  speak  for  the  general  body  of 
Botanic  physicians.  It  was  worse  than  useless,  he 
added,  to  propose  any  one  of  the  systems  of  Medical 
Reform  for  the  indiscriminate  adoption  of  all  Reform- 
ers. Those  who  really  desired  to  promote  the  leading 
interests  of  the  great  common  cause,  must  be  willing 
to  adopt  all  valuable  improvements,  whatever  the 
source  from  which  they  might  come.  He  had  himself, 
for  the  important  purposes  indicated,  earnestly  advo- 
cated the  union  of  all  Medical  Reformers  on  these 
principles  of  reciprocal  justice  and  liberality,  and  he 
would  never  consent  to  a  union  on  any  other  grounds. 

'*  THE    REFORMED    MEDICAL    SCHOOL    OF    CINCINNATI." 

Dr.  Morrow's  overture  for  a  common  alliance  of 
Botanic  physicians  to  establish  a  National  Association 
and  Medical  University,  was  thus  contumeliously 
rejected.  He  was,  nevertheless,  by  no  means  disheart- 
ened. The  time  was  not  ripe  for  a  movement  of  such 
significance.  He  was,  perhaps,  not  patient  under 
upbraiding  and  misrepresentation,  but  he  was  coura- 
geous and  resolute.       If  those  who  esteemed  them- 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  543 

selves  his  peers  and  superiors  contradicted  and  reviled 
him,  it  was  to  him  a  voice  commanding  him  to  employ 
his  energies  in  another  field.* 

He  was  compelled  by  the  stress  of  the  times  to 
suspend  his  work  at  Worthington.  Doctors  A.  H. 
Baldridge,  L.  E.  Jones,  and  others  of  his  associates, 
pointed  out  the  advantages  of  Cincinnati.  He  was 
also  led  to  suppose  that  the  law  admitted  students  of 
the  several  medical  schools  or  colleges  on  equal 
terms  to  the  Commercial  Hospital  to  witness  the 
treatment  of  diseases  and  such  surgical  operations  as 
might  be  performed. f  On  the  other  hand.  Dr.  Watson, 
a  former  professor  at  Worthington,  who  had  turned 
back  to  the  old  practice,  pleaded  hard  to  dissuade 
him,  declaring  that  if  he  attempted  to  introduce  the 
Reformed  school  there  he  would  meet  with  utter 
defeat.  Dr.  Morrow,  however,  was  not  deterred,  but 
promptly  removed  to  Cincinnati.  He  soon  established 
a  foothold,  and  others  coming,  the  difficulties  actually 
existing  soon  began  to  disappear. 

The  next  season,  the  "  Reformed  Medical  School 
of  Cincinnati,"  was  opened. J  It  was  by  no  means 
encouraging  ;  there  was  but  a  solitary  student.  Dr. 
Morrow  was  not  long,  however,  in  enlisting  sup- 
porters. Two  terms  were  held  in  each  year,  as  at 
Worthington,  and  in  1844,  the  Western  Medical  Reformer 
was  revived.  The  prospectus  announced  as  its  aim 
and  purpose  :  "To  effect  a  permanent  and  salutary 
reform  of  the  Healing  Art   in  the  most  enlarged  and 

*  Compare  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  xiii.,  44,  45,  46. 

+  i3y  some  hocus-pocus  the  physicians  having  control  of  the  institution  evaded 
this  provision  of  law  for  several  years. 

X  The  professors  were  Drs.  T.  V.  Morrow,  Lorenzo  E.  Jones,  A.  H.  Baldridge 
and  James  Kilbourne,  Jr.    Dr.  Kilbourne  died  a  year  later. 


544  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

liberal  spirit  of  Medical  Eclecticism."  It  defined 
this  to  be — to  discountenance  all  remedial  agents 
which  tended  directly  or  indirectly  to  injure  the 
stamina  of  the  human  constitution,  and  to  maintain 
the  proposition  that  "  successful  treatment  does  not, 
in  any  case,  require  the  use  of  medicines  that  are 
attended  with  any  risk  to  the  present  or  future  health 
of  the  patient." 

THE    ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    INSTITUTE    INCORPORATED. 

Another  course  of  lectures  for  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer of  1845,  had  been  duly  announced.  The  Reformed 
Medical  School  of  Cincinnati  was  in  its  third  year  ; 
and  although  it  had  no  legal  authority  to  confer  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  its  classes  numbered 
about  thirty  genuine  students  of  medicine.  The 
success  warranted  the  asking  for  an  act  of  incorpora- 
tion. An  application  was  accordingly  made  to  the 
General  Assembly,  signed  by  ttie  Mayor  of  Cincinnati, 
by  members  of  the  City  Council  and  by  eleven  hun- 
dred citizens,  many  of  them  of  the  highest  respecta- 
bility. 

Colonel  James  Kilbourne,  so  long  the  mainstay  of 
the  College  at  Worthington,  was  now  the  untiring 
champion  of  the  desired  legislation.  He  attended  the 
meetings  of  the  legislative  committees,  and  labored 
with  members  individually  in  its  behalf.  It  passed 
the  House  of  Representatives  with  little  objection, 
but  met  a  strenuous  opposition  in  the  Senate.  Its 
friends  in  that  body  procured  an  order  to  refer  it  to 
the  Committee  on  Corporations,  that  it  might  not  be 
smothered  or  defeated  by  intentional  misdirection. 

Meanwhile,  the  professors  of  the  Medical  College 
of  Ohio  employed  every  art  at  their  command  and  put 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  545 

forth  their  entire  energy,  social  and  political,  to 
secure  its  defeat.  They  attempted  to  obtain  remon- 
strances, but  these  had  less  than  sixty  signatureis, 
many  of  them  of  physicians  of  their  own  party.  The 
bill  was  reported  with  the  recommendation  that  it 
should  become  a  law.* 

Dr.  O'Ferrall,  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Medical  Colleges  and  Medical  Societies,  was  frantic 
in  his  opposition  to  the  proposed  legislation.  He 
attacked  the  motives  and  reputation  of  those  inter-' 
ested  in  it,  making  the  grotesque  and  extraordinary 
assertion  that  "  Medical  science  does  not  need,  nor  is 
it  susceptible  of  further  improvement,  or  reform." 

He  finally  moved  to  postpone  the  subject  till  the 
ensuing  December.  This  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  ten  to 
seventeen,  and  upon  the  final  reading  the  bill  became 
a  law. 

The  Reformed  Medical  School  was  now  "  The 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  Cincinnati." 

Dr.  Morrow  promptly  announced  the  triumphant 
event  in  the  Western  Medical  Reformer.  "  The  passage 
of  this  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  Reformed  Med- 
ical College  by  the  great  State  of  Ohio,"  said  he,  "is 
but  another  of  the  long  list  of  evidences  showing  the 
rapid  progress  of  light  among  the  People,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Medicine,  and  the  growing  prospects  of  the 
Reformed  Practice.  Our  College  will  be  in  successful 
operation  in  a  few  days,  with  a  Faculty  of  six  pro- 

*  Governor  E.  E.  Eckley,  the  chairman,  made  the  following-  emphatic 
statement,  itself  worthy  to  be  the  supreme  law  : 

'■  It  is  a  ri^ht  guaranteed  to  every  corporation  that  has  given  themselves  a 
name  and  made  application  to  the  Legislature  to  receive  '  letters  of  incorpora- 
tion;'and  your  committee  believe  that  when  an  application  is  so  m\i&c,  it  is  the 
obligatory  duty  of  the  Legishiture  to  give  them  their  rights  under  the  constitution 
SO  guaranteed.^'' 


546  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

fessors,  fully  competent  to  give  instruction  in  all  the 
departments  of  Medical  Science.  The  charter  is  per- 
petual, and  confers  all  the  powers  and  privileges 
possessed  by  any  Medical  College  in  the  United 
States." 

"  Our  College  will  be  strictly  what  its  name  indi- 
cates— Eclectic — excluding  all  such  medicines  and 
such  remedies  as  '  under  the  ordinary  circumstances 
of  their  judicious  use,  are  liable  to  produce  evil  conse- 
quences, or  endanger  the  future  health  of  the 
patient,'  while  we  draw  from  any  and  every  source  all 
such  medicine  and  modes  of  treating  disease,  as  are 
found  to  be  valuable,  and  at  the  same  time,  not 
necessarily  attended  with  bad  consequences." 

The  new  Board  of  Trustees  began  promptly  the 
work  of  organizing  and  establishing  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute.  The  Hon.  Henry  Morse,  a  promi- 
nent citizen  was  elected  president,  and  Doctors 
Thomas  V.  Morrow,  Benjamin  L.  Hill,  Hiram  Cox, 
Lorenzo  E.  Jones,  James  H.  Oliver  and  Alexander 
H.  Baldridge,  appointed  professors.  The  act  of  incor- 
poration authorized  a  capital  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  and  required  that  before  the  College  could 
do  business,  it  should  possess  half  this  amount. 
Promissory  notes  payable  in  five  and  ten  years  were 
issued  with  a  view  of  meeting  these  conditions. 

testimonial  to  colonel  kilbourne. 

It  remained  for  the  friends  of  the  new  corporation 
to  make  soine  appropriate  acknowledgment  to  Colonel 
Kilbourne.  A  meeting  was  held  at  the  College 
Building,  at  Worthington,  at  which  Dr.  Morrow,  in 
the  presence  of  a  large  assemblage,  presented  to  him 
in  their  name  a  silver  pitcher,  duly  ornamented  and 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  547 

inscribed.  Then,  addressing  the  worthy  recipient, 
he  recounted  the  operations  of  the  Reformed  School 
of  Medicine,  beginning  with  the  endeavors  of  Doctor 
Beach,  and  the  achievements  at  Worthington.  "We 
were  assailed  on  every  side  by  the  mass  of  the  medical 
profession,"  said  he,  "  and  were  regarded  with  an  eye 
of  suspicion  by  the  people.  But  by  the  kind  and  effi- 
cient aid  of  yourself  and  worthy  colleagues  of  the 
Board,  and  by  our  untiring  exertions,  we  were  enabled 
to  accomplish  much  with  the  aid  of  such  others  as 
joined  us  during  the  ten  years  of  its  existence  here. 

"  Since  then,  by  the  aid  and  influence  of  the  friends 
of  this  benevolent  enterprise,  and  the  assistance  of 
others  having  kindred  objects  in  view,  the  illiberal 
and  intolerant  spirit  of  Medical  Monopoly  has  been 
rebuked  on  every  side. 

"  State  after  State  has  marched  forward  to  the 
noble  work,  and  blotted  out — //  is  hoped  for  ever — from 
their  statute-books,  all  laws  granting  exclusive  privi- 
leges to  one  class  of  medical  practitioners  to  oppress 
another  ;  thus  placing  each  class  before  the  commu- 
nity on  its  proper  merits." 

Dr.  Morrow  alluded  to  the  prospects  in  terms  indic- 
ative of  his  sanguine  temper  and  resolute  fidelity  to 
conviction.  He  had  gone  to  Cincinnati,  he  said,  with 
the  avowed  purpose  of  laying  the  foundation  of  an 
institution  similar  to  the  former  college  at  Worthing- 
ton. Cautious  friends  and  others  had  endeavored  to 
dissuade  him.  It  was  unequivocally  hinted  to  him 
that  if  he  had  the  temerity  to  oppose  the  popular 
practice  at  Cincinnati,  as  he  had  done  before,  his 
prospects  as  a  physician  would  soon  be  hopelessly 
crushed  beneath  the  overwhelming  power  of  the  med- 
ical profession  of  that  city.     Not  being  accustomed  to 


548  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

that  species  of  restraint,  which  would  impose  upon 
him  the  obligation  to  refrain  from  the  performing  of 
what  he  conceived  to  be  the  highest  and  most  impera- 
tive of  duties,  he  could  not  pause  to  calculate  conse- 
quences. "  I  forthwith  announced  myself  in  the  most 
public  way,"  said  he,  "  as  a  candidate  for  the  practice 
of  medicine  according  to  the  Reformed  system.  In 
addition  to  this,  I  also  proposed  delivering  a  course 
of  public  lectures  the  ensuing  fall  and  winter.  I  soon 
succeeded  in  getting  an  extensive  practice,  and  gath- 
ering around  me  a  small  but  respectable  class  of 
students.  Shortly  afterward  I  was  joined  by  other 
members  of  the  Reformed  school,  who  unhesitatingly 
hoisted  the  same  colors  and  gallantly  aided  in  plant- 
ing the  standard  of  that  cause,  which  it  was  our  pride 
and  pleasure  to  maintain." 

Colonel  Kilbourne  replied  with  an  eloquent  tribute 
to  Dr.  Morrow  and  his  associates.  Years  before  he 
had  heard  of  Dr.  Wooster  Beach,  the  great  Apostle  of 
Medical  Science,  he  had  become  convinced  of  the 
indispensable  necessity  of  a  change  in  this  important 
concern..  His  convictions  were  as  strong  at  forty-five 
years  of  age  as  they  were  now  at  seventy-five.  "  In 
my  own  person,  during  the  years  181 5- 16,  and  since,'' 
said  he,  "  I  suffered  more  from  a  constitution  then 
ruined  by  calomel,  than  I  would  have  consented  to 
endure,  anticipating  the  results,  for  all  the  wealth 
ever  possessed  by  men,  and  the  honors  that  were  ever 
in  their  gift." 

These  opinions,  thus  early  and  crtidely  formed  of 
the  need  and  practicability  of  a  great  and  radical 
change  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  he  had  found  sus- 
tained, and  much  more  exhibited  than  he  had  antici- 
pated,   in   this    great    system    of    Reform.      Colonel 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  549 

Kilbourne  then  reviewed  the  promise  of  progress  in 
medical  matters  over  Europe,  and  concluded  with 
declaring  his  confident  anticipations  that  the  institu- 
tion now  established  in  the  Queen  City  of  the  West 
would  succeed  and  prove  a  lasting  benefit  to  the 
country  and  to  the  great  family  of  man. 


EFFORTS    TO    ADVANCE    THE    CAUSE. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  was  now  launched 
upon  its  career  as  the  exponent  of  the  American 
Reformed  Practice  of  Medicine.  Dr.  Morrow  ad- 
dressed himself  with  new  energy  to  the  effort  to 
assure  its  permanent  prosperity.  In  1845,  Dr.  Wooster 
Beach  was  appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Clinical  Surgery 
and  Medicine.  This  added  to  the  prestige  of  the 
College  by  identifying  with  it  the  veteran  founder  of 
the  new  School  of  Medical  Practice.  Dr.  Joseph 
Rodes  Buchanan  was  also  chosen  Professor  of  Physi- 
ology, Institutes  of  Medicine  and  Medical  Jurispru- 
dence. He  was  also  associated  with  Dr.  Morrow  in 
the  conducting  of  the  Western  Medical  Reformer. 

In  his  letter  of  acceptance.  Dr.  Buchanan  gave  a 
synopsis  of  his  peculiar  concepts  of  Neurology  and 
cerebral  physiology,  of  which  he  claimed  the  dis- 
covery. He  believed  that  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute had  made  decided  progress  in  this  department, 
and  he  proposed  to  carry  on  his  experimental  inquir- 
ies to  practical  results.  To  acquiesce,  even  partially, 
in  the  medical  science  of  the  day,  with  its  blank  and 
profitless  department  of  Neurology,  and  its  confused 
and  defective  Materia  Medica,  he  declared,  "would 
be  a  gross  neglect  of  duty  to  the  medical  profession." 
He  would  endeavor  to  render  the  Institutes  of  Med- 


55°  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

icine  an  exact  and  valuable  department  of  medical 
science. 

By  no  means,  however,  did  Dr.  Alorrow  contemplate 
to  limit  his  future  efforts  to  the  establishment  of  a 
single  institution.  He  cherished  still  the  hope  of  a 
union  of  IMedical  Reformers  of  various  shades  ot 
sentiment  in  a  fraternal  alliance.  He  continued 
accordingly  a  friendly  correspondence  with  them, 
wherever  his  overtures  were  not  repelled. 

He  now  began  to  make  use  of  the  term  Eclectic  as  a 
designation  of  those  who  accepted  his  views.  In 
1849,  the  Faculty  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute 
put  forth  a  Circular  Address  to  the  Medical  Profession  oj 
the  United  States,  in  which  they  declared  explictly  their 
position  : 

"  The  leading  doctrine  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Pro- 
fession, to  sustain  which  this  Institute  has  been 
established,  is  :  That  the  investigation  and  the  prac- 
tice of  Medicine  should  be  entirely  free  and  untram- 
melled ;  that  no  Central  Body — no  association,  com- 
bination or  conspiracy — should  have  the  power  to 
prescribe  a  certain  standard  of  faith  or  Medical  Creed 
which  shall  be  received  and  forced  upon  every  mem- 
ber of  the  profession  by  threats  of  professional  dis- 
grace and  ruin.  We  recognize  every  enlightened, 
educated  and  honest  physician  as  standing  upon  the 
same  platform  of  professional  respectability,  and 
enjoying  the  same  rights  ;  no  matter  what  doctrines 
he  may  advocate  in  medicine,  or  what  system  of 
practice  he  may  deem  it  his  duty  to  adopt." 

Doubtless  this  manifesto  was  proinpted  to  a  great 
degree  by  the  position  which  had  been  taken  by  the 
dominant  persecuting  branch  of  the  medical  profession. 
It  was  a  sore  fact  for  them,  which  they  took  little 
pains  to  conceal,  that  the  repeal  of  the  restrictive 
laws  in  the  several   states  had   left  them  as  was  ex- 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  55I 

pressed,  "  unable  to  compel  their  brethren  to  practice 
in  accordance  with  the  views  and  wishes  of  the 
majority."  They  resolved  therefore  to  institute  a 
boycott  by  means  of  which  to  proscribe  and  punish 
these  who  would  not  yield.  "The  most  effective 
blow  would  be  given  to  the  new-born  heresy,"  said 
Dr.  Henry  G.  Piffard,  "  if  the  profession  as  a  whole 
combined  against  it."  Accordingly  a  conference  was 
held  in  New  York,  in  1846,  by  which  the  American 
Medical  Association  was  brought  into  existence  for 
this  purpose.  It  had  two  principal  objects  :  to  grasp 
and  hold  all  lucrative  offices  in  the  army  and  navy, 
the  civil  service  and  hospitals  ;  and  to  unite  against 
the  Reform  and  independent  practitioners  to  deprive 
them  of  reputable  social  standing  and  to  drive  them 
from  the  field.  In  order  to  accomplish  this  more  cer- 
tainly, a  Code  of  Ethics  was  adopted  excluding  from 
fraternal  courtesy  and  just  recognition  as  professional 
persons  *  all  who  were  not  in  harmony  with  its  condi- 
tions, and  requiring  absolute  adherence  to  these  condi- 
tions, even  when  human  life  was  at  stake. 

The  ablest  jurists  have  not  hesitated  to  declare  this 
code  "  a  combination  against  common  law  and  a  con- 
spiracy against  the  public  health."  Conscientious 
practitioners  refused  to  be  bound  by  it.  Mr.  Lawson 
Tait  declared  that  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  lend 
his  services  in  friendly  consultation  to  a  qualified 
young  practitioner,  regardless  of  his  views  of  theory 
and  practice.     "  We    must   educate  the    medical    pro- 

*  Several  lawsuits  grew  out  of  this  conduct  here  prescribed,  one  of  which,  a 
marlted  example,  resulted  in  a  verdict  of  exemplary  damages. 

Two  clergymen  of  different  communions  once  met  at  a  public  place.  "  I  can 
acknowledge  you  as  a  gentleman,"  said  tlie  Bishop  to  the  Presbyterian,  "but  not  as 
a  Christian."  The  other  replied  :  "  And  I  can  acknowledge  you  as  a  Christian,  but 
not  as  a  gentleman." 


552  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

fession  up  to  the  recogriition  of  the  higher  law,"  said 
the  late  J.  Marion  Sims,  "  the  unwritten  code  that 
regulates  the  intercourse  between  gentlemen." 

Against  such  conscienceless  proscription, Dr  Morrow 
sought  to  combine  the  several  schools  of  Reformed 
and  Botanic  Medicine.  He  believed  that  they  would 
become  more  harmonious  if  they  but  knew  one 
another  more  familiarly.  Perhaps,  if  he  had  lived  a 
few  years  longer,  he  would  have  witnessed  somewhat 
of  the  realization  of  the  hopes  which  he  had  so 
ardently  cherished.  The  other  Reformers,  who  were 
like  the  "  other  sheep  "  of  the  Gospel,*  who  were  also 
proscribed,  would  have  been  led  by  the  same  catholic 
spirit  of  fraternal  charity  to  similar  conclusions,  and 
have  united  cordially  in  one  common  alliance,  upon  a 
common  platform,  of  all  rights  for  all,  special  privi- 
leges for  none,  but  emulation  to  know  and  realize  what 
would  be  best  for  all  alike. 

With  such  purposes  and  convictions,  with  no  design 
or  desire  to  place  himself  and  associates  as  umpires 
and  leaders,  did  Thomas  V.  Morrow  adopt  for  the 
college  which  he  had  founded,  and  for  himself  and 
fellow-laborers  to  the  same  end,  the  designation  of 
Eclectic. 

scientific   and  eclectic  medical  institute. 

The  first  chapter  of  the  history  of  the  "  Scientific 
and  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  Virginia,"  are  apt 
illustrations  of  "  the  best-laid  plans  of  mice  and  men." 
The  bill  to  incorporate  the  proposed  institution  was 
introduced  in  the  House  of  Delegates,  and  passed  that 
body  in  January,  1846.     It  is  a  not  unfrequent  error  of 

*  Gospel  according  to  Johtty  x.  i6. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  553 

individuals  to  suppose  that  the  action  of  a  single 
body  is  that  of  the  entire  legislature.  Dr.  Henry  M, 
Price,  the  editor  of  the  Southern  Medical  Reformer,  and 
originator  of  the  proposed  measure,  actually  made 
such  a  mistake.  He  wrote  exultingly  to  Dr.  Morrow, 
and  to  Dr.  Thomas  Lapham,  of  the  Poughkeepsie 
Thomsonian,  declaring  his  success  in  procuring  a  most 
liberal  charter,  and  giving  a  glowing  account  of  his 
plans.  A  building  was  to  be  erected  in  Richmond. 
and  abundantly  supplied  with  apparatus  in  every 
department.  Especial  attention  would  be  given  to 
Medical  Botany,  and  to  rendering  the  student  a  prac- 
tical botanist.  The  practice  inculcated  was  to  be 
"strictly  upon  Eclectic  principles."  The  friends  of 
the  Reform  practice,  it  was  remarked,  had  confined 
themselves  too  much  to  the  principles  and  practice  of 
one — (jr  at  farthest,  a  few  individuals  ;  disregarding 
in  their  abstract  ultra  views,  many  safe  and  valuable 
remedies,  simply  because  they  are  opposed  to  the 
many  deleterious  remedies  with  which  they  are 
conjoined."  He  proceeded  to  delineate  in  glowing 
terms,  the  purposes  in  contemplation.  There  would 
be  an  extensive  building  and  suitable  apparatus  for 
every  department.  Medical  Botany,  now  so  generally 
neglected  by  Medical  Colleges  of  every  School,  was  to 
receive  special  attention,  and  pains  taken  to  render 
every  student  a  thorough,  practical  botanist.  "  The 
practice  inculcated  will  be  strictly  upon  Eclectic 
principles,"  he  wi^ote  to  Dr.  Morrow.  "  The  only 
means  to  arrive  at  perfection  in  any  branch  of  science," 
he  significantly  added,  "  is  not  by  following  the  ipse 
dixit  of  any  man  or  set  of  men,  but  by  applying  the 
'  Eclectic  Torch  '  to  all,  rejecting  their  errors  and 
gleaning  their  truths." 


554  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  bill,  nevertheless,  was  reported  favorably  in 
the  Senate,  and  passed  that  body  on  the  fifth  day  of 
February,  by  a  vote  of  seventeen  to  eleven.  All  thus 
far  seemed  fair,  as  well  as  fortunate.  It  was  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  week,  and  several  Senators,  sup- 
porters of  the  measure,  had  as  usual  left  Richmond 
for  home.  The  adversaries,  prompted  by  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  Medical  College  in  the  city,  seized  the 
opportunity  to  procure  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote 
of  the  previous  day,  several  who  had  voted  for  the  bill 
now  acting  with  them.  Dr.  Baptist,  though  of  the 
Old  School,  was  earnest  in  opposition  to  the  artifice, 
and  made  a  strong  effort  to  postpone  the  vote  till  the 
supporters  had  returned.  This  was  refused  and  the 
measure  was  lost  by  a  vote  of  seventeen  to  six  in  the 
affirmative.  It  was  not  a  second  thought,  but  an 
artful  trick  worthy  of  an  unjust  cause.  Dr.  Price  was 
deeply  chagrined,  but  determined  to  renew  the  mat- 
ter in  1S47.     This  time  he  was  successful. 

The  new  college,  however,  was  established  at 
Petersburg  instead  of  the  capital.  No  time  was  lost 
in  securing  an  effective  organization.  Dr.  Price  him- 
self took  the  chair  of  Materia  Medica  and  Dr.  Charles 
J.  Kenworthy,  his  former  student,  was  professor  of 
surgery.  Dr.  Isaac  N.  Comings,  a  professor  at 
Forsyth,  a  man  of  somewhat  pragmatic  temper,  and 
afterward  a  writer  of  ability  and  reputation,  accepted 
the  chair  of  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine.  All 
these  were  educated  men  and  able  instructors.  Dr. 
John  Thomas  became  professor  of  Chemistry.  He 
was  a  native  of  London  and  the  son  of  a  Congregational 
minister.  He  had  enjoyed  the  instruction  of  the 
ablest  teachers  of  surgery  and  medicine  ;  among  them 
Abernethy,  W.  W.  Sleight,  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  and  Sir 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  555 

Charles  Bell.  He  possessed  a  restless  temper,  and 
was  an  enthusiast  in  politics  and  religion.  Hopeless 
of  any  reform  in  medical  procedures  at  home,  he  had 
come  to  America,  only  to  find  matters  worse.  He 
would  have  returned  but  for  his  strong  republican 
proclivities.  For  a  time  he  made  his  home  in  Rich- 
mond, where  he  maintained  a  theological  controversy 
with  the  Rev.  Alexander  Campbell.  He  removed  to 
Illinois,  and  was  elected  president  and  professor  in 
the  Franklin  Medical  College.  Resigning  these 
appointments,  he  returned  to  the  East.  Fond  of  the 
study  of  Medicine,  he  had  become  disgusted  with  the 
practice,  and  with  the  routinism  of  the  men  who 
made  of  it  a  mere  trade  by  which  to  gain  a  livelihood. 
In  all  his  opinions,  medical  and  philosophic,  he  was 
eclectic.  He  insisted  upon  a  radical  reform  in  the 
organization,  theories  and  practice  of  the  medical 
profession.  He  strenuously  denounced  the  general 
practice  of  the  Medical  Colleges*  all  over  the  United 

*J.  B.  G;»LLOUi'E,  in  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  "  It  is  not  unusual 
for  one  to  pass  with  one  stride,  ex /abrica,  to  a  physician's  office,  where  he  tarries 
just  long  enough  to  leave-his  name.  Then  returning  to  his  occupation,  he  pursues 
that,  while  he  is  nominally  a  pupil  in  medicine.  When  the  Lecture-term  com- 
mences, he  bids  a  hasty  farewell  to  his  workshop,  and  soon  enrolls  himself  as  a 
member  of  a  Medical  Class.  He  matriculates,  pays  the  fees,  hears  the  Introduc- 
tory lecture,  and  then  returns  to  his  laudable  and  appropriate  employment.  In 
this  way  the  three  years  of  probation  are  spent  ;  at  the  end  of  which  he  is  sum- 
moned before  the  Faculty  for  examination  and  approval.  With  a  consciousness  of 
his  deficiencies  and  with  fearful  forebodings  as  to  the  results,  he  seats  himself  in 
their  presence.  After  stating  the  medical  properties  oi  oleuiu  J\ici»i,  missing  a. 
few  questions  in  chemistry,  telling  how  many  extremities  lheye»i!{r  has,  and  giv- 
ing a  practical  demonstration  oi paralysis  agitans,  he  is  declared  competent,  and 
sent  out  into  the  world  to  take  charge  of  the  lives  and  health  of  the  community. 
Such  is  the  history  of  the  tutelage  of  not  a  few  of  those  who  bear  the  title  of 
'  M.  D.'  The  requisites  for  graduation  are  merely  nominal.  No  attendance  upon 
the  Lectures  is  required  ;  and  the  final  examination  is  a  mere  pretense.  The  fact 
is  well  known  and  taken  advantage  of  by  scores,  who  creep  into  our  ranks  with  no 
more  knowledge  than  could  be  acquired  by  a  three  month's  study." 

At  the  time  when  tliis  was  written,  no  medical  school  stigmatized  as  "  irregu- 
lar," had  been  thus  guilty  or  derelict  ;    and  the  writer  was  not  treating  of  such. 


556  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

States,  in  graduating-  men  as  physicians  whose 
attendance  at  lectures  was  merely  nominal,  who  had 
pursued  the  study  of  medicine  for  an  insufficient 
time,  and  were  shamefully  illiterate  in  their  general 
scholarship.  He  was  appointed  a  professor  with 
permission  to  select  his  own  department,  and  made 
choice  of  Chemistry  as  being  the  pursuit  most 
neglected.  He  also,  at  request  of  the  Trustees, 
delivered  the  lectures  upon  anatomy,  but  only  till  a 
professor  should  be  appointed.  Dr.  Paul  W.  Allen,  of 
Massachusetts,  a  ripe  scholar  in  medicine  and  classic 
literature,  having  graduated  at  the  institution  was 
chosen  for  the  place. 

Despite  the  original  purpose  of  Dr.  Price  that  the 
teaching  should  be  Eclectic,  like  that  of  the  Reformed 
Medical  School  at  Cincinnati,  the  expectation  was 
not  realized.  A  spirit  of  hostility  had  arisen  between 
the  prominent  instructors  of  the  two  institutions. 
Dr.  Comings,  like  Dr.  Bankston,  was  strenuously 
opposed  to  any  affiliation. 

The  students  at  Petersburg,  he  boasted,  were  "no 
mongrels — none  that  advocate  the  peculiar  notions  of 
the  Beachites."  He  further  declared,  assuming  the 
authority  of  the  institute  : 

"  We  wish  it  fully  undersiood  that  our  Institute  is 
not  the  advocate  of  the  peculiar  notions  of  those 
termed  Eclectics  in  the  West,  but  that  w^e  are  Eclectics 
in  the  broad  sense  of  the  word — which  leads  us  to 
select  from  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  the  past  all 
that  is  truly  valuable  in  Medical  Science,  and  to 
reject  that  which  is  not  found  in  accordance  with 
those  true  principles  which  are  founded  on  the  natural 
laws  of  life." 

That    Dr.    Morrow  had    been  likewise  provoked  to 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  557 

unfriendly  feeling  in  his  turn,  is  not  improbable.  He 
had  been  snubbed  by  Dr.  Bankston,  and  again  his 
overtures  were  repelled  where  he  had  expected 
friendly  sympathy.  His  associate  professor  and  editor, 
Dr.  Buchanan,  had  had  a  disagreeable  experience  with 
Dr.  Curtis  and  entertained  no  fraternal  regard  for 
that  school  of  physicians.  He  took  no  pains  to  conceal 
his  aversion  and  disdain  ;  and  thenceforward  opposed 
every  attempt  at  union  of  the  several  parties  of 
reformers,  except  upon  the  condition  of  subordination 
to  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute. 

The  institution  at  Petersburg  was  short-lived.  It 
had  able  teachers,  but  in  several  of  them  the  love  of 
ruling  was  too  strong  to  permit  of  harmony  and 
successful  achievement.  Dr.  Comings  was  not  long  on 
good  terms  with  his  associates,  and  others  were 
speedily  discouraged.  The  auspicious  beginning  had 
an  unfortunate  ending,  and  the  Scientific  and  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  of  Virginia  passed  out  of  existence 
and  even  out  of  memory.  It  was  like  the  collapsing  of 
a  bubble. 

CALVIN    NEWTON. 

A  new  advocate  and  champion  had  arisen  in  New 
England.  Calvin  Newton  came  into  the  field  well 
equipped  for  the  work.*  He  possessed  not  only 
ambition  and  superior  mental  training,  but  also  tlie 
constructive  talent  of  a  statesman,  and  that  fidelity 
to   conviction  which  consecrated  every  other  quality. 

*Dr.  Newton  was  a  Baptist  preacher  and  theologian.  He  had  graduated  at 
Union  College  ;  after  which  he  was  live  j-ears  the  jirofessor  of  Hebrew  and  Rhet- 
oric at  the  institution  at  VVatervillc  in  Maine,  and  then  president  and  professor  in 
a  Theological  Seminary,  and  after  that  for  five  years  the  pastor  of  a  congregation. 
He  then  engaged  in  the  study  of  Medicine. 


558  HISTORY    OF    IMEniCINE. 

Finding  his  professional  duties  incompatible  with 
his  health  he  engaged  in  the  study  of  medicine,  and 
attended  lectures  at  the  Berkshire  ]\Iedical  College,  of 
which  Dr.  Henry  H.  Childs  was  president.  He  often 
heard  Governor  Childs  denounce  what  he  called  "the 
want  of  principle  displayed  by  the  Regular  profession," 
and  charge  the  physician  with  "  often  thwarting  the 
recuperative  efforts  of  nature,  and  seeking  a  cloak  for 
his  ignorance  in  the  formidable  technicalities  of  his 
craft." 

Governor  Childs  also  opposed  strenuously  the  pro- 
scriptive  medical  legislation,  so  much  sought  for  and 
often  obtained  by  the  sciolists  and  sophomores  of  the 
medical  profession.  There  should  be  no  persecution 
of  the  followers  of  other  systems,  he  declared — no 
compulsory  measures.  "Vain  are  legal  enactments," 
said  he,  "to  supply  the  deficiency  of  a  Scientific 
Faculty." 

The  physician,  he  insisted,  "  should  be  essentially 
Eclectic,"  explaining  this  as  meaning,  "not  only  to  cull, 
to  select,  to  adopt  from  all  that  is  known,  but  to  ex- 
periment, and  to  experiment  on  principle  too,  and  to 
add  to  his  armory  new  weapons  for  his  daily  warfare 
with  disease." 

Entertaining  such  sentiments  Calvin  Newton  gradu- 
ated in  1845,  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine.  He 
styled  himself  an  Eclectic  and  acted  consistently  with 
that  profession.  He  had  given  the  new  remedies  and 
procedures  of  the  Botanic  schools  a  careful  attention 
and  was  convinced  of  their  superior  efficiency.  He 
was,  however,  no  blind  adherent  of  medical  leaders  of 
any  school.  He  was  quick  to  perceive  what  he  re- 
garded as  the  shortcomings  of  Samuel  Thomson  and 
Alva  Curtis,  as  well  as  what  he  considered  the  stiper- 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  559 

ficial  teachings  of  Wooster  Beach.  He  was  careful 
however  to  withhold  from  them  no  credit  for  the 
much  which  they  had  done,  nor  was  he  desirous  to 
break  off  relations  with  their  followers.  He  aimed 
instead,  to  enlist  them  with  him  in  the  purpose  and 
effort  to  place  the  New  School  upon  an  immovable 
basis  as  a  healing"  art  and  a  learned  profession. 

"  THE    NEW    ENGLAND    MEDICAL    ECLECTIC." 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1846,  he  began,  as  the 
first  necessary  step,  the  publication,  semi-monthly,  at 
Worcester,  of  the  New  England  Medical  Eclectic  and 
Guide  to  Health.  In  the  first  article  he  explained  his 
position.  He  was  pledged  to  sustain  no  class  of 
physicians  or  mode  of  practice  ;  he  belonged  to  the 
Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  was  in  fellowship 
with  his  medical  brethren,  but  he  did  not  believe 
medicine  incapable  of  improvement.  "  The  time  has 
come,"  said  he,  "  in  which  to  gain  the  confidence  of 
the  people.  The  medical  practitioner  must  place 
himself  on  the  platform  of  sound  professional  prin- 
ciples." 

Such  was  the  foundation  of  Eclectic  Medicine  in  the 
Eastern  States,  and  such  the  master-builder  by  whom 
it  was  laid.  Calvin  Newton  stood  upon  an  eminence 
to  which  few  have  attained.  He  was  emphatically  a 
man  who  "reverenced  conscience  as  his  king."  Broad 
in  his  knowledge,  pure  of  speech  and  contact,  un- 
selfish in  his  aims  and  lofty  in  his  aspirations,  he 
would  never  resort  to  unworthy  means  to  accomplish 
an  object,  nor  be  an  instrument  to  elevate  unworthy 
men  or  to  promote  unworthy  schemes  ;  but  he  freely 
consented  to  give  up  personal  honors,  and  to  labor  in 
an  unpopular  cause  for  the  sake  of  doing  good. 


560  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

He  aimed  to  unite  the  Botanic  physicians,  at  that 
time  discordant  and  even  hostile  to  one  another,  and 
to  lead  them  to  higher  ground,  morally  as  well  as 
professionally.  He  was  to  a  degree  successful,  and 
Eastern  Reformers  rallied  to  his  support  ;  but  he 
encountered  fierce  antagonism  from  _  Dr.  Curtis  and 
many  of  the  other  Botanic  physicians.  He  persevered, 
however,  and  though  often  baffled  and  even  deceived, 
he  successfully  accomplished  what  had  been  attempted 
before  in  vain,  the  establishment  of  a  medical  col- 
lege in  New  England  for  the  higher  instruction  of 
students. 


THE    MEDICAL    SCHOOL    AT    WORCESTER. 

In  1845,  the  sentiment  had  become  general  m  the 
East  that  the  standard  of  medical  attainments  must 
be  raised  higher.  There  had  been  repeated  attempts 
to  establish  a  medical  college,  but  jealousies  and 
diversities  of  judgment  had  led  to  their  failure.  Dr. 
Newton  now  took  the  matter  in  hand.  He  began  by 
giving  instruction  to  students  in  the  several  branches 
of  medical  knowledge  at  his  own  office  in  Worcester. 
The  Uxbridge  Botanic  Medical  Society  also  employed 
a  lecturer,  in  the  latter  months  of  that  j-ear,  to  deliver 
a  course.  This  was  followed  by  a  medical  Convention 
in  January,  at  which  resolutions  were  adopted  asking 
the  two  instructors  to  unite  their  labors,  and  agreeing 
to  establish  "  the  Worcester  Medical  School,"  with 
four  chairs  and  a  Board  of  fifteen  Trustees  ;  the 
Society  assuming  responsibility  for  the  necessary 
expenses.  The  School  was  opened  at  Worcester  in 
March,  1846,  and  the  success  was  most  gratifying  to 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  561 

all.*  An  application  was  made  to  the  Trustees  of 
the  Southern  Botanico-Medical  College,  of  Georgia, 
to  adopt  this  school  as  a  branch  of  that  institution. 
The  Board  of  Trustees  acceded  to  the  proposition,  and 
adopted  resolutions  recognizing  "  the  Worcester 
Botanico-Medical  College,"  and  giving  to  its  Faculty 
the  full  authority  to  confer  medical  degrees.  The 
condition  was  prescribed,  likewise,  that  all  the  profes- 
sors of  the  Branch  should  be  elected  by  the  Trustees 
of  the  Mother  College,  with  the  qualifying  proviso 
that  all  nominations  and  removals  should  originate 
with  the  Directors  of  the  Branch  Institution.  Dr. 
Newton  was  then  elected  a  professor,  together  with 
Doctors  Isaac  N.  Comings,  William  H.  Fonerden,  and 
Lanier  Bankston,  who  held  similar  positions  in  the 
College  at  Macon.  Under  this  arrangement,  a  second 
term  of  lectures  was  held,  and  a  class  graduated. 

This  arrangement  was  then  abrogated,  and  the 
students  of  the  institution,  for  two  subsequent 
seasons,  received  their  degrees  at  the  college  in 
Petersburg. 

Dr.  Newton  found  his  independent  attitude  as  a 
physician  and  medical  teacher  was  regarded  by  many 
with  distrust  and  apprehension.  Dr.  Alva  Curtis 
announced  his  purpose  to  establish  a  rival  college  in 
Boston.  He  addressed  a  letter  to  Dr.  Newton  couched 
in  terms  at  once  uncourteous,  magisterial  and  over- 
bearing. He  belabored  him  for  having  taken  the 
name  of  Eclectic  for  his  school  and  journal,  charging 
that  he  did  this  with  a  purpose  to  attract  to  him  the 


*  A  student,  who  had  already  attended  a  course  at  the  Harvard  Medical 
School,  at  Boston,  declared  positively,  '  that  the  lecturers  here,  upon  the  various 
branches  of  medical  study,  were  superior  to  those  who  lectured  upon  the  same 
branches  in  the  Boston  School." 


562  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

followers  of  Dr.  Beach.  He  demanded  that  the  col- 
lege at  Worcester  should  be  united  in  less  than  thirty- 
days  with  the  one  that  he  was  about  to  establish  in 
Boston.* 

Dr.  Newton  replied  to  these  assaults  firmly,  and 
with  dignity.  The  term  Eclectic,  he  explained,  had 
been  adopted  by  him  in  1845,  when  he  was  not  aware 
that  it  was  about  to  become  characteristic  of  Beach- 
ism.  He  had  changed  it  after  discovering  that  fact.f 
He  prefaced  the  explanation  by  a  stern  rebuke  to  Dr. 
Curtis  for  his  ill  breeding  and  vulgarity,  adding  the 
remark,  significant  alike  in  regard  to  him  and  to  Dr. 
Beach  :  "  Each  of  these  gentlemen  has  had  the 
means  of  knowing  our  position,  and  each  seems 
equally  offended  that  we  do  not  call  him  master^ 

An  arrogant  man  generally  quails  before  a  resolute 
opponent.  Dr.  Curtis  was  no  exception  to  this  rule. 
The  time,  nevertheless,  was  som.ewhat  precarious  for 
the  College.  The  Thomsonian  Society  of  Connecticut 
had  just  received  a  charter  from  the  legislature  as  the 
"  Botanico-Medical  Society,"  with  power  to  establish 
a  school  for  the  education  of  students  for  the  Botanic 
practice.  It  had  adopted  a  rigid  Thomsonian  plat- 
form, and  many  of  its  members  regarded  Dr.  Newton 
with  jealous  apprehension.  There  was  a  passion 
likewise  entertained  by  several  of  the  number  for  the 

*  Dr.  Curtis  was  not  delicate  in  his  choice  of  terms.  He  denominated  the 
physicians  of  the  Reformed  School,  "  the  poisoning,  blistering,  cupping,  bleeding, 
mongrelizing  Beachites  or  Eclectics."  It  will  be  remembered  that  Dr.  Morrow,  in 
his  response  to  the  allegations  of  Dr.  Bankston,  in  1842,  had  utterly  disavowed  the 
procedures  here  imputed. 

+  The  New  England  Medical  Eclectic  had  been  discontinued,  and  the  Netu 
England  Botanic  Medical  and  Surgical  Jotirnal  published  in  its  place.  After 
this  the  Massachusetts  i/iiy  described  the  school  at  Worcester  as  "  Eclectic,"  and 
Dr.  Newton  took  the  occasion  to  explain  that  the  term  was  used  "  by  those  in  New 
England  who  belong  to  no  medical  clique,  and  have  no  party  end  to  answer." 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  563 

•distinction  implied  by  the  collegiate  title  of  Professor. 
Resolutions  were  adopted  at  the  first  meeting  for  the 
establishment  of  a  full  course  of  medical  lectures,  and 
for  a  conference  with  the  Faculty  of  the  Botanico- 
Medical  College  of  Ohio  to  effect  that  result. 

The  friends  of  the  enterprise  at  Worcester  rallied 
to  its  support.  The  Bay  State  Medical  Reform  Asso- 
ciation, of  which  Dr.  Walter  Burnham  was  president, 
was  the  first.  The  New  Hampshire  Botanic  Medical 
Society,  then  just  incorporated  by  the  legislature,  also 
signified  its  adhesion.  The  Thomsonian  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York  passed  a  vote  of  commendation. 
Dr.  Curtis  was  abashed,  and  endeavored  to  restore 
amicable  relations.  The  Connecticut  Botanico-Med- 
ical  Society  held  an  adjourned  meeting,  and  adopted 
resolutions  nominating  Doctors  John  W.  Johnson  and 
Isaac  J.  Sperry  for  Trustees  of  the  College,  demand- 
ing as  a  condition  that  Dr.  Curtis  and  another  candi- 
date be  appointed  professors,  and  appointing  a  Com- 
mittee to  arrange  terms  of  union  between  the  Society 
and  College. 

The  School  at  Worcester  was  organized  anew,  with 
the  title  of  "  the  New  England  Botanico-Medical 
College."  New  members  were  elected  to  the  Faculty. 
Dr.  J.  M.  Buzzell,  of  Maine,  became  Professor  of 
Surgery,  and  Doctors  John  Kost  and  E.  Morgan 
Parritt,  of  the  Cleveland  Botanico-Medical  College, 
were  elected  to  other  chairs.  Dr.  Alva  Curtis  was 
appointed  Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of 
Medicine,  but  did  not  accept.  Thus,  the  efforts  to 
establish  a  rival  school  were  discontinued,  and  for  a 
season  all  seemed  to  be  at  peace. 

Applications  had  been  made  to  the  Legislature  of 
Massachusetts  every  winter,  for  an  act  of  incorpora- 


564  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

tion.  The  Chancellors  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical 
Society,  Dr.  Jacob  Bigelow,  Dr.  John  Ware  and  Dr. 
Henry  Clarke  of  the  Harvard  Medical  School,  had 
vigorously  and  even  fiercely  opposed  the  measure. 
Four  thousand  petitioners,  in  1848,  had  been  granted 
leave  to  withdraw  their  application.  This,  however, 
was  the  last  time.  One  of  the  opponents  confessed, 
that  so  far  as  his  knowledge  extended,  a  majority  of 
the  community  favored  the  Reform  practice.  That 
year  for  Dr.  Newton  and  his  associates,  had  been  one 
of  conflict  ;  in  which,  however,  they  were  always  vic- 
torious. In  1849,  they  renewed  their  application  and 
pressed  it  personally.  On  the  tenth  day  of  March, 
the  bill  to  incorporate  the  "  Worcester  Medical  Insti- 
tution," had  passed  both  Houses  of  Legislature,  and 
received  the  approval  of  Governor  Briggs. 

This  last  name  to  the  College  was  adopted  because 
there  was  a  disposition  among  Botanic  Societies  and 
physicians  to  change  the  name  of  their  school  of 
practice.  The  Thomsonian  Medical  Society  of  New 
York  had  obtained  a  certificate  of  incorporation  by 
the  name  of  Physo-Medical.  The  Bay  State  Medical 
Reformed  Association,  likewise  organized  anew  as 
the  "Massachusetts  Physo-Medical  Society,"  and 
adopted  a  constitution  which  Dr.  Newton  had  prepared. 
The  College  of  Cincinnati  was  also  known  thence- 
forward as  the  "  Physio-Medical  Institute,"  and  Dr. 
Curtis,  himself,  formally  disclaimed  the  title  of 
Thomsonian.  The  purpose  was  universally  apparent  to 
lay  aside  all  names  that  perpetuated  the  memory  of 
Samuel  Thomson  and  his  exclusive  procedures. 

The  act  of  incorporation  granted  to  the  Worcester 
Medical  Institution  did  not  authorize  the  conferring 
of  degrees.     They  were  now  obtained  from  the  Eclec- 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  565 

tic  Medical  Institute  of  Petersburg.     An  amendment, 
however,  was  obtained  for  that  purpose  in  1851. 

METROPOLITAN    MEDICAL    COLLEGE. 

More  than  once  had  the  position  of  Dr.  Newton  and 
the  Worcester  Medical  Institution  been  exposed  to 
severe  criticism.  Nevertheless,  he  went  forward, 
working-  incessantly,  and  disregarding  fatigue  and 
hostility  alike.  Presently  an  unhappy  controversy 
took  place  in  1850,  between  him  and  Dr.  I,  M. 
Comings.  The  project  had  been  entertained  to  erect 
a  building  for  the  College,  and  Dr.  Comings  opposed 
it  as  certain  to  involve  hopeless  indebtedness.  His 
language  was  harsh  and  often  inexcusable.  Tale- 
bearers aggravated  the  matter  till  finally  Dr.  Newton 
laid  the  matter  before  the  Board  of  Trustees.  He 
had  been  accused,  he  said,  of  irregularity  in  manag- 
ing the  affairs  of  the  College,  with  embezzling  money, 
and  with  granting  diplomas  without  proper  authority. 
The  Board  promptly  exonerated  him  from  all  these 
imputations,  and  demanded  of  Dr.  Comings  to  resign 
his  professorship.  Upon  his  refusing,  they  declared 
the  place  vacant.*  Dr.  Alva  Curtis  was  again  appointed 
to  the  chair  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine, 
but  curtly  declined. 

The  occasion  thus  afforded,  was    eagerly  seized  for 

*  Dr.  Comings  was  a  native  of  Maine,  and  had  been  for  four  years  a  student 
at  the  Waterville  College  when  Dr.  Newton  was  professor  there.  After  Dr. 
Newton's  death,  Dr.  Comings  published  an  article  in  the  New  York  Journal  of 
Medical  Ke/orvi  for  January,  1855,  in  which  he  declared  that  a  warm  personal 
friendship  had  existed  between  them,  and  intimidated  that  "the  unfortunate 
variance,"  had  been  caused  by  falsehoods,  fabricated  by  another  person,  probably 
meaning  Dr.  E.  M.  Parritt.  He  also  affirmed  that  Dr.  Newton  "  began  to  see  the 
error  of  his  ways,"  in  affiliating  with  the  Eclectic  SchooL  This,  however,  can 
hardly  be  credited. 


566  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

a  rupture.  Several  prominent  practitioners  in  Connec- 
ticut had  felt  aggrieved  at  not  receiving  appoint- 
ments as  professors.  Dr.  Comings  lost  no  time  in 
communicating  with  them,  and  almost  immediately  a 
special  meeting  of  the  Botanico-Medical  Society  was 
called  for  the  twelfth  of  September.  The  purpose 
was  specified  distinctly  to  be  for  the  establishing  of 
a  new  college.  Dr.  Curtis  was  present  at  the  meet- 
ing, and  likewise  a  delegation  from  New  York  by 
special  invitation.  The  discussions  were  marked 
by  bitter  and  coarse  vituperation.*  A  resolution  was. 
adopted  declaring  "  that  this  Society  considers  it 
indispensably  necessary  that  a  course  of  Medical  Lect- 
ures be  given  in  New  York  the  coming  winter  or 
spring,  as  it  has  no  confidence  in  the  Institution  at 
Worcester  as  now  conducted." 

The  Physo-Medical  Society  of  New  York  had  made 
repeated  efforts  of  aforetime  to  establish  a  Medical 
College  in  that  state.  It  eagerly  accepted  the  over- 
ture from  the  Society  in  Connecticut.  Doctors  Curtis 
and  Comings  were  assiduous  in  fanning  the  excited 
feeling.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  cooperate 
in  carrying  the  proposition  into  effect. f 

The  institution  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of 
1848,  and  began  operations  with  a  faculty  consisting 
of  Doctors  Alva  Curtis,  Isaac  M.  Comings,  Theodore 
S.  Sperry,  I.  N.  Loomis,  Joseph  D.  Friend  and  Silas 

*  The  terms  of  the  call  for  this  meeting  were  gross  and  offensive.  Dr.  Newton 
retorted  in  his  Journal  in  language  at  once  audacious  and  sweeping.  He 
acknowledged  the  services  of  Samuel  Thomson  to  Medical  Reform,  but  arraigned 
him  for  "his  ignorance  and  his  disgusting  immorality, "and  challenged  his  supporters 
lo  t^W^'' wtiere  is  \.\\c  yirsi  Jundatizental  sysieniatic  trulh  which  owes  its  birth  to 
any  originality  of  his." 

t  This  committee  consisted  of  Doctors  Joseph  D.  Friend,  William  Jones, 
Hermes  M.  Sweet,  J.  B.  Vail  and  Hosea  Winchester. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  567 

Wilcox.*  For  years  the  prevailing  sentiment  was 
unequivocally  brutal  toward  the  Eclectic  School  of 
practice.  Nevertheless,  there  was  a  decided  soften- 
ing of  feeling  on  the  part  of  Botanic  practitioners,  and 
partisan  sentiment  steadily  diminished.  In  1852,  the 
National  Convention  of  Physio-Medical  or  Phys- 
opathic  physicians  at  Baltimore  adopted  a  platform 
which,  while  vigorously  denouncing  the  use  of  min- 
eral and  vegetable  poisons  as  remedies,  nevertheless, 
allowed  a  wide  latitude  in  other  respects. 

In  1857,  Dr.  Friend,  who  was  somewhat  of  a  poli- 
tician, succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  Legislature  of 
New  York  a  special  act  of  incorporation  for  the 
Metropolitan  Medical  College.  Measures  were  imme- 
diately set  on  foot  to  assure  it  an  endowment. 

The  Physo-Medical  Society  had  all  along  fostered 
the  College  as  its  own  offspring.  It  now  took  steps 
in  accordance  with  the  liberalizing  tendencies,  then 
active,  to  broaden  the  scope  of  its  operations. 
Liberal  physicians  of  every  shade  of  sentiment,  were 
invited  in  cordial  terms,  to  attend  the  annual  meeting 
of  1858.  The  Constitution  was  amended, f  and  the 
name  changed  to  that  of  the  "  New  York  State  Asso- 
ciation of  Reform  Physicians."  Many  practitioners 
who  had  been  identified  with  the  Eclectic  School,  now 
signed  the  roll  of  members,  and  prominent  physicians 

*  In  subsequent  years,  Dr.  Lanier  Bankston,  of  the  College  at  Macon,  and 
Dr.  William  H.  Cook,  who  had  been  a  professor  in  the  Syracuse  Medical  College, 
and  afterwards  was  dean  of  the  Physio-Medical  College,  at  Cincinnati,  became 
professors.     Dr.  Cook  for  a  season  conducted  \.\it.  Journal  of  Medical  Reform. 

+  Article  III,  which  was  then  adopted,  prescribed  the  standard  of  membership. 
"  Any  Doctor  of  Medicine  who  believes  in  sanative  medication,  and  accords  to 
each  member  of  the  profession  the  privilege  of  selecting  his  remedial  agents  from 
any  and  all  sources,  according  to  the  dictates  of  an  enlightened  judgment,  based 
upon  the  general  principles  of  physiology,  pathology  and  therapeutics,  may 
become  a  member  of  this  Association." 


568  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

of  the  New  York  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  from 
the  western  counties  of  the  state,  dropping  their 
organization,  affiliated  with  the  Association.* 

Letters  were  presented  from  Drs.  Walter  Burnham, 
J.  W.  Johnson  and  Ellsworth  Burr,  of  the  Worcester 
Medical  Institution,  proposing  a  union  of  the  two 
Medical  Colleges.  It  was  received  with  favor  and  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Metropolitan  College  named 
a  Committee  of  Conference  to  arrange  the  terms. 

The  administration  of  the  College,  at  this  period, 
was  in  harmony  with  the  prevailing  sentiment.  The 
Faculty  was  evenly  divided  ;  Doctors  Levi  Reuben, 
William  W.  Hadley  and  J.  T.  Burdick,  holding  chairs 
with  Doctors  Friend,  Sweet,  and  H.  A.  Archer. 

Everything  seemed  propitious  for  the  future.  A 
proposition  to  procure  an  endowment  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  for  the  institution  was  now  entertained,  and 
an  appeal  was  made  to  the  friends  of  Medical  Reform 
to  contribute  generously.  All  parties  were  repre- 
sented in  the  appeal  ;  which  was  signed  by  Dr. 
Wooster  Beach,  Elijah  Whitney,  A.  P.  Hale  ;  also 
Dijctors  Walter  Burnham,  J.  W.  Johnson,  F.  H.  Kelley, 
and  Ellsworth  Burr,  and  eight  or  nine  original 
Thomsonians.  The  apparent  union  and  harmony 
were  unexampled. 

Eras  of  good  feeling,  however,  are  often  succeeded 
by  periods  of  angry  strife.  This  was  painfully  illus- 
trated in  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Metropolitan 
Medical  College.      Jealousy  and   rivalry  came   in  to 

*  Among  them  were  Doctors  J.  T.  Burdick,  Levi  Reuben,  D.  E.  Smitn,  Lyman 
Stanton,  V.  A.  Baker,  A.  P.  Hale,  W.  W.  Hadley  Dr.  Wooster  Beach  addressed 
the  meeting,  declaring  himself  gratified  with  the  proceedings  and  in  cordial  sym- 
pathy with  the  Association.  Doctors  William  Paine  and  Henry  Hollembaek,  of 
the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  were  also  present,  and  expressed 
their  general  sympathy. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  569 

mar  the  work  which  had  been  begun.  The  Reform 
journals  of  the  Southern  States  gave  the  alarm  that 
the  Eclectics  would  gain  control,  as  they  had  of  the 
Worcester  Medical  Institution.  The  infection  soon 
revealed  itself  in  a  struggle  to  maintain  the  Phys- 
opathic  ascendency. 

At  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Metropolitan  Medical  College,  summary  measures 
were  taken  to  assure  the  matter.  The  Committee  of 
Conference  was  discharged  without  making  a  report, 
thus  putting  an  end  to  all  negotiations  for  union  with 
the  Worcester  Medical  Institution.  Resolutions  also 
were  adopted  establishing  a  platform  and  requiring 
the  professors  absolutely  to  teach  in  conformity  with 
its  terms.  All  subscribers  to  the  endowment  fund 
were  formally  released  if  they  did  not  approve  of  this 
action,  but  no  notice  was  given  them  of  the  matter. 
The  recriminations  followed,  as  are  usual  in  such 
quarrels,  and  the  schism  extended  from  the  College 
to  the  State  Societ3^  Doctors  Hadley  and  Reuben 
retired  from  the  Faculty,  and  Doctors  W.  Durrant  and 
V.  A.  Baker  took  their  places. 

An  attempt  was  made  in  the  Reform  Medical  State 
Society  to  restore  the  ascendency  of  liberal  senti- 
ment, but  in  vain.  The  feeling  was  very  strong,  and 
the  result  was  unfortunate,  if  not  discreditable.  In 
the  Legislature  of  1862,  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the 
Legislature  of  New  York  and  passed,  to  repeal  the  act 
of  incorporation.  The  Metropolitan  Medical  College 
thus  ceased  to  exist,  wounded  to  death  by  the  animos- 
ities of  its  friends. 


570  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

THE    FIRST    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    FOR    WOMEN. 

The  movement  for  the  instruction  of  women  in 
medicine  was  set  on  foot  in  1845  by  Dr.  Samuel 
Gregory,  of  Boston.  He  and  his  brother,  Mr.  George 
Gregory,  prepared  and  published  several  pamphlets 
upon  the  subject ;  and  in  1847,  he  delivered  a  series 
of  public  lectures,  and  announced  his  intention  to 
begin  a  school  for  that  purpose.  He  employed  Dr. 
Enoch  C.  Rolfe  for  lecturer,  and  the  school  was 
opened  on  the  first  day  of  November,  1848,  with 
twelve  pupils. 

The  Female  Medical  Education  Society  was  formed 
in  the  same  month,  with  six  members.  This  num- 
ber was  increased  in  the  year  following  to  a  thou- 
sand. Its  object  was  the  sustaining  of  the  new 
enterprise.  The  School  continued  in  this  way  for 
three  years,  holding  two  terms  annually,  of  three 
months  each.  It  was  incorporated  by  the  legislature 
in  1850,  and  in  1852  took  the  name  of  the  "  New 
England  Female  Medical  College."  Its  operations 
were  now  expanded,  a  complete  Faculty  provided, 
and  a  course  of  instruction  established  similar  to  that 
in  other  medical  colleges.*  Most  of  the  professors 
employed  were  from  the  Woman's  Medical  College  of 
Philadelphia.  The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts 
granted  it  small  appropriations  for  several  years  ; 
and  it  was  thus  enabled  to  keep  in  operation  with  a 
fair  degree  of  prosperity.  After  the  Civil  War,  how- 
ever, there  was  a  marked  abatement  of  zeal  among 
its  supporters,  and  a  different  tone  of  medical  senti- 
ment was  developed.     In  1874,  the  institution  merged 

*  But  few  of  the  students,  however,  pursued  a  full  course  of  study.  As  late  as 
1855,  out  of  more  than  one  hundred  students,  only  six  had  graduated. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  57X 

into  the  Boston  University  School  of  Medicine,  with, 
a  Homoeopathic  organization. 

The  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  was 
founded  in  1849,  through  the  effort  and  influence  of 
Mr.  William  J.  Mullen.  The  General  Assembly 
promptly  gave  it  an  act  of  incorporation  the  follow- 
ing year,  and  it  went  quickly  into  active  operation. 
One  of  its  first  acts  after  this  period  was  the  granting 
of  an  Honorary  degree  to  the  veteran  physician  of 
Boston,  Dr.  Harriott  K,  Hunt,  who  had  formally 
applied,  year  after  year,  to  be  admitted  into  the 
Harvard  Medical  School,  only  to  be  refused.* 

After  two  years  the  management  of  the  institution 
was  changed,  and  its  medical  orthodoxy  made  more 
rigid  and  exclusive.  The  requirements  for  gradua- 
tion were  also  more  stringent,  reducing  the  number. 
The  new  physicians,  however,  were  excluded  for  many 
years  from  the  medical  societies  and  from  profes- 
sional recognition  by  their  masculine  peers. 

*  As  late  as  1859,  the  graduating  of  a  woman  by  the  Starling  Medical  College 
in  Ohio,  was  furiously  reprehended  in  the  Lancet  and  Observer,  of  Cincinnati. 
"Why  not  grant  the  degree  to  sucking  babes,"  it  demanded.  "  There  never  was 
a  woman  fitted  to  practice  medicine,  surgery  and  obstetrics,  no  matter  how  long 
she  may  have  studied.  The  duties  of  the  profession  are  contrary  and  opposed  to 
her  moral,  intellectual  and  physical  nature."  Then  referring  to  the  fact  that  the 
Eclectic  College  and  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  had  refused  admission  to  women, 
it  asks  :  "  Is  it  then  left  for  a  respectable  school  to  so  far  insult  all  gentlemen  in 
the  profession  as  t;p  admit  to  the  Temple  of  Esculapius  those  who  have  no  right 
in  it?  " 


CHAPTER    XII. 

MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS. CONTINUED. 

We  have  seen  that  there  were  repeated  endeavors 
to  establish  a  permanent  national  organization  of 
the  physicians  of  the  American  Reformed  School. 
As  soon  as  Dr.  Beach  had  fairly  established  his  Med- 
ical Academy  and  Infirmary,  he  hastened  to  supple- 
ment it,  and  extend  its  field  by  the  founding  of  the 
"  Reformed  Medical  Society  of  the  United  States." 
Under  the  sanction  of  this  body,  the  medical  depart- 
ment had  been  opened  at  Worthington  ;  and  in  1836, 
a  meeting  of  the  graduates  of  the  two  institutions 
organized  the  "  Reformed  Medical  Society,"  to  embrace 
the  Southern  and  Western  States. 

Medical  societies  and  colleges  in  those  days  were 
closely  allied,  each  depending  vitally  on  the  other. 
Dr.  Morrow,  in  1841,  opened  a  correspondence  with 
Dr.  Thomas  Cooke,  with  the  avowed  purpose,  both  of 
effecting  a  union  of  the  several  bodies  of  Botanic 
physicians  and  of  founding  a  National  Medical 
University,  which  should  win  the  favor  of  all  classes 
of  the  people.  Unfortunately,  his  plans  were  frus- 
trated by  the  jealousy  and  rancorous  feeling  which  at 
that  time  was  very  active.  Obliged  accordingly  to 
confine  his  efforts  to  a  smaller  field,  he  succeeded  in 
the  establishing  of  the  Reformed  Medical  School  of 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  573 

Cincinnati,  and  in  its  incorporation  a  few  years  later 
as  "  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute."  * 

Medical  legislation  had  been  employed  to  keep  the 
dominant  School  of  Medicine  in  power  and  in  the 
entire  possession  of  official  and  political  emoluments, 
and  sanctioned  the  outlawry  and  merciless  persecu- 
tion of  all  physicians  who  dissented  in  creed  or  in 
remedial  procedures.  It  had  now  been  set  aside.  It 
was  quickly  manifest  that  this  deprivation  of  arbitrary 
power,  and  perhaps  of  prestige,  though  perfectly  in 
harmony  with  common  justice  and  republican  prin- 
ciple, would  not  be  cheerfully  accepted  by  the  privi- 
leged class.  The  purpose  was  soon  avowed,  to  use 
every  effort  at  command  to  undo  the  work,  to  procure 
the  restoring  of  the  arbitrary  conditions  by  which 
they  had  been  supreme. f  Accordingly,  certain  phy- 
sicians of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  held  a  meeting 
in  1845  to  organize  the  American  Medical  Association. 

Dr.  Morrow,  like  a  true  sentinel  of  freedom,  was 
awake  to  the  rising  exigency.     He  proceeded  immedi- 

*  At  this  period  the  graduates  and  disciples  of  the  Schools  o  Xew  York  and 
Worthington  were  variously  designated  by  themselves  and  others  as'  Botanic," 
"  Reformed,"  "  American,"  and  sometimes  "  Beachite."  Dr.  Thomas  Cuoke, 
who  had  been  a  student  of  Dr.  John  B.  Howell,  a  Botanic  physician  from  England, 
had  taken  the  title  of  Eclectic,  apparently  at  the  instance  of  Professor  Rafinesque, 
whodescribcd  a  class  of  physicians  by  that  name  ;  and  Dr.  Calvin  Ne.\ton  also 
adopted  it  in  184;,  for  his  independent  movement  in  the  Eastern  States.  The 
desigi  aiion  was  given  lo  the  College  at  Cincinnati  at  the  suggestion  of  one  of  the 
Trustees,  but  with  no  purpose  to  apply  it  to  the  Re'ormeJ  School  of  Practice.  Dr. 
Morrow  began  to  employ  it  tentatively,  however,  in  the  Western  Medicnl 
Reforme-r,  in  1846,  to  designate  the  Reformed  Physicians,  and  finding  it  meet  with 
favor,  ventured  presently  to  use  it  in  preference  to  other  appellations. 

t  Dr.  Purdy  in  an  address  to  t'.ic  Medical  Society  of  the  City  and  County  of 
Ne>v  York,  declared  the  ol)jcc'.s  tj  be:  "  F.rst  ami  primarily,  t<  regulate  ilie 
practice  of  physic  and  surgery  ;  and  second,  lo  contribute  to  the  difTusioa  c  f  t  ue 
science  and  to  the  knowledge  of  ihc  1  ealing  .Art"  It  wai  required  of  cvcy 
ind  vidual  about  to  graduate  at  the  princijial  medic  1  co  le;.'cs,  as  the  condition  (  f 
receiving  the  degree  of  Do  tor  of  Medicine,  th.it  he  shijulj  swear  to  adhere  to  the 
old  procedures,  or  forfeit  his  diploma. 


574  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ately  to  open  a  correspondence  with  the  leading  Med- 
ical Reformers  of  different  shades  of  sentiment,  but 
of  common  liberality  of  purpose.  He  met  favorable 
answers  from  a  goodly  number,  warranting  him  to  go 
forward.  Accordingly,  in  the  winter  of  1848,  the  fol- 
lowing call  was  issued  : 

CALL    FOR  A  CONVENTION    OF  REFORMED    PRACTITIONERS    OF    MEDICINE. 

Believing  that  the  time  has  come  when  the  friends 
of  Medical  Reform  should  establish  an  organization 
in  order  to  promote  that  cause,  in  the  prosperity  of 
which  they  are  vitally  interested,  the  undersigned,  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  and  inclinations,  signified 
to  them  by  letter  and  otherwise,  of  a  large  number  of 
practitioners  of  the  Eclectic  Reform  School,  have 
designated  Thursday,  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  May, 
1848,  for  the  holding  of  the  Convention  of  such  prac- 
titioners of  Medicine,  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
to  take  such  action  as  may  be  proper.  The  Hall  of 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  is  offered  for  the  Session 
of  the  Convention.  The  demands  for  the  service  of 
enlightened  Reformed  physicians  everywhere,  the 
interests  involved  in  the  enterprise,  the  efforts  of  the 
enemies  of  Medical  Progress  to  crush  the  advocates 
of  Reform,  and  the  necessity  for  union  and  concert  of 
action  among  our  own  members,  constitute  reasons 
for  the  proposed  action  at  the  present  time. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  liberal  and  independent  mem- 
bers of  the  Medical  profession  will  cooperate  with  us, 
especially  all  who  sincerely  desire  a  reform  in  the 
condition  and  practice  of  the  Healing  Art.  We 
anticipate  much  pleasure  in  meeting  with  those  who 
have  been  faithful  sentinels  on  the  watch-towers,  who 
have  both  led  in  common  with  ourselves  for  the 
establishment  of  great  and  important  principles.  Let 
our  professional  friends,  from  every  quarter  of  the 
country,  make  it  convenient  to  assemble  with  us  on 
this  occasion,  prepared  to  contribute  to  its  success  by 
communicating  the  improvements  and  discoveries 
which  they  have  made,  and  by  reading  or  discussing 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  575 

such  original  papers  as  they  may  choose  to  preseni  in 
reference  to  any  of  the  departments  of  their  profes- 
sion. They  will  also  aid  ns  by  the  wisdom  of  their 
counsels  in  regard  to  measures  that  will  assure  the 
achievem.ent  of  important  results,  and  contribute  to 
the  elevating  of  the  practice  of  medicine  from  its 
present  low,  unscientific  and  otherwise  objectionable 
state,  to  a  condition  higher,  nobler  and  more  worthy 
of  a  learned  and  beneficial  profession. 

WoosTER  Beach,  M.  D.,  N.  Y.  City. 

T.  V.  Morrow,  M.  D.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

L.  E.  Jones,  M.  D., 

A.  H.    Baldkidge,  M.  D.,      "  " 
Jos.  R.   Buchanan,  M.  D.,     "  " 

B.  L.   Hill.  M.  D., 
J.   H.   Oliver,  M.  D., 

P.    K.     WOMBAUGH,  M.    D,,         "  " 

J.  Wilson,  M.  D., 

I.  J.  Avery,  M.  D.,  Reading,  " 

David  Jordan,  M.  D.,  Dayton,  " 

J.  Davis,  M.  D.,  Greenfield, 

I.  G.  Jones,  M.  D. .Columbus,  " 

J.  S.   Ormsby,  M.  D.,  Westmoreland  Co. ,  Penn. 

A.  Kendall,  M.  D.,  New  Orleans,  La. 

Orin  Davis,  M.  D.,  Mount  Morris.  N.  Y. 

H.  J.  Hulse,  M.  D.,  Louisville,  Ky. 

J.  Sappington,  M.  D.,  Arrow  Rock,  Mo. 

L.  Oldshue,  M.  D..  Pittsburg,  Penn. 

A.  Brown,  M.  D.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
J.    HORTON,   M.  D., 

Robert  S.   Newton,  M.  D.,         " 
John  King,  M.  D.,  Owingsville,  Ky. 
J.  R.  Paddock,  M.  D.  ,  Maysville, " 
Drs.   Davis  &    Tebbs,  "  '♦ 

J.  O.   Bannon,  Elizabeth,  Ky. 
Drs.  Chase  &  Snyder,  Dublin,  Ind. 

B.  F.  Judd,  M.  D.,  Greenville,  Penn. 
Thomas  Cooke,  M.  D.  ,  Philadelphia,  Penn. 
Johnson  H.   Jordan,  M.  D.,  Indianapolis,  Ind. 
A.  Teegarden,  M.  D.,  Laporte,  Ind. 

Drs.  Beeman  &  Parker,  Birmingham,  Ohio. 
E.  BuRLEY,  M.  D.,  Minerva,  Ky. 
Dr.  Teerbell,  Iowa. 
Y.  L.  McNeill,  M.  D.,  Vicksburg,  Miss. 
A.   Essex,  M.  D.,  Bethel.  Ohio. 
A.  Stanton,  M.  D.,  Chicago,  111. 
Drs.  Taylor  &  Loomis,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
Cincinnati,  March,  1848. 


576  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  Convention  assembled  pursuant  to  notice  and 
remained  in  session  three  days.  Dr.  Morrow  pre- 
sided, and  Doctors  John  King-  and  L.  E.  Jones  were 
appointed  secretaries.  A  very  full  comparing  of 
views  took  place,  and  a  resolution  adopted  to  organ- 
ize permanently  under  the  name  of  the  "  American 
Eclectic  Medical  Association."  The  forming  of  state 
and  county  societies  was  also  recommended. 

The  second  meeting  took  place  on  the  fifteenth 
of  May,  1849,  at  the  period  of  the  second  visita- 
tion of  Asiatic  Cholera.  A  Constitution  and 
By-laws  were  adopted,  ai.d  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  was  duly  constituted.  Dr 
Morrow  was  elected  president,  and  a  series  of  res- 
olutions adopted  denouncing  combinations  to  pro- 
scribe members  of  the  Medical  profession,  and 
declaring  it  incumbent  upon  Medical  Reformers  to 
be  liberal,  to  abstain  from  disparaging  remarks  in 
respect  to  differences  of  doctrine,  and  to  cultivate 
amicable  relations.  The  issue  between  the  Old  and 
New  School  was  defined  in  the  following  terms  : 

"The  great  struggle  of  the  day  in  the  Medical 
Profession  is  between  the  spirit  of  freedom,  on  the 
one  hand,  which  is  seeking  for  truth  in  science,  and 
the  spirit  of  conservative  despotism  on  the  other, 
which  aims  to  perpetuate  its  power  and  doctrines  by 
organized  combinations,  and  by  discountenancing  or 
suppressing  every  attempt  at  Reform,  whatever  may 
be  Its  merit  or  its  source."  * 

*  The  American  Medical  Association  here  described,  had  estabhshed  a  code 
utterly  proscribing  and  practically  outlawing  all  physicians  who  did  not  conform 
to  its  doctrines  and  routine  of  practice.  Its  members  were  very  foul-mouthed  and 
bitter  in  denouncing  them.  The  courtesy  of  we'.l-bred  gentlemen  was  laid 
entirely  aside.  The  Medical  Colleges  were  required  to  receive  no  medical  student, 
however  scholarly,  who  had  received  preliminary  instruction  from  any  of  the 
oroscribed  physicians,  and  not  to  gra  'uate  a  student  who  did  not  pledge  himself 
to  adhere  to  the  procedures  approved  by  the  Association. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORG AMZATIONS.  577 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Association  at  Cin- 
cinnati, in  1850,  Dr.  Joseph  R.  Buchanan  was  elected 
its  president.  Dr.  Morrow  was  more  zealous,  there- 
fore, in  behalf  of  organization  and  general  coopera- 
tion, not  merely  of  disciples  of  his  own  School  and 
doctrines,  but  as  he  had  declared  ten  years  before,  of 
all  intelligent  physicians  devoted  to  Reform  in  the 
practice  of  Medicine.  He  offered  the  following  reso- 
lution, which  was  adopted  without  dissent  : 

^'■Resolved,  That  as  the  sense  of  this  Association,  it 
is  the  imperative  duty  of  the  Medical  Reformers  of 
the  several  States  of  the  American  Union  to  continue 
to  protest  against  the  existence  of  any  unequal  and 
oppressive  laws,  whatever,  touching  the  practice  of 
medicine  and  surgery,  or  the  admission  of  the  Facul- 
ties and  students  of  the  different  Medical  Schools  to 
participation  in  the  privileges  of  the  several  hospitals 
in  the  different  states  ;*  and  that  it  is  their  duty  to 
continue  to  petition  the  legislative  authorities  of 
their  states  for  the  repeal  of  all  such  arbitrary,  unjust 
and  oppressive  enactments." 

This  was  the  song  of  the  dying  swan.  It  was  the 
last  action  of  Dr.  Morrow  in  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association.  It  was  in  keeping  with  his 
entire  career,  and  with  every  avowed  principle  of 
Eclectic  Medicine.  He  placed  himself  thus  unequiv- 
ocally and  honorably  upon  record,  and  left  an 
always-living  testimony  behind  him  that  only  a 
recreant  will  desire  to  controvert.  He  had  given 
himself  to  the  effort  of  his  life,  his  private  fortune  to 

Some  years  after,  two  students  of  the  Berkshire  Medical  Institution  cured  a 
man  of  white  swelling,  when  the  Faculty  had  arranged  to  amputate  the  limb.  It 
was  ascertained  that  they  had  learned  this  at  Worcester,  and  they  were  promptly 
excluded  from  the  class. 

*  In  disregard  of  the  law,  the  professors  and  students  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  were  debarred  from  the  Hospital  in  Cincinnati,  and  a  similar  exclusive- 
nc^s  was  carried  out  elsewhere. 


578  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

his  work.  In  the  coming  July  he  passed  from  life. 
It  was  a  premature  ending,  for  he  was  still  in  the 
flower  of  his  years.  To  the  National  Eclectic  Med- 
ical Association,  of  which  he  was  the  founder  and 
controlling  spirit,  it  was  a  disaster  that  was  never 
remedied.  The  Institution  which  he  had  been  suc- 
cessful in  establishing  at  Cincinnati  entered  upon  a 
stormy  career  which  was  unfortunate  to  the  cause, 
and  by  no  means  creditable  to  the  individuals  con- 
cerned. 

ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    IN    NEW    YORK. 

There  was  an  impulse  now  extending  over  the 
country  to  establish  seminaries  for  instruction  in 
medical  knowledge  upon  the  Eclectic  basis,  and  to 
organize  Eclectic  Medical  Societies.  The  Reformed 
physicians  of  Pennsylvania  had  begun  such  action, 
many  years  before ;  and  now  with  the  successful 
establishment  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  and 
the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  a  like 
enthusiasm  was  aroused  in  New  York. 

The  people  of  the  state  had  adopted  a  new  con- 
stitution in  1846,  of  a  very  democratic  and  decentraliz- 
ing character.  An  article  prepared  by  the  late 
Samuel  J.  Tiklen  provided  that  corporations  might  be 
formed  by  general  laws.  The  Legislature  of  1848 
accordingly  passed  "an  act  for  the  incorporation  of 
benevolent,  charitable,  scientific  and  religious  so- 
cieties."*    This  permission  was  eagerly  embraced  as 

*  This  general  act  was  amended  repeatedly  in  order  to  include  other  organiza- 
tions. The  last  amendment  was  made  in  1S70,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  incorpora- 
tion and  establishment  of  a  university  at  Syracuse.  A  section  indicates  the  scope  : 
''^  Every  college  or  university  incor/>orated  under  said  act  [of  1848]  or  under  this 
act."  The  Central  New  York  College  at  McGrawville,  the  Central,  Syracuse  and 
Metropolitan  Medical  Colleges,  had  been  incorporated  ;  and  afterward  the  Syra- 
cuse University  with  its  medical  department,  and  the  United  States  Medical 
College  were  incorporated  in  pursuance  of  the  amendment  of  1870  here  mentioned. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  579 

affording  the  opportunity  so  long  withheld,  for 
Eclectic  and  other  Reform  physicians  to  establish 
incorporated  institutions  of  their  own.  This  view  of 
the  law,  so  plain  and  apparently  unequivocal  was  sus- 
tained at  that  time  by  the  ablest  jurists  and  justices 
of  the  principal  courts  of  the  state. 

Two  societies,  each  bearing  the  name  of  the  "  Re- 
formed Medical  Association  of  Western  New  York," 
united  in  1847,  to  establish  a  medical  school  at  Fredo- 
nia  in  order  to  prepare  students  to  enter  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  at  Cincinnati,  Doctors  Zoheth 
Freeman,  Lorenzo  E.  Jones,  John  R.  Bush  and  B.  S. 
Heath  were  the  instructors.  The  next  year  a  college 
organization  was  effected  under  the  new  law,  taking 
the  name  of  "  The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  New 
York."  It  held  a  term  during  the  months  of  August 
and  September,  with  Doctors  Freeman,  Jones,  B.  L. 
Hill  and  Orin  Davis,  as  professors.* 

Doctors  Bush  and  Heath  meanwhile  opened  another 
school  of  similar  character  at  the  village  of  Randolph, 
Doctors  S.  H.  Potter,  Charles  J.  Kenworthy  and  A.  S. 
Davis  were  associated  with  them.  The  result  con- 
vinced them  that  in  order  to  assure  permanent  suc- 
cess for  a  medical  institution,  it  must  be  at  a  more 
central  location. 

Dr.  Potter  had  been  a  graduate  of  the  college  at 
Worthington.  He  was  a  man  of  sanguine  temper, 
ambitious  of  superiority,  and  fond  of  notoriety.  He 
quickly  conceived  the  project  of  uniting  the  two 
enterprises.  Making  his  residence  at  Syracuse,  he 
began    the   publication    of    the    Eclectic    Medical   and 


*  Among  the  students  were  several  who  afterward  became  distinguished  in 
medical  circles  ;  as  Doctors  William  W,  Hadley,  William  H.  Hawley,  Jonathan 
Flattery  and  A.  D.  Skellenger. 


580  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Surgical  Journal,  and  procured  a  certificate  of  in- 
corporation for  the  "  Central  Medical  College  of  New 
York."  In  order  to  give  countenance  to  the  enter- 
prise and  to  assure  to  it  future  support,  a  convention 
was  called  at  Syracuse,  in  1849,  which  organized  the 
"  New  York  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society."* 

The  new  enterprise  was  greeted  by  the  Reform 
physicians  of  Western  New  York  with  hearty  enthu- 
siasm. A  faculty  was  created,  composed  of  Doctors 
S.  H.  Potter,  Orin  Davis,  John  R.  Bush,  William  W. 
Hadley,  B.  S.  Heath  and  S.  M.  Davis.f  Besides  them, 
Dr.  Wooster  Beach  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  upon 
the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine,  and  Dr. 
S.  O.  Gleason  upon  the  Water  Cure,  then  a  novelty 
in  remedial  procedures.  There  were  ninety-four 
matriculants  and  an  average  of  about  fifty  in 
steady  attendance  for  a  term  of  four  months.  Many 
of  them  were  physicians  in  regular  practice. 

This  college  took  the  initiative  in  the  admitting  of 
women  as  students  in  medicine  on  equal  terms  with 
men.  Elizabeth  Blackwell  had  run  the  gauntlet 
before  this,  of  applying  and  meeting  refusal  at  the 
medical  colleges  of  the  dominant  school.  When, 
however,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  at  the  in- 
stance of  Dr.  Joseph  Rodes  Buchanan,  had  accepted 
her  application,  the  college  at  Geneva,  in  New  York, 
consented  to  receive  her  ;  voting  directly  not  to 
admit  any  other  woman  as  a  student.  The  Central 
Medical   College  at   Syracuse  now  gave  a  hospitable 


*  There  were  county  societies  in  Oneida,  Chenango,  Orange,  Oswego,  Genesee, 
Livingston,  Niagara  and  Chautauqua  counties. 

t  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Abiel  Gardner,  the  Poughkeepsie  Thomsonian  was 
removed  to  Saratoga,  and  Dr.  Davis  became  the  editor.  Very  soon  afterward 
its  publication  was  suspended. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  581 

welcome  to  Mrs.  Rebecca  B.  Gleason,  Mrs.  Lydia  F. 
Fowler,  Mrs.  Charlotte  Montgomery,  Miss  Fidelia 
Warren  and  Miss  Taylor. 

From  this  time  onward  the  Eclectic  colleges  gen- 
erally have  cordially  accepted  women  as  students, 
and  the  Eclectic  Medical  Societies  welcomed  them  as 
members.*  The  Homoeopathic  colleges  and  societies 
presently  followed  this  example,  and  finding  it 
popular,  have  begun  to  boast  of  having  been  first  in 
the  matter.  The  dominant  school  for  many  years 
permitted  them  to  get  on  by  themselves  in  "  women's 
colleges,"  like  Jews  in  the  Ghettoes,  separate  and 
apart. 

Western  New  York  has  always  been  foremost  in 
enterprises  conducing  to  human  advancement,  whether 
moral,  social  or  religious.  It  was  the  birthplace  of 
the  Anti-masonic  and  Liberty  parties,  and  it  now 
abounds  with  liberal  physicians. 

It  has  been  unfortunately  the  case  that  the 
administration  and  especially  the  financial  manage- 
ment of  medical  colleges  have  been  fruitful  in  jeal- 
ousies. The  Central  Medical  College  was  speedily 
an  example  of  heartburnings  and  controversy.  The 
trustees,  at  the  end  of  the  first  session,  in  order  to 
end  the  quarrel  without  scandal,  determined  to 
remove  the  institution  to  Rochester  and  there  hold  a 
spring  term.  The  professors  most  blamed  gave  place 
to    successors.      Dr.    Potter  was    succeeded    by    Dr. 


*  The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  excluded  women  in  1853,  but  consented  to 
receive  them  a  few  years  'afierward  ;  it  again  excluded  them,  but  accepted  them 
in  1877.  The  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine  at  Cincinnati  admitted  them  for  a  year 
or  two  and  then  shut  the  door.  The  Worcester  Medical  Institution  received  them 
till  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Calvin  Newton,  but  at  the  instance  of  a  Reform 
Medical  Convention,  excluded  them  in  1856.  The  later  colleges,  most  of  them, 
admit  women. 


582  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Charles  J.  Kenworthy,  late  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  at  Petersburg,  Dr.  S.  M.  Davis  by  Dr.  L.  C. 
Dolley,  and  Dr.  Link  by  A.  K.  Eaton.  Besides  these, 
Dr.  Levi  Retiben  was  made  professor  of  physiology 
and  Mrs.  Lydia  F.  Fowler  of  obstetrics. 

At  that  time  the  notion  was  entertained  that  a  state 
medical  society  was  part  of  the  machinery  of  the 
medical  college.  Accordingly  a  meeting  was  called  at 
Rochester,  and  resulted  in  a  distinct  organization. 

Dr.  Potter  was  prompt  to  resent  the  imputation 
conveyed  by  this  action.  He  began  a  new  medical 
journal  and  filed  a  certificate  of  incorporation  for  the 
Syracuse  Medical  College.  He  was  president  of  the 
New  York  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  and  had  no 
difficulty  in  obtaining  its  sanction  for  the  new  insti- 
tution. The  Eclectics  of  Western  New  York  were 
now  in  two  parties  and  their  controversy  was  con- 
ducted with  rancor. 

This  state  of  conflict  continued  till  the  summer  of 
1852.  Dr.  Calvin  Newton  then  became  identified 
with  the  Eclectics  and  was  elected  president  of  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association.  He  proposed 
a  union  of  the  three  colleges  ;  a  spring  term  to  be 
held  at  Worcester  and  a  winter  term  at  Syracuse. 
This  was  accepted  ;  the  Central  Medical  College  was 
dissolved,  and  the  two  Eclectic  Medical  Societies 
again  united. 

The  new  arrangement  began  with  fair  promise. 
Dr.  Reuben  became  editor  of  the  Union  Medical  Jourtial; 
and  the  Faculty  was  constituted  at  Syracuse  of  Doctors 
Reuben,  Hadley  and  Eaton,  from  the  Central  Medical 
College,  Doctors  C.  Newton  and  G.  W.  Morrow,  from 
Worcester,  and  Doctors  S.  H.  Potter,  Joseph  Brown 
and  Dwight  Russell,  of  Syracuse.     The  next  summer, 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  583 

however,  the  professors  from  Worcester  and  Rochester 
had  resigned.  Dr.  Newton  vouchsafed  the  simple 
ligurative  explanation  :  "When  the  walls  of  a  build- 
ing" are  constructed  of  such  materials  as  to  be  liable  to 
fall  at  any  moment,  it  is  wise  for  the  inmates  to  guard 
themselves  against  being  involved  in  the  ruins." 

Dr.  Potter  was  able,  nevertheless,  to  gather  a  new 
Faculty.  Many  of  his  colleagues  were  not  only 
superior  physicians  and  teachers,  but  afterward  won 
distinction  in  other  institutions.  Among  them  were 
Doctors  David  Calkins,  and  William  H.  Burnham,  Dr. 
William  Paine,  afterward  dean  and  general  manager 
of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  and 
the  Philadelphia  Medical  University  ;  Dr.  A.  R. 
Thomas,  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College 
and  the  dean  of  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of 
Philadelphia  ;  Dr.  E.  H.  Stockwell,  of  the  American 
Medical  College  of  Ohio,  and  Vincent  A.  Baker,  of 
the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  New  York  and  the 
University  of  Florida. 

The  failure  of  the  experiment  of  1852,  however, 
inflicted  a  shock  from  which  the  institution  never 
recovered.  There  was  no  basis  of  support  for  the 
enterprise  except  from  the  fees  for  tuition.  If  the 
men  engaged  in  teaching  had  been  led  by  plausible 
and  flattering  utterances  to  hope  for  adequate 
remvmeration  for  their  services,  they  had  been  dis- 
appointed. Promises  not  verified  by  the  results  were 
certain  to  be  followed  by  coolness  and  disgust.  Hence 
there  were  frequent  changes  in  the  instructors,  and 
many  v^'ho  felt  that  their  confidence  and  enthusiasm 
had  been  abused,  became  unfriendly. 

At  this  period  Dr.  Potter  found  an  opportunity  to 
enter  a  new  field   of  labor.     The  American  Medical 


584  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

College  had  been  established  in  Cincinnati,  by  Doctors  . 
Baldridge  and  L.  E.  Jones,  and  he  was  invited  to 
become  one  of  the  new  Faculty.  By  this  time  he  had 
few  attractions  to  detain  him  in  the  east,  and  accord- 
ingly in  the  autumn  of  1855,  removed  to  his  new 
home.  The  Syracuse  Medical  College  which  he  had 
called  into  existence  passed  immediately  from  the 
stage. 

The  New  York  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society  con- 
tinued a  few  years  longer.  Many  of  its  members 
sustained  an  excellent  reputation  as  physicians  and 
citizens  ;  and  its  officers,  such  as  Lyman  Stanton, 
Vincent  A.  Baker,  A.  P.  Hale,  George  D.  Kughler, 
Henry  C.  Gazlay,  James  N.  Betts,  were  an  honor  to 
the  medical  profession.  There  was,  however,  no 
longer  a  focus  or  nucleus  for  Eclectic  medicine  in 
Western  New  York,  where  it  had  been  most  flourish- 
ing, and  the  members  formed  other  relations. 

SOCIETIES    IN    NEW    YORK    AND    BROOKLYN, 

After  the  Botanic  Association  of  the  State  of  New 
York  had  taken  the  new  name  of  Physo-Medical,  it 
adopted  the  usual  somewhat  trite  resolutions  asking 
the  practitioners  subscribing  to  its  principles  to  form 
local  societies.  The  old  Thomsonian  organizations 
had  gone  out  of  existence,  and  there  was  a  desire  to 
get  rid  of  that  designation.  Several  societies  were 
thus  established. 

One  of  these  was  formed  at  the  office  of  Dr.  Hermes 
M.  Sweet,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  in  1849,  by  the 
name  of  the  "  New  York  Eclectic  Medical  Societ^r." 
Dr.  Sweet  himself  was  the  Secretary,  and  remained  in 
office  as  long  as  meetings  were  held. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  585 

The  "  American  j\Iedical  Association "  was  also 
organized  on  the  western  side  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  in  1849.  The  late  Dr.  Elijah  Whitney  was 
prominent  in  the  meetings  ;  also,  Dr.  Van  Doren,  Dr. 
Atkinson,  and  afterward,  Dr.  Wooster  Beach  himself. 
The   Society  was  incorporated  under  the  law  of  1848. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  Brooklyn  was  also 
formed  in  1849,  t)y  Doctors  Dennis  E.  Smith,  P.  S. 
Lapham,  Grover  Coe,  and  others.  Five  years  later  it 
filed  a  certificate  of  incorporation  under  the  title  of 
"  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of 
Kings,"  and  in  1861  it  took  the  name  by  which  it  has 
since  been  known,  of  "  the  Brooklyn  Academy  of 
Medicine."  For  many  years,  till  the  death  of  its 
principal  members,  it  was  one  of  the  most  effective 
medical  societies  in  the  State. 

The  "  New  York  Medical  and  Pathological  Society  " 
began  its  operations  in  1856.  It  was  hardly  a  partisan 
body,  but  included  physicians  of  the  various  schools 
of  practice  who  were  willing  to  forego  the  rancor  of 
party  and  meet  with  their  peers  on  a  common  footing 
as  friends  and  gentlemen.  After  a  while  the  New 
York  Eclectic  Medical  Society  and  the  American 
Medical  Association  dropped  their  organizations,  and 
the  members  generally  affiliated  with  this  Society. 
The  Joui-nal  of  Aledical  Reforvi,  published  to  sustain 
the  interests  of  the  Metropolitan  College,  being  sus- 
pended in  1858,  a  Committee  was  appointed  by  the 
Society  to  publish  the  New  York  Medical  and  Patholog- 
ical Journal  in  its  place,  with  Dr.  W.  W.  Hadley  for 
Editor.  The  arrangement  continued  till  midsum- 
mer, when  dissensions  arose  in  the  College,  and  the 
Faculty  established  a  rival  publication,  the  Journal  of 
Health.       The    virulent    controversies   which    ensued 


HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 


Speedily  terminated  the  existence  both  of  journal  and 
Society. 

NATIONAL    COLLEGE    OF    PHYSICIANS    AND    SURGEONS. 

After  the  failure  to  effect  a  satisfactory  combina- 
tion of  the  friends  of  the  two  colleges,  at  Syracuse 
and  Rochester,  the  attempt  was  made  to  establish  an 
Eclectic  School  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  law  of 
1848,  under  which  they  had  been  incorporated,  it  was 
apprehended,  was  not  sufficiently  comprehensive  to 
confer  the  full  rights  and  powers  of  an  institution 
for  the  instructing  and  graduating  of  medical  students. 
Accordingly,  a  bill  was  prepared  and  introduced,  with 
petitions,  into  the  House  of  Assembly,  in  1853,  to 
incorporate  the  "  National  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons."  The  Committee  to  which  it  was  referred, 
having  been  constituted  of  persons  hostile  to  the  new 
school  of  practice,  made  an  adverse  report. 

As  in  the  days  of  stalwart  Thomsonianism,  a  vigorous 
debate  followed.  Gen.  Silas  M.  Burroughs,  of  Orleans, 
sternly  reprehended  the  partisan  action  of  the  Com- 
mittee. He  had  yet  to  learn,  he  declared,  that  a  new 
system  was  not  to  be  permitted  in  the  profession  of 
Medicine  as  well  as  in  the  profession  of  law.  The 
petitioners  for  this  bill  were  worthy  citizens,  he 
affirmed,  and  as  such  had  a  perfect  right  to  an  act  of 
incorporation.  If  the  Committee  sincerely  desired  to 
do  away  with  quacks,  the  true  way  was  to  permit  the 
forming  of  institutions  at  which  to  educate  prac- 
titioners. 

These  views,  in  their  general  tone,  were  in  perfect 
accord  with  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  that  period, 
in  favor  of  large  liberty  to  private  enterprise.  The 
Assembly  promptly  laid  the  report  of  the  Committee 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  587 

upon  the  table.  Its  purpose,  however,  was  afterward 
secured  by  indirection.  A  General  Law  was  enacted 
at  the  same  session  of  the  legislature,  which  conferred 
on  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  full  powers 
to  incorporate  educational  institutions,  but  made  it 
the  imperative  condition,  in  the  case  of  a  medical  or 
surgical  college,  that  the  sum  of  Fifty  Thousand 
Dollars  should  be  subscribed  for  its  endowment,  and 
at  least  two-thirds  of  this  amount  paid  in  and  invested 
"to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Board."  The  law  in  this 
case  was  apparently  mandatory,  declaring  that  in  such 
case  a  charter  must  be  granted.  Subsequent  experi- 
ence has  abundantly  shown  that  the  law  had  been 
adroitly  worded,  as  if  to  meet  the  convenience  of  a 
Circumlocution  Office.  It  has  actually  served  ever 
since  as  a  pretext  for  refusing  charters  to  all  medical 
institutions  that  are  not  approved  by  the  American 
Medical  Association.* 

THE    "  REFORM  "    MOVEMENT. 

In  1851,  the  various  National  organizations  of  Med- 
ical Reformers  showed  signs  of  weakness,  it  they  had 
not  passed  out  of  existence  outright.  The  United 
States  Thomsonian  Society  and  the  "  Independent " 
had    both    ceased    to    meet.     The    National    Eclectic 

*  Dr.  Levi  Reuben,  a  man  of  charming  probity  and  simplicity,  smarting  at  this 
time  from  his  unfortunate  experience  with  the  Syracuse  Medical  College,  was 
among  those  who  were  misled  by  the  artful  verbiage  of  this  law.  "  It  promised," 
he  declared,  "to  be  beneficial  in  the  way  of  putting  a  quietus  on  'fungous  organi- 
zations,' and  through  a  chartered  college  of  the  first  grade,  of  raising  the  Reformed 
profession  to  a  deserved  rank  among  its  competitors."  He  supposed  the  law  to  be 
mandatory,  and  confidently  predicted  the  successful  founding  of  the  proposed 
College  upon  the  basis  required.  The  hope,  it  is  unnecessary  to  add,  was  never 
realized.  It  was  intended  by  the  individuals  who  drew  the  bill  to  exclude  all 
colleges  except  those  of  the  favored  school.  In  i88.j,  the  friends  of  the  United 
States  Medical  College  having  obtained  $55,000,  applied  to  the  Regents  for  a 
charter,  and  it  was  refused  upon  the  pretext  here  afforded. 


588  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Medical  Association  showed  signs  of  precarious 
condition.  It  seemed  as  if  the  field  was  now  open  to 
a  new  enterprise. 

Accordingly,  under  the  auspices  of  the  New  York 
Eclectic  Medical  Society,  a  Convention  of  Phys- 
opathic,  Eclectic  and  other  Reform  physicians, 
willing  to  unite  and  act  together,  was  invited  to 
assemble  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  twenty- 
third  day  of  September.  In  response  to  the  invita- 
tion, a  large  number  of  practitioners  of  the  several 
Schools  attended  from  the  Eastern,  Middle  and 
Southern  States.*  Dr.  H.  F.  Gardner,  of  Connecticut, 
was  elected  president,  and  Dr.  Joseph  D.  Friend, 
secretary. 

The  Convention  remained  in  session  two  days.  It 
adopted  a  platform  declaring  it  a  leading  principle 
in  Medicine  to  reject  all  methods  tending  to  impair 
the  vital  powers,  in  which  category  "  the  mercurial, 
antimonial  and  blood  letting  system  of  treatment"  was 
included  and  pronounced  "unscientific  and  obsolete." 

The  Convention  further  voted  to  be  "  known  and 
recognized  by  the  name  of  Reform  Medical  Physi- 
cians, renouncing  all  former  distinctive  appellations, 
to  unite  on  the  foregoing  platform  of  principles,  and 
to  extend  the  hand  of  professional  fellowship  to 
all  Medical  Reformers  whose  principles  accord  there- 
with " 

*  Among  others  were  Dr.  J.  Myers,  a  Botanic  physician  from  Louisiana 
Doctors  W.  F.  Smith  and  A.  R.  Doren,  of  the  Middle  States  Reformed  Medical 
Society;  Doctors  Isaac  J.  Sperry  and  B.  F.  Sperry  of  the  Connecticut  Botanico- 
Medical  Society  ;  Doctors  Samuel  Tuthill,  William  Jones,  A.  W.  Russell,  Isaac  M. 
Comings,  John  Law  of  the  Physo-Medical  Society  of  New  York  ;  Wilham 
Elmer,  D.  E.  Smith,  H.  C.  Firth,  B.  J.  Stow  and  George  Newby,  Eclectics  ; 
Doctors  John  Kent,  of  Ohio,  Charles  Green,  of  Philadelphia,  Henry  Hollembaek, 
of  New  Jersey,  and  others  sent  letters  expressing  their  concurrence  with  the 
purpose  of  the  meeting. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  589 

From  this  time  onward,  the  adjective  designation 
of  "  Reform "  began  to  supersede  the  other  titles 
which  had  been  adopted  at  different  periods  by  the 
societies  of  the  Independent  Thomsonian  School.  In 
Ohio  and  several  other  states  the  older  name  of 
Physio-Medical  was  retained,  but  in  the  South  and 
East,  the  new  title  was  adopted. 

A  Committee  had  been  appointed*  which  issued  an 
invitation  for  a  United  States  Convention  to  meet  at 
Philadelphia,  in  January,  1852,  "  for  the  purpose  of 
adopting  measures  to  secure  the  united  and  harmo- 
nious cooperation  of  all  the  friends  of  Medical 
Reform." 

The  Convention  at  Baltimore,  following  in  the 
same  direction,  formulated  a  platform  adopting  the 
tenet  of  sanative  medication,  and  the  rejection  of  all 
depleting  agents  and  procedures,  and  proclaiming  the 
theory  of  disease  in  these  terms. 

"  Disease  is  not  vital  action  deranged  or  obstructed, 
increased  or  diminished,  but  any  condition  of  the 
organs  in  which  they  are  not  able  to  perform  their 
natural  functions;  a  condition  that  permanently 
deranges,  obstructs  or  diminishes  vital  action — and  in 
this  sense  disease  is  a  unit." 

"  Reform  "  Medical  Societies  were  formed  in  many 
of  the  states — in  Maine,  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and 
several  others.  The  Physo-Medical  Society  of  New 
York,  and  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Con- 
necticut, adopted  the  designation  ;  and  in  1856,  the 
Southern  Botanico-Medical  College  of  Macon,  changed 
its  name  to  that  of  "  Reform  Medical  College."  A 
Southern  Reform  Medical  Association  was  also 
organized,  embracing  in  its  jurisdiction  the  Southern 

*  Doctors  Isaac  J.  Sperry,  William  Elmer  and  Joseph  D.  Friend. 


590  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  Southwestern  states.  The  prevailing  temper  of 
Eastern,  and  to  a  great  degree  of  Southern  Re- 
formers, was  now  in  favor  of  a  general  union  of  the 
different  parties.  The  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  came  into  harmony  with  the  same  senti- 
ment. Unfortunately,  the  Botanic  and  Eclectic 
Schools  of  the  Northwest  were  divided,  and  every 
faction  was  intensely  hostile  to  all  the  others,  and 
unwilling  to  harmonize  on  any  terms  short  of  a 
total  yielding  of  every  matter  of  distinction. 

Under  these  untow^ard  conditions,  it  is  not  wonder- 
ful  that  the  United  States  Reform  Convention  ceased 
to  be  held,  and  that  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  also  ceased  to  exist. 

The  Southern  Reform  Medical  Association,  how- 
ever, held  regularly  its  annual  meetings.  When 
in  session  at  Atlanta,  in  May,  1856,  it  adopted  the 
Baltimore  platform  provisionally  as  its  exposition  of 
principles.  Present  at  this  session  was  Dr.  Jerome 
Cochrane,  a  graduate  of  the  Botanico-Medical  College 
at  Memphis,  and  then  a  practitioner  at  Grenada,  in 
Mississippi.  He  took  violent  exceptions  to  the  defi- 
nition of  diseases  set  forth,  using  language  so  dis- 
courteous that  Dr.  Bankston,  the  president,  took 
notice  of  the  matter,  and  a  vote  of  disapproval  was 
passed.  Dr.  Cochrane,  unwilling  to  yield  peaceably, 
attacked  the  platform  in  the  Memphis  Journal  of  Med- 
icine, making  a  very  conspicuous  exhibition  of  sci- 
olism.* 

*  To  the  proposition  defining  disease,  Dr.  Cochrane  offered  the  following  a;;  a 
rebuttal : 

"  Vital  action,  it  is  true,  cannot  under  any  conceivable  circumstances,  be  iden- 
tified with  disease.  It  is  also  true,  therefore,  that  vital  action  deranged,  or  vital 
action  obstructed,  or  vital  action  increased,  is  not  disease.  But  any  derangement 
of  vital  action,  whether  it  be  of  obstruction,  or  of  augmentation,  or  of  diminution, 
is  disease,  and  nothing  but  disease." 

Dr.  W.  H.  Cook,  of   the   Physio-Medical  Recorder^   thus  remarked   upon   this 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  59I 

The  Association  held  its  next  meeting  at  Memphis, 
in  March,  1857.  The  members  in  attendance  were 
from  Virginia,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Arkan- 
sas, Tennessee,  and  Kentucky.  Dr.  Bankston  was 
again  elected  president  and  Dr.  I.  N.  Wilson  secretary.* 
The  proceedings  were  unusually  important,  and  in 
the  light  of  subsequent  history,  very  significant. 

One  resolution  declared  the  project  of  a  National 
Reform  Medical  Association  impracticable  at  the 
present  time,  but  urged  that  there  should  be  "  a 
thorough  and  efficient  organization  and  maintenance 
of  State  Associations,  and  that  each  send  delegates  to 
the  Southern  Association — thus  constituting  a  great 
centre  around  which,  in  harmony  and  in  order,  its 
subordinate  organizations  shall  long  continue  to 
revolve." 

A  system  of  delegation  was  accordingly  devised, 
and  a  representation  prescribed  of  two  to  five  from 
each  State,  and  two  from  each  medical  college  in  the 
Association. 

The  platform  was  again  referred  to  a  Committee. 
Under  the  expectation  that  it  could  be  materially 
changed  in  terms,  a  resolution  was  adopted  that  any 
person  dissenting  from  any  of  the  minor  points  might 
be    considered    a    candidate    for    membership.     The 


article  of  Dr.  Cochrane  :  "  Every  proposition  of  the  platform  is  contorted  from 
its  real  meaning,  and  this  contortion  then  treated  as  a  reality.  All  the  arguments 
he  uses  are  mere  assertions,  unfounded  in  fact,  and  not  upheld  by  one  single  truth 
or  principle  in  nature." 

Certainly  as  a  literary  production,  the  criticism  was  vulgar,  ill-bred  and 
ungrammatical  in  expression,  and  like  the  emanation  of  an  irritated,  unschooled 
fault-finder. 

*  Among  them  were  Doctors  L.  D.  Skelton,  W.  Slaughter,  J.  R.  Thornton,  S.  J. 
Austin  ;  also,  Drs.  I.  M.  Comings,  R.  C.  Bryan,  I.  N.  Wilson  and  L.  Bankston,  of 
the  Reform  Medical  College  of  Georgia;  and  Doctors  Hugh  Quin,  R.  H.  Harrison, 
T.  C.  Gayle,  W.  B.  Morrow,  G.  W.  Morrow  and  L.  P.  Cutler,  of  the  Botanico- 
Medical  College  of  Memphis. 


592  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

name  of  Dr.  Jerome  Cochrane  was  accordingly  pro- 
posed, and  he  became  a  member.* 

The  Southern  Reform  Medical  Association  con- 
tinued in  operation  till  hostilities  broke  out  between 
the  South  and  North.  An  effect  of  the  war  was  to 
extinguish  the  rivalship  and  animosity  between  the 
several  schools.  After  the  restoration  of  peace,  the 
trend  of  sentiment  was  distinctly  toward  affiliation 
with  the  Eclectic  School  of  Practice.-  The  College  of 
Macon  was  organized  anew  on  that  foundation,  but 
the  Botanico-Medical  College  of  Memphis  was  not 
again  opened.  Eclectic  Medical  Societies,  in  which 
the  Botanic  and  Reform  physicians  took  active  part, 
were  formed  in  Georgia,  Alabama,  Tennessee,  Ken- 
tucky, Arkansas  and  Texas,  to  represent  and  carry  on 
the  American  Reformed  School  of  Medical  Practice 
in  the  South. 


THE    MEDICAL    COLLEGE    OF    PHILADELPHIA. 

There  had  been  no  abandonment  of  purpose  by  the 
Eclectics  of  Philadelphia  and  that  vicinity,  because  of 
the  failure  of  the  project  of  Dr.  Morrow  for  a  National 
Organization  and  a  Medical  Institution  under  its 
charge.  They  adopted  the  plan  in  vogue  at  the  time, 
and  organized  the  "  Middle  States  Reformed  Medical 

*  Dr.  Cochrane  soon  afterward  left  the  Reform  ranks.  He  procured  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1861  from  the  Me'dical  Department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Nashville,  and  ever  since  that  he  has  been  a  relentless  and  implacable 
adversary  of  physicians  of  the  school  which  he  had  abandoned.  The  changes  of 
the  times  have  made  him  a  resident  and  Health  Officer  of  Alabama.  A  medical 
law  having  been  enacted  in  that  State,  and  curiously  modified  to  give  virtually 
almost  absolute  power  to  the  Health  Officer  over  medical  practitioners,  he  was 
prompt  and  active  to  employ  the  opportunity  which  it  afforded  him  against 
Eclectic  and  other  non-orthodox  physicians.  The  Supreme  Court  of  Alabama, 
however,  proved  more  just  in  their  behalf  than  the  Medical  Board. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  593 

Society."  Its  members  were  resident  in  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania. 
Many  of  them  belonged  in  the  higher  social  circles.* 
The  purpose  of  the  organization  was  the  establish- 
ing of  a  Medical  College.  The  Society  held  its 
meetings  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  a  powerful  factor 
for  the  maintaining  of  the  Eclectic  cause. 

In  1850,  Doctors  Thomas  Cooke,  Joseph  Sites,  and 
P.  F.  Sweet,  acting  under  its  authority,  repaired  to 
Harrisburg,  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  State,  and  obtained  from  that  body  an  act 
incorporating  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Penn- 
sylvania, with  full  power  to  instruct  students  in 
Medicine,  and  to  confer  the  degree  of  "  Doctor  of 
Eclectic  Medicine."  The  Trustees  of  the  new  institu- 
tion proceeded  directly  to  appoint  and  install  a 
Faculty.f  The  first  term  was  held  in  the  spring  of 
185 1,  after  which  the  institution  was  carried  on  for 
years  with  moderate  encouragement,  and  making 
little  of  the  usual  boasting  about  financial  prosperity. 

An  angry  controversy  arose  with  Dr.  W.  F.  Smith, 
and  the  Middle  States  Reformed  Medical  Society 
took  part  with  him.  The  matter  was  carried  to  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  whiclf  met 
that  year  at  Pittsburg.     It  was  laid  over  to  the  next 

*  Of  the  number  were  the  Hon.  John  S.  Prettyman,  afterward  Consul  to 
Glasgow  ;  Dr.  John  Rose,  of  Baltimore,  the  president  ;  Dr.  A.  C.  Haines,  Dr. 
Persius  F.  Sweet,  Dr.  William  F.  Smith,  Dr.  J.  M.  Ross,  Dr.  Palemon  John  and 
in  later  years,  Doctors  Marshall  Calkins,  William  Paine,  Henry  Hollembaek, 
Joseph  Sites,  L.  H.  Borden.  The  regulations  were  very  rigid.  Attendance  at 
meetings  was  required  and  a  member  advocating  any  other  system  of  Medical 
practice  as  superior  to  the  Eclectic,  or  employing  any  other  practitioner  in  his 
family  than  an  Eclectic,  was  liable  to  expulsion. 

+  The  professors  consisted  of  Dr.  Stephen  H.  Potter,  late  of  the  Central 
Medical  College  of  New  York,  Doctors  Thomas  Cooke,  Henry  Hollembaek, 
Thomas  J.  Chase,  Joseph  Sites,  and  St.  John  H.  Mintzer. 


594  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

meeting  at  Rochester.  Doctors  Cooke  and  Sites  were 
there  present  to  defend  their  action,  and  the  com- 
plaint was  dismissed. 

The  Medical  Society,  however,  did  not  concur  in 
this  disposition  of  the  matter.  In  1853,  Mr.  J.  S. 
Fisher  and  the  other  members  procured  from  the 
General  Assembly  a  charter  for  the  "American 
College  of  Medicine."  The  National  Association 
held  its  annual  meeting  that  year  at  Philadelphia, 
and  took  action  in  favor  of  a  representative  system  in 
its  future  membership,  a  more  thorough  system  of 
medical  instruction,  and  against  the  establishing  of 
medical  colleges  with  insufficient  means  of  support. 

Soon  afterward,  the  misunderstanding  between  the 
College  and  the  Middle  States  Reformed  Medical 
Society  was  satisfactorily  adjusted,  and  the  new 
institution  did  not  go  into  operation. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Thomas  Cooke  took  place  in  1855. 
He  had  begun  the  Eclectic  movement  in  Philadelphia 
and  enlisted  the  Botanic  physicians  in  its  support. 
Awake  to  the  importance  of  more  thorough  educa- 
tion, he  had  labored  with  untiring  assiduity  for  that 
purpose,  and  the  Eclectic  College  of  Pennsylvania 
was  tlfe  result  of  his  persevering  endeavor.  In  his 
efforts  for  its  success  he  had  been  diligent  and  faith- 
ful. His  death  following  upon  that  of  Calvin 
Newton,  left  the  Eclectic  cause  in  the  East  deprived 
of  its  two  most  efficient  supporters. 

It  was  necessary  to  appoint  new  professors  to  the 
vacant  chairs  in  the  College,  Dr.  John  Fondey 
succeeded  Dr.  Cooke  as  dean  of  the  Faculty,  and  Dr. 
James  M.  Buzzell,  of  Maine,  was  elected  professor  of 
surgery.  Dr.  Marshall  Calkins,  late  of  the  Worcester 
Medical   Institution,  was   appointed  to   the  chair  of 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  595 

Anatomy  and  Physiology,  He  was  at  that  time  a 
zealous  Eclectic  and  had  won  honorable  distinction 
for  scholarship  and  for  his  share  in  the  work  of  Dr. 
Calvin  Newton,  on  Thoracic  Diseases. 

Dr.  William  Paine  also  received  the  appointment  of 
Demonstrator  of  Anatomy.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
the  Berkshire  Medical  College,  and  had  few  superiors 
as  a  physician  or  as  an  instructor.  He  was  plausible 
and  attractive  in  manner,  ambitious,  and  endowed 
in  a  liberal  degree  with  the  qualities  that  persuade 
and  control.  His  executive  ability  was  seldom 
surpassed.  He  was  not  long  in  obtaining  an  appoint- 
ment to  the  professorship  of  Theory  and  Practice  of 
Medicine,  and  a  leading  influence  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  College. 

Under  the  new  arrangement,  the  institution  entered 
upon  a  more  prosperous  career,  and  bid  fair  to  win 
and  hold  a  high  place  in  public  favor.  There  was 
not,  at  that  time,  any  of  the  Reform  Colleges  superior 
to  it  in  efflcient  administration,  or  in  the  quality  of 
its  instruction,* 

The  relations  between  the  College  and  the  Middle 
States  Reformed  Medical  Society  had  grown  closer 
and  for  the  time  more  cordial.  The  professors  of  the 
College  became  members  of  the  Society,  and  Dr, 
Calkins  was  elected  secretary.  Doctors  Palemon 
John  and  J.  S.  Pretty  man  published  the  Middle  States 
Medical  Reformer  iox  four  years.     In  1855  they  merged 


•  The  graduates  that  year  outnumbered  those  of  any  other  Medical  College 
in  Philadelphia.  Among  them  were  several  who  became  conspicuous  in  later 
years  as  teachers  and  contributors  to  medical  literature.  Doctors  I.  J.  M.  Goss, 
James  M.  Hole,  Robert  Hamilton,  John  G.  Rich,  Horatio  G.  Newton,  M.  D,, 
nephew  of  Dr.  Calvin  Newton,  and  John  Buchanan,  were  of  the  number.  Dr. 
George  W.  Brown,  of  Kansas  fame,  now  of  Rockford,  Illinois,  was  also  from  this 
institution. 


596  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  publication  into  the  Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  which 
Doctors  Paine  and  Calkins  had  just  begun.  The 
Society  also  adopted  a  new  constitution,  taking  the 
name  of  the  "  American  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
of  Philadelphia."  It  continued  as  before  to  hold 
stated  monthly  meetings  for  many  years. 

The  College  was  removed,  in  1858,  to  more  com- 
modious headquarters  at  the  "  Friends'  Literary 
Institute,"  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  Callowhill 
streets.  Every  thing  now  appeared  auspicious  for  the 
enterprise.  The  graduates  generally  became  excellent 
practitioners,  whose  professional  services  were  charac- 
terized by  less  mortality  than  had  been  the  rule  in 
the  old  procedures,  and  by  the  more  perfect  recovery 
of  their  patients.  The  career  of  the  College  was 
generally  esteemed  to  be  honorable  alike  to  the 
teachers,  the  students,  and  to  the  Eclectic  vSchool  of 
Medicine.  The  standard  of  instruction,  and  what 
was  more  significant,  the  actual  requirements  for 
graduating,  were  higher  than  in  other  medical 
colleges.  Philadelphia  bade  fair  at  this  period  to 
become  a  centre  for  Eclectic  medicine,  as  it  had  been 
for  the  dominant  orthodox  school. 

The  Penn  Medical  College  was  established  by  Dr. 
Joseph  S.  Longshore  and  his  associates,  in  1853. 
They  had  been  connected  with  the  Woman's  Medical 
College,  but  had  withdrawn  on  account  of  the 
stringent  medical  partisanship  which  had  been 
established  and  enforced  in  that  institution.  Dr. 
Longshore  was  an  able  physician,  scholarly,  sincere 
in  his  convictions,  liberal  in  sentiment  and  strictly 
conscientious.  He  was  the  author  of  a  work  on 
Obstetrics  of  great  merit.  It  is  not  superfluous  to 
add   that   the   new   institution   was    organized   on   a 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    ORGANIZATIONS.  597 

liberal  basis,  without  proscription  or  partisan  require- 
ments, and  was  open  to  students  without  distinction 
of  ethics,  color,  etc.* 


*  This  matter  of  educating  young  men  and  women  in  the  same  classes  and 
institutions  has  been  the  theme  of  much  absurd  questioning  and  vulgar  expression. 
Some  years  ago  a  professor  in  the  St.  Lawrence  University  was  asked  by  an 
English  woman  as  to  what  form  of  discipline  the  school  adopted  when  men  and 
women  were  allowed  to  study  together  :  "  The  college  has  no  rules,  madam,"  he 
replied,  "  the  young  women  don't  require  any,  and  they  discipline  the  young  men 
with  their  very  presence.    We  really  have  nothing  to  do  about  it." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES. 

It  is  neither  an  easy  task  nor  a  desirable  one 
to  recapitulate  the  history  of  altercations.  The 
acrimony  displayed,  the  misrepresentations,  the 
aspersion  of  motives,  and  often  the  coarse,  not  to  say 
indecent  vituperation,  exhibit  the  parties  in  a  most 
unfavorable  light,  besides  making  the  actual  facts 
very  difficult  to  distinguish.  Such  quarrels  are  most 
frequent  and  implacable  in  families,  sparsely-settled 
neighborhoods,  and  circumscribed  groups  of  individ- 
uals, whether  in  a  religious,  benevolent  or  medical 
society  not  having  many  members.  In  the  cases 
where  there  is  the  closest  similarity  in  opinions  or 
doctrine,  but  coming  a  little  short  of  entire  agree- 
ment, the  discord  is  usually  the  fiercest.  The  early 
Thomsonians  and  Reformed  physicians,  we  have 
already  observed,  entertained  an  unappeasable  dis- 
like for  one  another,  and  in  subsequent  years  there 
were  analogous  spites  and  mean  jealousies,  often  very 
absurd  and  ridiculous,  between  individuals  of  the 
Eclectic  School.  "  The  earth  cannot  bear  two  suns," 
replied  Alexander  to  Dareios,  "  nor  Asia  two  kings." 
So  in  the  humbler  world,  the  love  of  ruling  which  is 
the  root  of  every  form  of  evil,  and  with  it  a  vicious 
disposition  to  neglect  the  requirements  of  fraternal 
courtesy,  and  even  of  common  justice,  doubtless 
underlay  the  whole.  Tlie  cause  of  Reformed  Med- 
icine has  suffered  worse  from  causes  of  this  character, 


MEDICAL  COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  599 

at  certain  periods  of  its  history,  than  from  the  perse- 
cutions of  its  open  adversaries. 

MEMPHIS    INSTITUTE. 

At  the  session  of  the  Legislature  in  Tennessee,  in 
1847,  an  act  was  passed  to  incorporate  a  university  by 
the  title  of  "  The  Memphis  Institute."  The  late  Dr. 
William  Byrd  Powell  had  the  chief  agency  in  pro- 
curing the  enactment.  Dr.  Powell  was  a  graduate 
of  Transylvania  University  of  Kentucky,  and  had 
become  deeply  interested  in  promulgating  certain 
novel  doctrines  in  regard  to  Cerebral  Physiology  and 
the  Human  Temperaments.*  Not  having  the  oppor- 
tunities which  he  desired  at  the  Botanico-Medical 
College  of  Memphis,  he  sought  to  establish  an  institu- 
tion with  a  broader  foundation  which  would  afford 
him  the  coveted  opportunity.  He  was  engaged  for 
two  years  with  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the 
literary  and  scientific  departments,  after  which  he 
proceeded  to  the  organizing  of  an  Eclectic  Medical 
College.  The  Faculty  consisted  of  Dr.  Powell,  him- 
self, Dr.  Robert  S.  Newton,  Dr.  Zoheth  Freeman,  and 
Dr.  J.  Milton  Sanders.  There  was  a  partial  endow- 
ment of  the  Institution  and  it  was  enabled  thereby 
to  continue  in  active  operation  for  two  years. 

*  Dr.  Powell  maintained  that  the  temperaments  commonly  designated  "san- 
guine "  and  "bilious"  are  vital,  and  those  denominated  "nervous'"  and 
"  lymphatic,"  are  twn-vital.  He  assumed  further  that  the  latter  two  were  not 
primitive,  but  developed  by  conditions  of  civilized  life.  From  these  premises  he 
deduced  the  theory  that  connubial  unions  between  individuals  of  like  temperament, 
or  with  a  predominance  of  "  non-vital  "  temperaments,  are  physiologically  incest- 
uous, and  certain  to  be  either  unprolific,  or  productive  of  a  degenerate  offspring, 
that  will  be  scrofulous,  imbecile,  mal-formed,  or  short-lived.  The  theory  has 
been  embraced  by  many  in  this  country,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  conjugal  relations 
between  persons  of  kindred  blood,  but  it  has  received  little  ountenance  other- 
wise, except  among  specialists  upon  the  subject  of  heredity. 


6oO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 


TROUBLES    AT    CINCINNATI. 

At  this  period  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  at 
Cincinnati  had  become  involved  in  a  chaos  of 
troubles.  A  Chair  of  Homoeopathy  had  been  estab- 
lished in  1849,  and  Doctors  Baldridge  and  Oliver 
resigned  from  the  Faculty.  Their  places  were  sup- 
plied by  Doctors  H.  F.  Gatchell  and  Storm  Rosa,  both 
of  them  Homoeopathists,  giving  a  color  of  probability 
to  the  apprehension  that  the  trend  was  toward  a  divert- 
ing of  the  enterprise  from  its  original  purpose  as  an 
Eclectic  school.  It  was  actually  asserted  afterward 
that  the  purpose  existed  to  displace  Dr.  Morrow 
himself.  On  his  own  part,  Dr.  Buchanan  himself 
declared  that  the  utmost  harmony  existed  between 
them,  and  that  Doctors  Morrow  and  B.  L.  Hill,  acting 
against  his  judgment,  were  the  persons  that  were 
most  forward  to  establish  the  Chair  of  Homoeopathy. 

He  also  stated  that  in  becoming  a  member  of  the 
Faculty,  he  had,  for  the  time,  abandoned  his  favorite 
investigations  in  anthropologic  science,  and  that  he 
had  been  placed  in  a  false  light  by  thus  appearing  as 
a  representative  of  practical  Medicine,  instead  of  as 
the  teacher  of  a  New  Philosophy.  Whatever  were 
the  actual  facts  in  this  matter,  it  was  inevitable  that 
he  and  his  associates  should  come  into  direct  antago- 
nism. 

At  this  juncture,  unfortunately  for  the  College  as 
well  as  for  the  Eclectic  cause.  Dr.  Morrow  died.  The 
Trustees  lost  no  time  in  abolishing  the  Chair  of 
Homoeopathy,  and  appointed  Dr.  I.  G.  Jones  professor 
of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine.  The  Insti- 
tute was  found  to  be  involved  in  most  perplexing 
financial    embarrassment.       None   of    the  professors 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  6oi 

possessed  aptitude  for  business  except  Dr.  L.  E. 
Jones,  and  for  him,  Dr.  Buchanan,  now  dean  of  the 
Faculty,  entertained  an  inveterate  dislike.  A  union 
with  the  Memphis  Institute  was  proposed  as  a 
remedy.  Dr.  B.  L.  Hill,  Dr.  I.  G.  Jones  and  Mrs. 
Morrow,  whose  means  of  support  were  largely 
imperilled  by  the  woful  condition  of  things,  wrote 
letters  to  Dr.  R.  S.  Newton,  in  January,  185 1,  entreat- 
ing him  to  come  to  Cincinnati,  and  help  rescue  the 
School.  He  consented,  and  the  Memphis  Institute 
was  abandoned.  Dr.  Hill,  having  become  a  Homoe- 
opathist,  retired,  and  also  Dr.  Gatchell.  Doctors 
Freeman,  Sanders  and  King  became  members  of  the 
new  Faculty  ;  Dr.  Powell  absolutely  refusing  an 
appointment. 

THE    AMERICAN    REFORM    MEDICAL    INSTITUTE. 

In  1849,  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky  enacted  the 
bill  to  incorporate  the  "American  Reform  Medical 
Institute."  Dr.  A.  H.  Baldridge,  late  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  at  Cincinnati,  was  active  in  its 
organization.  The  enterprise  appeared  for  a  time  to 
be  in  the  way  of  receiving  a  generous  support. 
There  was  considerable  dissatisfaction  existing  in 
regard  to  matters  at  the  school  in  Cincinnati.  This 
operated  in  favor  of  the  college  at  Louisville,  and 
sanguine  hopes  were  entertained  that  it  would  become 
the  principal  medical  school  of  the  Southwestern 
States.  Great  diligence  had  been  employed  in  the 
selecting  of  instructors.  The  Faculty  comprised 
several  of  the  most  prominent  Eclectic  and  Botanic 
physicians.  Dr.  Baldridge  was  the  dean  during  the 
first  term,  in  1850,  but  was  succeeded  the  next  year  by 


6o2  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Johnson  H.  Jordan.*  Their  associate  professors  were 
Doctors  E.  Morgan  Parritt  and  George  W.  Churchill, 
from  the  Worcester  Medical  Institution  ;  Dr.  Charles- 
J.  Childs  and  Dr.  James  Milot.  Several  terms  were 
held  with  excellent  promise,  when  unfortunate  occur- 
rences brought  the  career  of  the  institution  to  a 
sudden  close. 

FREE    LECTURES    AT    CINCINNATI. 

Dr.  I.  G.  Jones  had  succeeded  to  the  professorship 
held  by  Dr.  Morrow.  He  employed  the  opportunity 
to  complete  the  work  on  the  Eclectic  Practice  of 
Medicine  which  Dr.  Morrow  had  left  unfinished,  and 
to  add  to  it  a  volume  entirely  of  his  own  preparing. 
His  health  giving  way,  he  was  obliged  to  stop  lectur- 
ing, and  his  death  took  place  a  few  years  afterward. 

Dr.  Wooster  Beach  was  unacceptable  to  the  new 
management,  and  his  name  was  removed  from  the 
Faculty. 

The  project  had  been  conceived  of  making  the 
stated  lectures  free.  It  was  in  accordance  with  the 
Free-School  movement,  then  at  its  height,  the  dean 
argued.  It  was  also  the  practice  at  the  Ecole  de  Me'decine 
of    Paris,   and    attracted   students   thither   from    all 

*  Dr.  Jordan  graduated  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  in  1848.  While  he  was 
at  Cincinnati  the  next  spring,  contemplating  a  removal  to  New  York,  to  take  part 
in  the  Central  Medical  College,  the  cholera  broke  out.  Most  who  were  stricken 
died.  The  common  treatment  was  ineffectual,  not  to  say  fatal  outright.  At  the 
popular  demand  the  Board  of  Health  placed  Dr.  Jordan  in  charge  of  the  cholera 
hospital,  where  he  remained  from  the  sixth  of  June  till  the  twenty-eighth  of 
August.  His  success  had  not  been  equalled  in  any  but  the  Eclectic,  Thomsonian 
or  Homoeopathic  practice.  He  had  210  patients  with  cholera,  of  whom  49  died. 
Of  these  last,  39  were  moribund  when  they  were  brought  to  the  hospital.  Dr. 
Jordan  then  accepted  the  invitation  to  take  part  in  the  enterprise  at  Louisville.  He 
was  dean  for  one  year,  and  editor  of  the  Medical  Era.  He  spent  the  last  years  of 
his  life  at  Chicago,  dying  in  1885. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  603 

directions.  He  was  confident  that  a  like  result  would 
follow  at  Cincinnati.  The  purpose  and  expectation  were 
also  cherished  that  it  might  compel  the  other  Reform 
Colleges  to  suspend,  and  so  leave  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  in  exclusive  possession  of  the  field,  thus 
virtually  constituting  it  the  umpire  of  the  entire 
Eclectic  School  of  Medicine  in  the  United  States. 
The  professors  were  assured  that  by  this  policy  the 
number  of  students  would  exceed  five  hundred,  and 
that  they  would  thus  obtain  a  larger  income  from  the 
other  fees  sufficient  to  recoup  them  for  the  loss  of 
receipts  for  lectures.  There  would  also  be  a  larger 
sale  of  the  books  which  the  professors  had  published. 
Besides,  they  had  the  resource  of  private  classes  apart 
from  their  regular  duties.  This  has  been  a  common 
matter  in  medical  colleges  of  every  school  of  practice. 
Students  anxious  to  make  sure  of  graduating  with 
facility  are  naturally  awake  to  the  importance  of 
making  friends  in  the  Faculty,  and  so  will  consent  to 
pay  for  such  tuition,  as  though  it  did  not  properly 
pertain  to  the  regular  course  of  study.  The  professors 
were  thus  induced  to  believe  that  the  larger  number 
of  students  thus  obtained  by  the  attraction  of  free 
education  in  medicine,  would  in  this  way  be  induced 
to  contribute  enough  to  make  it  a  profitable  operation. 
Doctors  Freeman  and  Sanders,  however,  did  not 
approve  of  the  arrangement,  and  resigned  their  Pro- 
fessorships. The  vacant  chairs  were  filled  by  Doctors 
G.  W.  L.  Bickley,  J.  W.  Hoyt  and  W.  Sherwood. 

In  the  latter  weeks  of  1852,  the  ill  feeling  which  had 
long  existed  between  Dr.  Buchanan  and  Dr.  L.  E. 
Jones  had  reached  its  crisis.  There  had  been  much 
dissatisfaction  in  the  class  with  several  of  the  new 
professors,  and  Dr.  Jones  had  imprudently  taken  sides 


6o4  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

in  the  matter.  He  also  expressed  his  sentiments 
about  Dr.  Buchanan  with  great  indiscretion.  The 
latter  brought  the  matter  before  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
and  upon  his  representations  a  resolution  was  unani- 
mously adopted  expelling  Dr.  Jones  from  the  Faculty.* 
Dr.  Newton  was  elected  his  successor,  and  Dr.  Freeman 
accepted  the  post  of  Professor  of  Surgery. 

The  plan  of  free  lectures  met  with  indifferent 
success.f  It  failed  to  induce  students  to  attend  in  any 
considerable  number  from  the  Eastern  States,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  was  regarded  by  the  managers  of 
the  other  Reform  Colleges  as  an  unfriendly  action, 
and  several  medical  journals  expressed  their  disap- 
proval in  no  equivocal  terms.  After  two  or  three 
years,  the  former  mode  of  procedure  was  restored. 

Among  the  graduates  of  this  period  maybe  enumer- 

*  This  controversy  was  characterized  by  a  vast  deal  of  scandal.  Dr.  Bickley, 
who  afterviard  changed  his  attitude  in  the  later  dissensions,  declared  that  "the 
basis  of  this  matter  was  of  a  private  character,"  and  that  Dr.  Buchanan  made 
various  charges  with  such  apparent  sincerity  that  the  Faculty  were  deceived,  and 
refused  Dr.  Jones  an  opportunity  to  exculpate  himself  or  to  impeach  the  testimony. 
Dr.  Buchanan,  on  his  part,  accused  Dr.  Jones  of  moral  depravity  and  unfitness, 
and  described  his  accusations  as  "  the  stupid  mendacity  of  a  selfish  and  animal 
nature  impelled  by  ungovernable  passion."  He  affirmed  that  Dr.  Jones  was  too 
illiterate  and  ignorant  to  write  a  paper  suitable  for  the  public  eye,  and  that 
another  member  of  the  Faculty  actually  wrote  the  greater  part  of  the  treatise  on 
Materia  Medica,  to  which  Dr.  Jones  prefi.xed  his  own  name  as  author.  Dr.  Jones 
made  a  reply  containing  the  severest  allegations  of  all ;  that  Dr.  Buchanan  had 
never  been  an  Eclectic  ;  that  he  had  traduced  Dr.  Morrow,  saying  that  the  pros- 
perity of  the  college  required  his  removal,  and  his  place  to  be  filled  by  a  more 
competent  teacher  ;  and  that  Dr.  Morrow  himself,  in  a  letter  written  a  few  months 
before  his  death,  had  declared  Dr.  Buchanan  to  be  unstable  and  visionary,  and 
that  "  his  vagaries  and  hypothetical  doctrines  tend  to  mystify  and  blind  the  minds 
of  students,  and  make  them  anything  but  practical  men." 

t  A  similar  experiment  was  made  at  the  medical  department  of  the  State 
University  of  Michigan.  It  was  confidently  supposed  that  free  tuition  would 
attract  students  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  enable  the  school  to  cast  into  the 
shade  the  other  schools,  even  those  of  Philadelphia.  Enthusiastic  persons  even 
predicted  that  there  would  be  an  annual  revenue  of  $:)oo,ooo  to  the  Treasury  of  the 
State  from  this  source.     The  expectation,  however,  was  not  realized. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  605 

ated  many  who  were  afterward  well  known.  We  can 
name  in  the  number,  James  Anton,  James  M.  Youatt, 
John  F.  Judge,  Henry  Wohlgemuth,  W.  C.  E.  Martin, 
Robert  W.  Geddes,  Andrew  Yeagley,  Lemon  T.  Beam, 
Edwin  Freeman. 

THE    AMERICAN    MEDICAL    COLLEGE    OF    OHIO. 

The  summary  action  taken  in  the  case  of  Dr.  L.  E. 
Jones  was  followed,  as  in  analogous  instances,  by  the 
founding  of  the  "  American  Medical  College."  Doctors 
Jones  and  Baldridge  were  foremost  in  the  under- 
taking, and  their  former  friendly  relations  with  Dr. 
Morrow  enabled  them  to  enlist  many  of  his  friends 
in  its  behalf.  Dr.  Jones  made  a  journey  to  New  York 
in  quest  of  lecturers,  but  with  little  success.  A 
Faculty,  however,  was  finally  obtained,  and  the 
institution  went  into  operation  with  much  energy. 
Following  the  example  of  the  other  Eclectic  Colleges, 
there  were  two  terms  held  every  year,  and  the  attend- 
ance was  encouraging.  The  professors  were  men  of 
ability,  and  most  of  them  had  already  served  else- 
where as  instructors*  In  the  autumn  of  1855,  Dr. 
S.  H.  Potter  gave  up  the  Syracuse  Medical  College, 
and  removed  to  Cincinnati  with  his  journal,  making 
it  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Faculty. 

Thus  early,  however,  the  apple  of  discord  was 
hurled  into  the  midst.  It  had  often  been  accused  and 
denied,  that  Eclectic  practitioners  adhered  to  the  use 
of  mercury  and  other  discarded  remedies.  It  was 
said  that  while  as  a  school  they  professed  to  entertain 
radical  and   advanced  sentiments  upon   this   subject, 

*  The  Faculty  comprised  in  its  corps  of  instructors  Dr.  T.  J.  Wright,  the 
dean.  Doctors  L.  E.  Jones  and  A.  H.  Baldridge,  late  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  ;  Doctors  S.  H.  Potter  alid  E.  H.  Stockwcll,  from  the  Syracuse  Medical 
College,  and  Doctors  W.  B.  Witt,  J.  L.  Galloway  and  K.  D.  Hill. 


6o6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

many  of  their  teachers  and  others  were  hypocrites  in 
this  matter,  and  adhered  to  the  old  methods.  Dr. 
L.  E.  Jones  was  earnest  in  his  hostility  to  these  pro- 
cedures. He  found  his  colleagues  to  be  less  sincere. 
The  announcement  of  the  College  had  been  carefully 
worded  in  order  to  evade  the  entire  proposition,  and 
several  of  the  professors  had  distinctly  asserted  that 
the  institution  represented  no  sentiments  other  than 
those  of  the  Old  School. 

Dr.  Jones  felt  that  he  could  consistently  remain  no 
longer  a  professor.  He  and  Dr.  Baldridge,  he  declared, 
had  virtually  founded  the  American  Medical  College, 
and  had  been  mistreated  and  defrauded  by  the  dean.* 
The  personal  reflections  were  very  severe  and,  of 
course,  resulted  in  the  vacating  of  their  places  in  the 
Faculty.  Dr.  John  Kost,  formerly  of  the  Cleveland 
Botanico-Medical  College  and  of  the  Worcester  Med- 
ical Institution,  succeeded  to  the  Chair  of  Botany, 
and  Dr.  John  A.  Corey  to  that  of  the  Theory  and 
Practice  of  Medicine. 

The  American  Medical  College  continued  in  active 
operation  till  1857.  The  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine 
having  come  into  existence,  it  then  suspended  and 
its  good  will  and  scientific  apparatus  were  transferred 
to  the  new  institution. 

NATIONAL    ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    ASSOCIATION, CONTINUED. 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Med- 
ical   Association     for    185 1,    had    been    appointed    at 

*  Dr.  Child  had  commanded  the  janitor  to  e.xclude  them  both  from  the  build- 
ing where  lectures  were  delivered.  Dr.  Jones  further  alleged  that  the  dean  had 
divided  the  money  received  from  the  students,  not  paying  him  or  Dr.  Baldridge 
a  cent ;  and  he  also  instanced  Doctors  Potter  and  Stockwell  as  hav^ing  participated 
in  similar  operations. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  607 

Pittsburg  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  May.  Dr.  Buchanan 
was  the  president,  but  did  not  attend.  The  absence 
■of  the  several  officers  and  other  circumstances 
created  serious  misgiving-  in  regard  to  the  validity  of 
the  proceedings.  An  organization  was  effected,  how- 
ever, with  Dr.  Robert  S.  Newton,  of  Ohio,  as  presi- 
dent, and  Dr.  S.  Kyle,  of  Pittsburg,  as  secretary. 
The  number  present  was  not  large,  and  was  chiefly 
composed  of  physicians  from  Ohio,  Western  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania.  Dr.  William  Paine,  of 
Warren,  in  Ohio,  and  Dr.  L.  Oldshue,  the  pioneer 
Eclectic  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  were  among  the 
number  that  enrolled  themselves  as  members. 

At  this  time  the  controversies  between  Dr.  W.  F. 
Smith  and  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  between  the  Central  Medical  College  of 
New  York  and  the  Syracuse  Medical  College  were  at 
their  height.  The  respondents  in  both  cases  were 
absent,  and,  as  frequently  happens,  the  accusers  took 
advantage  of  that  fact  to  bring  the  matters  before 
the  Association  for  its  action.  This,  however,  was 
prudently  deferred  till  the  next  meeting. 

It  sometimes  occurs  in  republican  governments, 
that  a  new  administration  devotes  much  of  its 
energies  to  undoing  the  work  of  its  predecessor.  It 
is  not  a  wise  procedure,  nor  often  creditable,  but 
personal  ill  will  or  partisan  feeling  makes  it  seem 
just  to  superficial  observers.  Dr.  Morrow  had  made 
it  his  aim  for  years  to  effect  a  union  and  alliance  of 
the  Reform  physicians  of  every  change  of  sentiment.* 

*  A  letter  purporting  to  be  written  by  him  bearing  the  date  of  February  8, 
1850,  has  this  sentence  :  "  I  intend  to  try  to  compromise  with  our  '  Physopathic  ' 
friends,  as  you  suggest,  for  the  good  of  the  cause."  See  also  his  letter  to  Dr. 
Thomas  Cooke. 


6o8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

With  this  purpose,  Dr.  Buchanan  had  little  sympathy- 
He  sent  a  letter  to  the  meeting  at  Pittsburg,  recom- 
mending that  the  attempt  at  a  National  organization 
be  abandoned,  and  that  local  conventions  be  held 
instead.  This  proposition,  however,  was  voted  down, 
and  the  next  meeting  of  the  Association  was  appointed 
at  the  city  of  Rochester,  in  New  York.  The  threatened 
dissolution  was  thus  obviated. 

The  Third  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Association  was 
held  pursuant  to  appointment  on  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  days  of  May,  1852.  The  members  in  attend- 
ance were  principally  from  Canada,  and  the  Eastern 
and  Middle  States.  An  increasing  approximation  of 
sentiment  and  fraternal  feeling  was  apparent.  It 
comprised,  among  others,  the  men  who  had  been 
the  first  to  adopt  the  designation  of  Eclectic.  Dr. 
Calvin  Newton,*  of  Massachusetts,  was  elected  presi- 
dent ;  Doctors  John  Simms,  of  Delaware,  and  A. 
D.  Skellenger,  of  Ohio,  vice-presidents  ;  Doctors  S. 
H.  Potter  and  L.  C.  Dolley,  both  of  New  York,  secre- 
taries. 

The  session  was  devoted  to  legitimate  business. 
The  complaint  of  Dr.  W.  F.  Smith  against  the  College 
in  Philadelphia  was  dismissed,  and  the  proceedings 
in  regard  to  the  Syracuse  Medical  College  expunged 
from  the  record. 

The  endeavor  was  made  at  this  meeting  to  give  the 
Eclectic   Theory  of  Medicine   a   definite   scientific,  as 


*  "  We  went  to  the  meeting,"  said  Dr.  Newton,  "  prepared  to  act  the  part  of 
lookers  on  ;  *  *  but  on  the  other  hand  we  were  prepared  to  lay  aside  all  over- 
strenuous  regard  to  names,  and  enter  heartily  into  a  cooperation,  if  we  should  find 
a  disposition  to  union,  together  with  sufficiently  elevated  and  correct  views  of  the 
Science  of  Medicine.  We  did  find  a  controlling  and  an  overwhelming  majority 
thoroughly  indoctrinated  in  the  leading  medical  truths  which  we  in  New  England 
entertain." 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  609 

well  as  practical  basis.  Before  this,  most  of  the 
teachers  and  others  who  were  prominent  in  the 
School,  were  men  little  versed  in  classic  and  general 
literature,  and  many  were  hardly  redeemed  from 
actual  illiteracy.  T.he  new  president  was  liberally 
educated  and  had  been  for  several  years  an  instructor 
in  colleges.  When  he  engaged  in  the  profession  of 
Medicine,  he  likewise  began  the  effort  to  place  it  and  the 
School  which  he  had  adopted,  upon  a  basis  of  equality 
with  other  professions  in  point  of  general  and  other 
scholarship.  As  has  been  already  set  forth,  he  had 
never  been  specifically  a  disciple  of  Samuel  Thomson 
or  Wooster  Beach,  but  at  the  very  outset  had  declared 
himself  independent,  and  an  Eclectic,  as  he  defined 
that  term. 

A  platform  of  principles  was  reported  by  Dr.  L.  C. 
Dolley,  a  man  of  somewhat  similar  mould.  It 
declared  as  the  first  proposition  "  to  maintain  the 
utmost  freedom  of  thought  and  investigation,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  restrictive  system  heretofore  in  vogue. 
The  other  theses  were  explanatory  of  Eclecticism  in 
Medicine,  its  scope  and  aims. 

2.  To  encourage  the  cultivation  of  Medical  Science 
in  a  liberal  spirit,  especially  in  the  development  of 
the  resources  of  the  vegetable  Materia  Medica,  and 
the  safest,  speediest  and  most  efficient  methods  of 
treating  disease. 

3.  To  adopt  in  investigations  the  Baconian  or 
inductive  philosophy,  instead  of  the  synthetic  methods. 

4.  That  a  departure  from  the  healthy  condition 
interrupts  the  bodily  functions,  and  only  the  recuper- 
ative efforts  of  Nature  can  effect  their  restoration. 
The  object,  therefore,  of  medication  accordingly  is 
to  afford  to  Nature  the  means  of  doing  this  work 
more  advantageously,  and  under  circumstances  in 
which  she  would  otherwise  fail. 


6lO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

5.  "  To  receive  and  teach  Eclecticism — not  as  an 
indiscriminate  selection  of  means  supposed  to  be 
remedial,  but  a  selection  based  upon  the  recognized 
nature  of  the  disease  to  be  treated,  and  the  character 
of  the  agent  or  agents  employed  to  remove  that 
disease,  thus  presupposing  a  knowledge  on  the  part 
of  the  physician,  at  once  of  the  pathology  of  the 
disease  and  the  adaptedness  of  the  remedy  ;  and  to 
encourage  and  urge  the  highest  scientific  attain- 
ments." 

6.  The  excluding  of  all  permanently  depressing  and 
disorganizing  agencies — such  as  depletion  by  the 
lancet,  and  medication  of  a  dangerous  tendency  ;  also 
a  preferring  of  vegetable  remedies,  but  no  exclusive 
system  of  Herbalism — and  no  rejection  of  a  mineral 
agent,  except  from  the  conviction  of  its  injurious 
effect. 

7.  "  To  dismiss  from  the  catalogue  of  remedial 
agents  all  those  which  under  the  ordinary  circum- 
stances of  their  administration  are  liable  to  injure 
the  stamina  of  the  human  constitution  ;  more  partic- 
ularly the  mineral  poisons,  such  as  mercury,  arsenic 
and  antimony,  and  all  of  their  various  preparations, 
and  to  substitute  in  their  place  articles  derived  from 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  which  are  not  only  as  power- 
ful in  their  operation,  but  far  more  safe  and  salutary 
in  their  immediate  effects  upon  the  human  system." 

The  system  of  Free  Lectures'  adopted  at  Cincinnati 
was  discussed  and  a  resolution  of  disapproval  adopted 
on  the  ground  that  its  operation  was  injurious  to 
other  colleges.  This,  however,  was  rescinded  as 
embracing  a  matter  beyond  the  province  of  the 
National  Association. 

The  Fourth  Annual  Meeting  was  held  at  the  Hall 
of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  tenth  and  eleventh 
days  of  May,  1853.  Dr.  John  Simms,  of  Delaware, 
was    elected    president,    Doctors    Levi    Reuben   and 


MEDICAL  COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  6ll 

Henry  Hollembaek,  secretaries,  and  Dr.  Thomas 
Cooke,  treasurer. 

Dr.  Calvin  Nev^ton  submitted  an  address  in  which 
he  set  forth  elaborately  a  plan  for  the  advancing  and 
future  triumph  of  Eclecticism.  He  considered  the 
necessary  step  to  be  by  means  of  Medical  Societies, 
and  a  more  perfect  organizing  of  the  National 
Association.  He  proposed  that  that  body  should  be 
constituted  in  part  of  Delegates  from  States  and 
minor  organizations.  State  Societies  were  now  largely 
attended  as  annual  jubilees,  he  remarked  ;  but  they 
should  be  employed,  he  insisted,  to  establish  and 
develop  professional  knowledge.  There  should  also 
be  District  Societies  meeting  quarterly.  In  these 
organizations — National,  State  and  local — profes- 
sional improvement  should  be  the  object  sought. 

Dr.  Newton  was  also  strenuous  in  behalf  of  proper 
means  and  a  proper  standard  of  medical  instruction. 
Medical  colleges  he  regarded  as  constituting  the 
principal  wheels  for  rolling  on  the  car  of  Scientific 
Reform  in  Medicine.  The  requirements  of  students 
in  order  to  be  candidates  for  graduation  should  be  as 
high,  or  even  higher,  than  elsewhere.  Those  whose 
province  it  is  to  be  teachers  in  our  schools,  must  be 
men  well  trained — not  only  in  matters  of  medical 
practice,  but  of  Medical  Science,  and  even  in  general 
literature.  "  Their  ambition  should  be  to  avail  them- 
selves of  all  the  professional  advantages  afforded 
here  and  in  Europe.  They  should  have  a  fair  pecuni- 
ary compensation  ;  and  to  meet  this,  the  price  of 
tuition  should  be  higher."  That  which  costs  nothing 
is  generally  valued  at  nothing,  he  declared  ;  and  that 
which  costs  little  is  valued  at  little.  What  is  paid  for 
will  be  appreciated. 


6l2  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Upon  "  petty  and  unchartered  Schools,"  Dr.  Newton 
was  sternly  severe.  They  were  endeavoring,  he 
asserted,  to  allure  to  themselves  unsuspicious  students 
by  the  inducement  of  graduation  after  a  few  weeks, 
or  at  most  after  a  few  months  employed  in  profes- 
sional study.  They  were  a  curse  to  Eclecticism  and 
ought  to  be  repudiated.  Several  such,  he  stated,  had 
sprung  up  in  the  last  year  and  had  already  passed 
out  of  existence.  "  Bodies  to  create  ashes  they  never 
had." 

The  Association  adopted  resolutions  of  the  same 
tenor,  which  'reprehended  the  attempt  to  sustain 
Medical  Colleges  without  an  adequate  charge  for 
tuition,  deprecated  the  establishing  of  rival  Schools 
where  well-conducted  j\Iedical  Colleges  already 
existed,  and  disapproved  of  the  endeavor  to  establish 
unchartered  Schools  without  the  strongest  reasons. 

The  persons  who  offered  to  graduate  medical 
students  without  examination,  and  without  the  time 
usually  required  to  be  spent  in  professional  study, 
were  declared  to  be  "  practicing  the  grossest  imposi- 
tion, encouraging  quackery,  and  unworthy  of 
confidence." 

The  support  of  Eclectic  Colleges  was  distinctly 
demanded.  It  was  declared  to  be  "the  duty  of 
Eclectic  practitioners  to  encourage  their  students  to 
resort  for  their  professional  education  to  well-regu- 
lated and  established  Eclectic  Colleges,  as  affording 
advantages  superior  to  what  can  be  gained  at 
institutions  of  a  different  faith,  and  thereby  quali- 
fying them  to  be  more  successful  practitioners." 

A  report  by  Dr.  Walter  Burnham  was  also  adopted 
recommending  the  formation  of  State  Eclectic  Med- 
ical Societies  in  all  the  States,  the  further  establishing 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  613 

of  auxiliary  district  societies,  and  the  appointing-  of 
delegates  from  them  all  to  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association.* 

The  Fifth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Association  was 
held  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  on  the  ninth  and 
tenth  of  May,  1854.  There  was  a  large  attendance, 
chiefly  from  New  England  and  New  York.f  There 
was  a  disposition  in  other  regions  to  discountenance 
further  friendly  relations.  Dr.  Walter  Burnham  was 
elected  president  ;  Doctors  Cyrus  Johns,  of  New 
York,  and  M.  Gabbert,  of  Tennessee,  vice-presidents ; 
Doctors  R.  O.  Williams,  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
H.  I.  Fisk,  of  Connecticut,  secretaries  ;  Doctors  G.  W. 
Morrow  and  John  W.  Johnson,  corresponding  secre- 
taries. The  sessions  were  devoted  to  matters  impor- 
tant to  medical  men.  The  new  prei,ident  was  earnest 
in  this,  urgent  to  advance  consensus  of  professional 
interest,  and  severely  deprecated  the  dissensions  and 
jealousies  which  were  cultivated  to  the  point  of 
personal  hostility. 

The  death  of  Calvin  Newton  cast  a  deep  gloom 
over  the  proceedings.  Dr.  Levi  Reuben  delivered  an 
eloquent  oration,  giving  a  brief  summary  of  his  aims 
and  what  he  had  accomplished. 

"He  did  not  aim  to  be  a  discoverer,"  said  the 
speaker.  "  His  object  was  to  give  the  Reformed 
Practice  of  Medicine  a  sure  foundation.  He  found  it 
made  up  of  very  sensible  and  successful  empiricisms  ; 

*  The  present  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  adopted  this  plan  in  1877, 
and  required  that  all  candidates  to  become  members  must  be  nominated  in  future 
from  such  State  and  local  societies,  instead  of  personal  application  or  the  recom- 
mendation of  individuals. 

+  Among  the  new  members  this  year  were  many  who  became  noted  in  future 
seasons;  among  them.  Doctors  F.  H.  Kelley,  Levi  Reuben,  Marshall  Calkins,  A. 
Jackson  Howe,  H.  D.  West.  J.  M.  Graves,  G.  N.  Langdon,  J.  M.  Bishop,  F.  A. 
Bosworth,  H.  W.  Buxton  and  Ellsworth  Burr. 


6l4  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

he  left  it  based  on  the  broad  foundation  of  a  sound 
pathological  and  therapeutical  philosophy." 

The  resolutions  adopted  at  this  meeting  deprecated 
the  multiplying  of  medical  colleges,  and  urged  the 
support  of  those  institutions  which  were  duly  supplied 
with  proper  means  and  facilities  for  instruction  in  the 
various  departments.  The  fellowship  of  the  Associa- 
tion was  assured  to  all  genuine  Medical  Reformers, 
whatever  the  name,  but  refused  to  those  whose  leading 
remedies  consisted  of  "the  mercurials,  arsenicals, 
antimonials  and  general  bloodletting,  together  with 
other  means  and  methods  equally  destructive  to  life 
and  health." 

The  Sixth  Annual  Meeting  was  held  in  the  city  of 
New  York  on  the  fifth  and  sixth  days  of  June,  1855. 
The  Call  had  been  made  in  terms  according  with  a 
resolution  adopted  at  the  previous  meeting,  and  many 
of  those  in  attendance  were  physicians  who  had  been 
affiliated  with  the  Reform  movement  set  on  foot  in 
185 1.  This  was  significant  of  the  disposition  which 
was  fast  gaining  ground  to  obliterate  as  far  as  possible 
the  landmarks  and  controversies  which  had  divided 
the  Eclectic  and  Botanic  schools.* 

*  With  this  purpose,  Dr.  J.  R.  Buchanan  and  Dr.  I.  M.  Comings,  neither  of 
them,  were  in  sympathy.  They  were  at  opposite  ends  of  the  magnetic  pole,  and 
alike  hostile  to  whatever  did  not  accept  their  authority.  One  railed  at  the  meeting 
because  of  the  Botanic  and  Reform  physicians  in  it ;  the  other  derided  because  the 
dean  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  as  if  speaking  ej:  cathedra,  had  formally 
repudiated  it.  In  both  instances  the  words  recoiled  upon  the  men  who  uttered 
them.  Among  the  Eclectics  at  the  meeting  were  Dr.  R  S.  Newton  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  ;  Dr.  H.  Hollembaek  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  Drs.  Levi  Reuben,  Elijah  Whitney,  Grover  Coe,  H.  E.  Firth,  B.  J.  Stow, 
ex-president  John  Simms.  Of  the  Physopathists  and  Reform  physicians,  many  of 
whom  were  afterward  known  as  Eclectics,  were  Doctors  G.  W.  Morrow,  John  W. 
Johnson  and  Ellsworth  Burr,  of  the  Worcester  Medical  Institution ;  Isaac  J. 
Sperry,  Joseph  D.  Friend,  H.  A.  Archer,  of  the  Metropolitan  Medical  College; 
E.  J.  Mattocks,  John  Law,  Herbert  Fearn. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  615 

Jr.  Wooster  Beach  wan  elected  president,  and 
.itroduced  by  Dr.  Walter  Burnham  as  the  Father  of 
Eclectic  Medicine.  The  other  officers  were  Doctors 
J.  W.  Johnson  and  Silas  Wilcox,  vice-presidents  ; 
Cyrus  Johns  and  H.  I.  Fisk,  recording  secretaries  ; 
Hermes  M.  Sweet  and  Frank  H.  Kelley,  corresponding 
secretaries  ;  W.  H.  H.  Crandall,  of  Pennsylvania, 
treasurer. 

The  practice  of  reporting  upon  the  status  of  Eclectic 
Medicine  in  the  several  States  was  instituted  at  this 
meeting.  A  discussion  resulted  which  exhibited  the 
predominant  sentiment  to  be  in  favor  of  harmonizing 
minor  differences  and  cooperating  for  the  common 
good. 

Dr.  Burnham  remarked  that  the  platform  of  the 
Allopathic  School  was  to  fight  every  body  else.  He 
insisted  that  Reformers  ought  now  to  join  in  one 
solid  phalanx  to  fight  the  Allopathic  School. 

Dr.  I.  M.  Comings  proposed  that  a  platform  of 
principles  ought  to  be  set  forth  upon  which  all  might 
stand. 

The  "  Baltimore  Platform,"  adopted  by  the  Reform 
National  Convention,  was  accordingly  adopted  ;  "  i. 
That  in  the  administration  of  remedial  agents  we 
should  employ  only  those,  the  therapeutical  action  of 
which  is  physiological  and  not  pathological.  2.  That 
disease  is  not  vital  action,  but  that  condition  of  a 
part  which  disqualifies  it  for  the  performance  of  its 
functions  in  a  normal  manner." 

Dr.  Beach  asked  attention  to  the  new  procedure  of 
obtaining  the  active  principles  of  the  medicinal  plants 
in  a  concentrated  form.  He  laid  down  the  necessary 
conditions  :  that  they  should  be  reliable,  and  that  they 
should  be  brought  into  as  small  a  compass  as  possible, 


6l6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  the  most  elegant  form  for  exhibition,  without 
injury  to  their  medicinal  qualities. 

The  subject  of  Medical  Colleges  was  also  considered. 
Dr.  Burnham  submitted  a  report  in  favor  of  encour- 
aging the  institutions  in  favor  of  medical  reform, 
"  and  those  only  which  are  based  on  these  principles, 
and  such  as  are  well  supplied  with  the  means  and  facili- 
ties for  a  complete  and  thorough  course  of  instruction 
in  all  the  departments  of  medical  science." 

Dr.  Burnham  also  reported  a  resolution  recommend- 
ing the  Trustees  of  the  several  medical  colleges  to 
admit  to  the  general  course  of  lectures  such  women 
as  might  desire  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages 
of  a  thorough  medical  education,  or  else  to  provide 
them  with  such  private  instruction  as  was  best 
adapted  to  this  end. 

This  was  the  first  act  of  a  general  body  of  physicians 
to  sanction  the  instruction  of  women  in  Medicine. 

Dr.  Reuben  presented  a  series  of  resolutions  in 
regard  to  the  preparation  of  vegetable  remedies  in  the 
form  of  educts  and  active  principles.  The  discovery 
and  isolation  of  these,  he  insisted,  were  original  with 
the  Reformed  School,  but  members  of  the  Old  School 
and  editors  of  their  journals,  now  claimed  them  as 
their  own  in  a  dishonest  and  dishonorable  manner 
knowing  all  the  while  that  the  credit  did  not  of  right 
belong  to  them.*     The  resolutions  were  adopted. 

The  Seventh  Annual  Meeting  was  likewise  held  in 
New  York  on  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  days  of 
June,  1856.  The  members  in  attendance  were  princi- 
pally from  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States.  The 
constitution   and    platform,    the  same   as    had    been 

*  Even  the  late  Dr.  J.  Marion  Sims  proposed  to  "  introduce  Pinus  Canadensis 
to  the  profession  ;"  and  also,  the  Stillingia  Compound,  or  "  McDade's  formula." 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  617 

reported  by  Dr.  T.  V.  Morrow,  in  1849,  and  adopted, 
were  now  subscribed  and  adopted  anew.*  Dr.  Samuel 
Tuthill  was  elected  president  for  the  ensuing-  year  ; 
Doctors  R.  S.  Newton  and  M.  Van  Buren,  vice- 
presidents  ;  Doctors  Joseph  D.  Friend  and  Grover 
Coe,  recording-  secretaries,  and  Doctors  Hermes  M. 
Sweet  and  Zoheth  Freeman,  corresponding  secretaries. 

The  new  methods  of  manufacture  of  medicines, 
the  obtaining  and  employing  of  the  educts  and 
active  principles  of  the  vegetable  remedies,  constituted 
an  important  feature  of  the  discussions. 

Dr.  H.  E.  Firth  called  the  attention  of  the  Associa- 
tion to  the  action  of  Dr.  Joseph  R.  Buchanan  and  his 
associate  editors  of  the  College  Journal  of  Medical 
Science,  misrepresenting  the  members  of  the  National 
Association  and  denouncing  it  as  having  no  valid 
existence.  The  matter  was  referred  to  a  Committee 
consisting  of  Doctors  H.  E.  Firth,  J.  D.  Friend  and 
Grover  Coe,  who  reported  a  preamble  and  resolution 
declaring  that  Dr.  Buchanan  had  not  been  a  member 
of  the  Association  for  five  years  past,  and  that  the 
claims  of  the  others  to  speak  for  Eclectics  were  as 
untenable  as  his,  and  cautioning  the  public  against 
receiving  their  statements. 

The  other  proceedings  were  devoid  of  interest.  Dr. 
Friend  spoke  of  the  importance  of  a  retrospect  of 
the  progress  of  Medical  Reform,  and  the  value  which 
would  be  attached  to  a  history  of  its  rise  and  progress 
in  this  country.  Other  speakers  described  the  con- 
dition   of     the    Reformed    practice    as    never    more 

*  The  medical  colleges  appear  to  have  been  largely  represented.  Doctors 
Walter  Burnham,  Frank  H.  Kelley  and  John  W.  Johnson  were  professors  in  the 
Worcester  Medical  Institution  ;  Dr.  Henry  HoUembaek  represented  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Doctors  R.  S.  Newton,  Z.  Freeman  and 
J.  M.  San<iers  wiere  from  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  then  in  litigation. 


6l8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

prosperous,*  and  cited  the  fact  that  the  legislatures  of 
the  several  states  had  repealed  the  oppressive  medical 
statutes.  They  deplored  the  indifference  of  practi- 
tioners in  regard  to  the  meetings  of  their  State  and 
National  Associations,  as  suicidal,  and  exposing  them 
to  a  renewal  of  the  old  legislation. 

The  Eighth  Annual  Meeting  was  held  at  the  hall  of 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati, 
on  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  days  of  June,  1857. 
Dr.  Robert  S.  Newton,  of  Ohio,  was  elected  president 
for  the  coming  year  ;  Doctors  John  Kost  and  Henry 
Hollembaek,  vice-presidents  ;  Doctors  Grover  Coe  and 
John  M.  Scudder,  recording  secretaries,  and  Doctors 
L.  E.  Jones  and  I.  N.  Comings,  corresponding  secre- 
taries. There  was  little  interest  exhibited  and  the 
meetings  occupied  but  a  brief  period  each  day.  Few 
of  the  members  who  had  been  appointed  to  read 
papers  had  attended,  but  transmitted  their  essays. 
The  next  annual  meeting  was  appointed  at  Cincinnati, 
in  June,  1858,  but  it  was  not  held,  nor  was  even  a 
notification  issued. 

The  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  had  been 
brought  into  active  existence  by  ihe  masterly  energy 
of  Dr.  Thomas  V.  Morrow  and  his  helpers,  and  was 
sustained  after  his  death  by  the  cooperation  of  the 
public-spirited  Reformers  of  New  England  and  the 
Middle  States,  Calvin  Newton,  Thomas  Cooke  and 
their  associates.  When  these  men  likewise  passed 
from  life  there  were  none  left  strong  and  disinterested 
to  continue  the  organization  in  efficient  activity. 
There  was  a  lack  of  esprit  de  corps  which  was  sure  to  be 
fatal.     The    medical   colleges   were    disorganized   by 

*  The  number  of  Eclectic  and  Botanic  physicians  in  the  United  States  at  tliis 
time  was  estimated  at  eight  thousand. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  619 

jangling  and  jealousies,  and  could  no  longer  con- 
tribute their  efforts  ;  and  the  practitioners  who  had 
attended  the  meetings  had  been  made  to  feel  them- 
selves regarded  as  an  unimportant  and  insignificant 
element.  Hence,  after  the  meeting  at  Worcester 
there  was  a  general  decadence,  till  at  the  last,  its  vital 
energy  exhausted,  the  Association  passed  away  un- 
noticed and  hardly  remembered. 


WORCESTER    MEDICAL    INSTITUTION. CONTINUED. 

After  the  changes  in  the  Faculty,  the  condition  of 
affairs  in  the  Worcester  Medical  Institution  had 
seemed  to  be  greatly  improved.  Dr.  Walter  Burnham, 
the  professor  of  surgery,  was  at  the  zenith  of  his 
career  as  an  operating  surgeon,  and  he  had  no 
superior  in  America.  Dr.  G.  W.  Morrow  and  Michael 
Gabbert,  of  Botanico-Medical  College  of  Memphis, 
Dr.  E.  M.  Parrit  and  Dr.  E.  S.  McClellan  were  the 
others.  The  classes  were  larger  than  they  had  been 
before,*  and  the  College  was  in  its  own  building, 
encumbered,  however,  with  a  mortgage.  The  medical 
societies  of  New  England,  including  the  new  Physo- 
Medical  Society  of  Connecticut  and  excluding  the 
other,  were  enlisted  in  its  support. 

In  1852,  Dr.  Newton  attended  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  at 
Rochester,  in  company  with  Dr.  Burnham.  He  soon 
signified  his  appproval  of  the  sentimentsf  avowed  by 

*  Of  the  graduates  of  1852  were  Doctors  George  W.  King,  of  New  York  ; 
Noah  R.  Martin  and  O.  H.  Jewell,  of  Maine,  and  Frank  H.  Kelley,  of  New 
Hampshire,  afterward  professor  and  editor  of  the  Worcester /c/urna/  0/ Medicine. 

+  At  this  period  the  Botanic  physicians  of  New  England  had  very  generally 
adopted  the  designation  of  "  Physopathists." 


620  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  principal  members,  and  decided  to  unite  with 
them.  He  was  elected  president  of  the  Association. 
This  was  apparently  most  fortunate,  for  he  possessed 
in  an  eminent  degree  the  superior  constructive  ability 
joined  with  unselfish  devotion  which  had  characterized 
Thomas  V.  Morrow. 

The  prospects  of  a  permanent  National  body  were 
brighter  than  ever. 

Dr.  Newton  was  also  successful  in  another  matter. 
The  rival  Colleges  of  Syracuse  and  Rochester  agreed 
to  harmonize  their  differences  and  unite  their  Facul- 
ties. Accordingly,  the  corporation  of  the  Central 
Medical  College  was  relinquished  ;  Doctors  Reuben 
and  Dolley  were  added  to  the  Faculty  at  Syracuse,  and 
by  another  agreement  Doctors  Newton  and  G.  W. 
Morrow,  of  the  Worcester  Medical  Institution,  also 
became  professors.* 

The  arrangement,  however,  lasted  but  a  solitary 
term.  The  next  season,  Doctors  Newton,  Morrow, 
Dolley  and  Reuben  resigned  all  connection  with  the 
institution,  and  Dr.  Reuben  became  a  professor  at 
Worcester. 

The  ensuing  autumn.  Dr.  Newton  died.  This  was 
a  calamity  alike  for  the  college  of  which  he  was  the 
founder  and  master  spirit,  and  to  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  of  which  he  had  become  the 
most  prominent  member.  It  was  necessary  to  take 
steps  to  assure  the  future  of  the  institution. 

A  Convention  of  the  friends  of  the  College  was 
summoned,  and  met  at  Worcester  on  the  twenty-sixth 

*  Only  three  of  the  Faculty  of  Syracuse  remained  in  office,  Doctors  S.  H. 
Potter,  Dwight  Russell  and  Dr.  Joseph  Brown,  now  dean.  Dr.  Joseph  Flattery  was 
elected  teacher,  but  did  not  lecture.  He  made  a  sensation  by  procuring  a  fac- 
simile of  the  diploma  of  the  College  with  signatures  of  the  officers,  and  hawking  it 
to  unwary  individuals  over  New  York  and  Canada. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  62  1 

day  of  October,  1853.  About  sixty  were  in  attendance.* 
Dr.  Walter  Burnham  was  chosen  to  preside.  After  a 
full  survey  of  the  field,  resolutions  were  adopted  in 
regard  to  future  management  and  provision  for  the 
indebtedness.  Aid  was  pledged  to  the  Institution  till 
it  should  be  placed  upon  a  permanent  basis.  The 
members  of  the  Convention  evinced  great  resolution, 
and  it  was  confidently  believed  that  a  new  era  had 
begun  for  Young  Physic. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  accordingly  made  the 
changes  as  advised,  and  adopted  an  order  immediately 
afterward  that  women  should  no  more  attend  the 
lectures  as  medical  students.  The  prosperity  of  the 
College,  however,  was  by  no  means  assured  by  this 
action,  and  it  was  rescinded  at  a  later  term.  The 
effort  to  continue  the  operations  of  the  College 
received  great  encouragement.  The  terms,  as  usual, 
were  held  in  the  spring,  enabling  the  students,  in  the 
true  Yankee  style  of  those  days,  to  gain  the  money 
for  tuition  by  teaching  school  of  winters. f  The 
Faculty  consisted  of  able  and  resolute  men,  who  stood 
at  the  head  of  their  profession.     Two  of  themj  held 

*  Many  of  these  were  representative  men.  Of  the  number  were  Doctors 
Ellsworth  Burr,  Job  T.  Dickens,  John  Stowe,  Walter  Burnham,  Marshall  Calkins, 
Horatio  G.  Newton.  Frank  H.  Kelley,  G.  W.  Skinner,  B.  S.  Warren,  Nathaniel 
Brooks  and  Isaiah  Hutchins. 

t  In  the  class  of  1854,  Dr.  Andrew  J.  Howe  graduated  and  delivered  the  Vale- 
dictory Address,  advocating  the  strict  Botanic  and  Eclectic  doctrine.  Among  the 
graduates  of  1855,  were  Doctors  John  Stowe,  H.  H.  Brigham.  H.  M.  Hodgins, 
Lysander  Chandler  and  James  M.  Bishop  ;  and  Dr.  Stowe  delivered  the  Valedic- 
tory Address.  In  18^6,  Doctors  John  G.  Johnson, William  Jackson  and  R.  M.  Ayres 
were  graduates,  and  the  Honorary  Degree  was  bestowed  upon  Doctors  George 
Beard    Isaac  Smith,  and  several  others. 

t  Doctors  Michael  Gabbert  and  G.  W.  Morrow.  The  other  professors  were 
Doctors  Walter  Burnham,  Levi  Reuben,  John  W.  Johnson  and  James  Bushee, 
with  Dr.  F.  A.  Bosworth  as  Demonstrator  of  Anatomy.  Dr  Reuben  left  in  1855, 
and  Dr.  A.  J.  Howe  became  demonstrator.  In  1856,  Dr.  Howe  was  appointed 
Professor  of  Anatomy,  and  Dr.  John  Stowe  demonstrator. 


622  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

chairs  also  in  the  Botanico-Medical  College  of  Mem- 
phis, showing  that  no  rancorous  partisan  feeling 
existed.  Dr.  Gabbert  died  in  1856,  and  his  place  was 
taken  by  Dr.  Ellsworth  Burr,  of  Connecticut.  Dr. 
John  King,  of  the  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine  of 
Cincinnati,  was  appointed  to  the  Chair  of  Obstetrics. 
The  same  year  the  Worcester  Journal  of  Medicine^  then 
conducted  by  Doctors  F.  H.  Kelley,  R.  O.  Williams 
and  Andrew  J.  Howe,  was  discontinued.  The  arrange- 
ments to  defray  the  indebtedness  had  not  been 
successful,  and  an  application  to  the  General  Court 
for  an  appropriation  was  defeated.  The  Trustees 
were  compelled  to  sell  the  building,  which  had  been 
built  with  such  glowing  expectations  ;  and  in  1857, 
the  lecture-term  of  the  institution  was  held  at  Chap- 
man Hall,  in  the  city  of  Boston.  The  resolution 
inhibiting  women  from  attending  was  now  rescinded, 
and  two  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  at 
the  next  Commencement.*  Dr.  Burnham  now  resigned 
from  the  Faculty,  and  Dr.  John  W.  Johnson  succeeded 
him  as  dean.  Another  term  was  held  in  the  autumn 
of  1858  and  the  early  months  of  winter. 

Meanwhile  a  proposition  was  submitted  for  a  union 
with  the  Metropolitan  Medical  College.  The  trustees 
of  the  latter  institution  appointed  a  Committee  for 
negotiation,  and  an  Appeal  was  put  forth  by  friends 
of  both  institutions  for  an  endowment.  Suddenly  a 
jealous  spirit  arose  among  the  supporters  of  the 
Metropolitan  Medical  College,  and  the  affair  was 
abruptly  terminated.  The  sessions  of  the  Worcester 
Institution  were  suspended.  Care  had  been  taken  to 
preserve  the  validity  of  the  charter,  and  members  of 

•  The  class  was  small,  and  only  nine  graduated.  Honorary  degrees  were 
bestowed  upon  Doctors  B.  J.  Stow  and  J.  A.  Dodge. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  623 

the  Massachusetts  Eclectic  Medical  Society  have 
several  times  proposed  a  resuming  of  active  operations. 
Whether,  however,  this  will  ever  take  place  is  a 
problem  of  the  future. 

TROUBLES    AT    CINCINNATI. CONTINUED. 

In  1854,  the  Trustees  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  appointed  Dr.  Charles  H.  Cleaveland,  of 
Vermont,  professor  of  Materia  Medica,  to  succeed 
Dr.  Bickley.  The  new  professor  had  been  educated 
in  the  orthodox  school,  but  for  some  occult  reason 
had  declared  himself  in  sympathy  with  the  Eclectics. 
He  knew  little  of  the  new  remedies.  At  this  time 
great  interest  was  taken  by  Eclectic  and  Reform 
physicians  in  the  new  discovery  of  "  Concentrated 
Remedies."  These  consisted  of  educts  from  the 
various  medicinal  plants  used  in  Botanic  practice, 
and  were  prized  as  containing  the  principal  active 
virtues,  while  obviating  the  disagreeable  necessity 
of  administering  remedies  in  bulk.*  Dr.  Newton 
was  a  zealous  advocate  of  the  new  medicines,  while 
Dr.  Cleaveland  distrusted  them  and  seemed  even  to 
hold  them  in  contempt.  He  had  not  even  outgrown 
the  old-fashioned  dosing  with  mercury.  His  utterances 
furnished  the  Physopathic  physicians  with  a  weapon 
against  the  Eclectics  which  they  did  not  hesitate  to 
wield.  Naturally  and  almost  unavoidably  the  different 
teachings  with  Faculty  resulted  in  personal  disputes. 

*  Dr.  Isaac  Jacobs,  of  Maine,  early  engaged  in  these  investigations,  and  was 
followed  by  B.  Keith,  of  New  Hampshire,  afterward  of  New  York  city.  Dr. 
John  King  made  the  discovery  of  the  podophyllin  resin  and  several  other 
resinoids,  and  Dr.  Wilffam  S.  Merrell,  of  Cincinnati,  going  beyond  them  all, 
established  the  Eclectic  pharmacal  products  on  a  firm  foundation,  largely  assuring 
the  permanency  of  the  new  practice. 


624  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  one  made  the  medicines  manufactured  by  Dr. 
Keith  his  target,  and  the  other  as  pertinaciously 
insisted  upon  their  purity  and  value  as  remedies. 
Other  issues  were  presently  injected  into  the  con- 
troversy, and  the  Faculty  divided  into  two  parties. 
All  but  Dr.  Zoheth  Freeman  took  sides  with  Dr. 
Cleaveland.* 

At  this  time  Dr.  Newton  owned  and  published  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  which  had  succeeded  the 
Wcsterji  Medical  Reformer.  He  also  published  the 
Aewion's  Express,  as  a  separate  venture — a  practice 
not  uncommon  with  the  Faculty  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute. f  His  manner  of  lauding  Keith's 
medicines  in  those  periodicals,  as  well  as  setting  forth 
the  operations  of  the  Clinical  Institute,  was  distaste- 
ful to  his  fellow-professors.  They  proposed  that  Dr. 
Cleaveland,  being  a  scholarly  man  and  accomplished 
writer,  should  conduct  the  Journal.  Dr.  Newton 
would  not  consent,  and  they  established  the  College 
Journal  of  Medical  Science,  with  Dr.  I.  G.  Jones  and  all 
the  Faculty  except  two  as  editors.  The  Eclectic  Medical 
Journal  was  thus  virtually  repudiated  as  representing 
the  Institute. 

The  Faculty  had  also  taken  a  position  of  disloyalty 
and  open  hostility  to  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association.  Dr.  Buchanan  had  projects  of  his  own 
that  he  was  eager  to  carry  out.  He  had  not  been  in 
sympathy  from  the  first  with  the  views  and  ambitions 

*  The  Daily  Freettian  (Cincinnati)  of  May  i,  1856,  explained  the  matter  in  this 
way:  "  A  difficulty  in  relation  to  a  female  student  made  the  Newtons  and 
Freeman  allies,  and  a  great  variety  of  circumstances  arrayed  Drs.  Cleaveland, 
Sherwood,  Buchanan,  Hoyt  and  King  in  opposition." 

+  Dr.  Buchanan  published  ihe  Journal  0/  Man,  to  set^orth  his  peculiar  views 
of  Neurology,  and  Dr.  Cleaveland  \.\\^  Journal  0/ Rational  Medicine^  and  there  are 
other  instances. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  625 

of  Dr.  Thomas  V.  Morrow  in  relation  to  an  organiza- 
tion of  the  several  bodies  of  Botanic  and  Reformed 
physicians.  He  employed  his  influence  steadily  against 
the  National  Association,  and  presently  his  associates 
concurred  with  him. 

He  took  the  occasion  of  the  Annual  Meeting  at 
New  York,  in  1855,  to  proclaim  his  unfriendly  senti- 
ments. The  fact  that  it  was  presided  over  by  such 
men  as  Walter  Burnham  and  Wooster  Beach  passed 
for  nothing.  He  put  forth  his  disclaimer  in  the 
secular  journals  in  no  modest  or  gentle  terms.  The 
Association,  he  affirmed,  was  in  no  sense  a  national 
affair,  and  did  not  represent  the  views  or  sentiments 
of  American  Eclectics.  'It  was  a  conglomerate, 
made  up  of  individuals  from  the  different  schools. 
He,  himself,  as  an  individual,  as  a  medical  professor, 
and  as  dean  in  behalf  of  the  Faculty,  entered  his 
protest,  adding  ex  cathedra  this  declaration  : 

"  The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  Cincinnati  is 
the  parent  school  in  which  the  name  Eclectic  was  first 
adopted  as  a  designation  of  liberal  American  princi- 
ples in  medicine,  anterior  to  which  the  title  American 
Eclectic  was  unknown." 

This  assumption  of  exclusive  superiority  and  ortho- 
doxy was  nowhere  met  with  a  semblance  of  obsequious 
deference.  Several  editors  of  Reform  journals  re- 
sponded with  derision.  The  Worcester  Journal  of 
Medicine  made  a  reply  as  sharp  as  the  attack.  "  He 
labors  under  the  impression,"  said  Dr.  F.  H.  Kelley, 
"  that.  Eclecticism  comes  only  from  the  Cincinnati 
Eclectic  Medical  College,  and  radiates  from  that 
institution  solely  because  he  is  connected  with  it. 
He  speaks  as  if  he  were  the  founder  and  living 
embodiment   of   the    whole    system.     And    especially 


40 


626  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

does  he  'protest '  against  its  use  by  a  medical  associa- 
tion in  New  York  so  far  off  from  what  appears  to  him 
the  centre  of  the  world,  of  the  name  '  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association.'  He  appears  unwilling  to  allow 
that  there  is  much  Eclecticism  east  of  the  Alleghanies." 

Such  was  the  general  response  from  Reform  circles 
in  every  quarter.  He  was  regarded  as  fond  of  dis- 
turbance, a  disorganizer  and  a  visionary,  and  his 
sympathy  with  the  Eclectic  school  generally  doubted. 
Of  course,  he  never  abated  in  his  opposition,  but 
repeated  his  disclaimers,  and  finally  induced  the 
Faculty  of  the  Institute  to  unite  in  a  declaration  of 
hostility  to  the  Association,*  and  to  Keith's  new 
remedies. 

Dr.  John  King  had  also  his  controversy  with  Dr. 
Newton,  which  had  extended  over  many  months.  It 
was  a  darling  ambition  of  Dr.  Newton  to  figure  as  an 
author,  and  the  two  had  been  engaged  together  in 
the  compiling  of  the  American  Eclectic  Dispensatory. 
Dr.  King  declared  Dr.  Newton  guilty  of  ill  faith  in 
the  matter  and  of  gross  plagiarism  in  his  contribu- 
tions to  the  work,  and  finally  gave  him  notice  in  the 
summer  of  1854,  that  his  name  should  no  longer 
appear  on  the  titlepage.  Dr.  Newton  immediately 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  B.  Keith  &  Company 
for  the  publication  of  a  book  which  should  supersede 
the  Dispensatory, \   and  bring   their   preparations  into 


*  The  following  resolution  was  adopted  on  March  5,  1836  :  "  Resolved,  That 
the  Faculty  of  this  Institute  do  not  recognize  any  existing  organization  in  the 
United  States  as  '  The  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,'  and  will  not 
authorize  any  person  or  persons  to  represent  us  in  any  body  so  styled,  as  at 
present  constituted." 

t  Legal  proceedings  were  instituted  against  Dr.  King  for  the  taking  of  copy- 
righted matter  from  another  work.  He  supposed  that  Dr.  Newton  instigated  the 
suit. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  627 

general  favor  among  Eclectic  physicians.  Having 
two  medical  journals  under  his  control,  he  vi^as  able 
to  do  this  effectually. 

Dr.  Newton  had  sagacity  to  perceive  that  it  was 
unwise  as  well  as  inconsistent  for  the  Eclectic  Med- 
ical Institute  to  maintain  an  attitude  of  hostility 
toward  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association. 
The  Journal  reflected  his  sentiments  and  so  consti- 
tuted another  ground  for  angry  dispute.  These 
matters  were  presently  all  included  in  the  personal 
controversy  with  Dr.  King.  An  agreement  was 
finally  made  which  was  peculiarly  significant  in  its 
terms,  but  which  was  divulged  and  disregarded 
almost  as  soon  as  it  was  made.* 

In  the  month  of  March,  1856,  upon  the  very  heel  of 
this  negotiation,  the  controversies  passed  beyond 
the  stage  of  amicable  adjustment,  to  be  decided  in 
another  way.  The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  was  a 
joint-stock  corporation  with  an  authorized  capital  of 
twenty  thousand  dollars  and  power  to  increase  it  to 
sixty  thousand.  Only  nineteen  thousand,  however, 
had  been  issued  ;  part  of  it  to  defray  pecuniary  obliga- 
tions. About  a  third  of  the  whole  amount  was  the 
property  of  Dr.  L.  E.  Jones,  and  a  somewhat  smaller 
portion  belonged  to  Dr.  Newton.  The  Trustees, 
willing  to  get  off  with  as  little  work  as  possible,  had 

*  It  was  stipulated  that  Dr.  Newton  should  abstain  from  publishing  in  his  Express 
or  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  anything  reflecting  upon  other  professors  or  upon 
the  College  itself  ;  that  he,  in  neither  publication,  should  "advocate  and  uphold  the 
so-called  National  Eclectic  Medical  Convention  [Association],  which  is  to  meet  in 
New  York  next  June,  and  which  has  been  repudiated  by  the  Faculty  of  the 
Institute;"  and  that  Dr.  Newton  is  not  to  keep  before  the  public,  as  Associate 
Bditor,  any  gentleman  known  to  be  connected  with  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
nostrums."  This  last  clause  related  to  Dr.  Grover  Coe,  and  perhaps  to  Dr.  J.  M. 
Sanders,  as  being  employed  by  B.  Keith  &  Company.  The  "Concentrated 
Medicines,"  which  were  prepared  by  that  house,  were  included  under  the  name 
•of  "  nostrums." 


628  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

authorized  the  Faculty  of  the  Institute,  several  years 
before  to  receive  donations  and  subscriptions.  Dr. 
Newton  held  the  office  of  Treasurer,  both  of  the 
Faculty  and  Board  of  Trustees.  The  time  had  come 
to  pay  the  usual  dividend  to  the  stockholders,  and  it 
should  be  paid  from  the  receipts.  This  contingency 
produced  the  rupture.  Dr.  Newton  accused  Dr. 
Buchanan  of  having,  in  his  capacity  of  dean,  collected 
the  money  from  the  students,  and  made  default  in 
the  payment.  He  threatened  to  report  the  matter  to 
the  Trustees.  On  the  other  hand  it  was  asserted  that 
Dr.  Newton  himself,  had  collected  between  seven  and 
eight  hundred  dollars  from  the  students  in  the 
graduating    class,    and    suppressed    the    fact. 

There  were,  of  course,  several  other  issues  and 
complaints  that  were  more  or  less  discussed.  Dr. 
Newton  was  represented  by  his  colleagues  as 
ignorant  and  illiterate,  incompetent  to  lecture,  and 
as  having  a  disposition  to  deal  with  individuals  and 
engage  in  enterprises  of  doubtful  character,  and 
not  consistent  with  his  position  as  professor  in  a 
Medical  College.  In  short,  the  controversy  included 
both  parties,  and  could  only  be  decided  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees  to  be  elected  on  the  first  Monday 
[7th]  of  April. 

An  active  struggle  began  to  make  sure  of  a  major- 
ity of  the  votes.  Dr.  L.  E.  Jones  held  the  decision  in 
his  own  hands,  and  both  overtures  and  threats  were 
made  to  persuade  him  to  transfer  his  stock  and  votes 
to  the  friends  of  the  five  professors.  He  refused,  and 
they  resorted  to  another  expedient.  They  took  their 
precedent  from  the  transaction  with  Doctors 
Baldridge  and  Jones,  when  the  original  stock  was 
issued.      They,   not   unnaturally,   supposed   that   the 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  629 

power  given  the  Faculty  by  the  Trustees,  to  receive 
donations  and  subscriptions,  and  transact  other 
important  business,  was  sufficient  to  warrant  the 
issue  of  additional  shares  of  stock.  A  meeting  of  the 
Faculty  was  held  accordingly,  on  the  evening  of  the 
fifth  of  April,  which  voted  to  remove  Dr.  Newton 
from  the  office  of  Treasurer,  and  to  issue  new  stock  to 
the  amount  of  seven  thousand  dollars.  These  were 
transferred  at  once  to  purchasers  for  promissory 
notes,  payable  in  five  years,  as  the  equivalent.*  This 
assured  the  professors  and  their  party  a  majority  of 
the  shares  of  the  stock. 

Nevertheless,  the  law  did  not  confer  powers  of 
cumulative  voting,  without  restriction,  upon  stock- 
holders. The  expedient  was  employed  by  both  parties 
to  multiply  their  votes  by  transferring  shares  to 
others,  and  obtaining  from  them  the  power  of  attorney 
to  vote  in  their  name.  Each  party,  professing  to  act 
for  the  Corporation,  held  an  election,  and  two  sets  of 
Trustees  were  chosen. f  Dr.  William  Sherwood  was 
elected  Treasurer  by  one  Board,  and  Dr.  R.  S.  Newton 
by  the  other.  The  former  Board  after  organizing 
adjourned  till  the  next  Saturday  evening,  when  they 
were  estopped  by  an  injunction  from  proceeding 
further.     Meanwhile,  the  lectures  of  the  spring  term 

*  The  certificates  were  already  prepared  by  Dr.  Kinp,  who  wrote  an  elegant 
hand,  like  fine  copperplate  engraving;  so  that  there  was  no  delay.  Indeed,  Dr. 
I.  G.  Jones  had  given  his  note  for  shares  of  this  stock  several  days  before  this 
meeting  was  held. 

+  The  Board  elected  at  the  College  Building  consisted  of  the  Rev.  D.  W.  Clark, 
D.  D.;  Rev.  I.  D.  Williamson,  D.  D.;  Rev.  C.  L.  Loos,  S.  B  Keys,  General  James 
Birney,  C.  H.  Gould,  George  S.  Jenkins,  J.  Reeves,  Dr.  J.  Wilson,  Dr.  J.  R. 
Buchanan,  Dr.  John  King,  Dr.  William  Sherwood,  Dr.  C.  H.  Cleaveland.  The 
Board  elected  at  Dr.  Newton's  house  was  composed  of  Messrs.  W.  B.  Pierce,  J.  P. 
Mayer,  A.  Death,  J.  C.  C.  Holenshade,  W.  F.  Hurlburt,  H.  Leonard,  J.  P. 
Cunningham,  C.  S.  G.  Wright,  H.  M.  Ritter,  J.  G.  Henshall.  Dr.  R.  S.  Newton, 
Dr.  L.  E.  Jones,  Dr.  Z.  Freeman,  Dr.  A.  H.  Baldridge,  Dr.  Orin  E.  Newton. 


630  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

were  continued  at  the  College  building,  then  in  Dr. 
Sherwood's  custody  ;  but  Dr.  Newton  declined  to  take 
part.  The  injunction  was  removed  on  the  twenty- 
ninth  day  of  April,  and  active  measures  began.  The 
Board  of  Trustees  having  possession  of  the  College 
met  the  same  evening,  and  voted  to  remove  Doctors 
Newton  and  Freeman  from  the  Faculty,  appointing 
Doctors  Sherwood  and  King  to  their  places. 

The  other  Board  also  assembled  the  same  evening, 
and  in  turn  voted  to  remove  the  five  professors  from 
their  chairs.  Dr.  Newton  was  authorized  and  directed 
to  take  possession  of  the  Institute  building. 

The  attack  was  made  the  same  evening  with  many 
indications  of  premeditation,  even  to  minute  particu- 
lars. A  door  in  the  building  was  broken  open,  and 
Doctors  Newton  and  Freeman  entering,  took  formal 
possession  of  the  upper  floors.  They  were  accom- 
panied by  a  party  numbering  about  thirty,  obtained 
from  the  streets  of  a  large  city,  and  indifferent  in 
regard  to  what  they  did.  They  were  armed  with 
pistols,  knives  and  bludgeons.  Doctors  Cleaveland, 
Sherwood  and  Buchanan  attempting  to  go  up,  were 
forcibly  resisted  and  their  lives  threatened.  They 
remained  with  the  students  of  the  College  in  the 
rooms  below.  A  little  before  daybreak  a  party  of 
individuals  sallied  from  the  upper  part  of  the  building, 
went  away  and  presently  returned,  dragging  with 
them  a  six-pound  cannon.  It  was  afterward  learned 
that  the  garrison  above  had  already  brought  powder 
and  slugs,  with  provisions  for  a  prolonged  siege.  The 
cannon  was  seized  by  the  police,  but  no  attempt  was 
made  to  dislodge  the  men  from  the  building. 

The  five  Professors  declined  any  further  physical 
conflict,   but    left   the    College   in   possession   of  its 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  631 

garrison.  A  respectful  application  was  made  for 
permission  to  conclude  the  course  of  Lectures,  and 
refused.  Rooms  were  immediately  engaged  at 
Gordon's  Hall,  to  which  the  majority  of  the  students 
followed  them.  Party  spirit  was  very  warm,  and 
every  endeavor  by  promise  and  alarm  was  employed 
to  deter  them.  It  was  even  represented  that  the 
organization  was  illegal,  and  that  the  degrees  which 
might  be  conferred  would  be  invalid  in  law.  It  must 
be  acknowledged,  nevertheless,  whatever  the  merits 
of  the  controversy,  that  the  ablest  and  most  scholarly 
members  of  the  Faculty  were  of  this  party.  At 
the  close  of  the  term,  twenty-one  students  received 
diplomas  in  the  name  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute of  Cincinnati  ;  and  a  winter  session  was  duly 
announced.  In  order  to  complete  the  number 
required  in  the  Faculty,  Doctors  Walter  Burnham 
and  Andrew  J.  Howe,  of  the  Worcester  Medical  Insti- 
tution, were  elected  Professors  of  Surgery*  and 
Anatomy,  and  Dr.  Sherwood  was  transferred  to  the 
Chair  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine. 

Meanwhile  the  Board  of  Trustees,  now  in  possession 
of  the  College  building,  also  organized  a  Faculty  to 
complete  the  spring  term,  appointing  Doctors  William 
Byrd  Powell,  L.  E.  Jones  and  J.  M.  Sanders  in  place 
of  Doctors  Buchanan,  Cleaveland  and  Hoyt.  The 
term  did  not  last  many  days,  closing  on  the  thirteenth 
day  of  May.  Fifteen  students  were  graduated.* 
Arrangements  were  made  shortly  afterward   for  the 

*  Dr.  Burnham  pleading  the  condition  of  his  health,  did  not  lecture,  and 
Dr.  Howe  delivered  the  course  in  his  place.  After  this  Dr.  Howe  made  liis  home 
permanently  in  Cincinnati.  Dr.  King  was  at  this  time  a  professor  in  the 
Worcester  Medical  Institution. 

t  Of  this  number  were  Doctors  John  M.  Scudder  and  Edwin  Freeman  ;  Dr. 
Scudder  delivermg  the  Valedictory  Address. 


632  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ensuing  winter  term.  Drs.  Bickley  and  Baldridge  were 
appointed  to  the  places  which  they  had  filled  several 
years  before;  Dr.  John  M.  Scudder  was  made  Professor, 
and   Dr.  Edwin   Freeman   Demonstrator  of  Anatomy. 

The  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  met  in 
June,  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Both  Dr.  Newton 
and  Dr.  Freeman  attended,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
the  proceedings.  Dr.  Newton  read  the  Constitution 
of  the  Association  and  the  resolutions  as  adopted  in 
1849  when  Dr.  Morrow  was  president,  and  they  were 
immediately  adopted  and  signed  by  those  in  attend- 
ance. Resolutions  were  also  adopted  disapproving  of 
the  inimical  action  of  the  five  professors  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  toward  the  national  organization. 

The  summer  was  devoted  by  both  parties  to  angry 
controversy  and  legal  maneuvering.  The  journals 
published  by  the  respective  parties  teemed  with 
special  pleading,  accusations,  recriminations,*  and 
personal  reviling,  saturated  often  with  flagrant  inde- 
cency,  as   is    the    emanation    of    the    swine-pen    or 

*  It  was  a  favorite  taunt  for  each  to  accuse  the  other  of  a  predilection  for 
calomel.  An  article  of  Dr.  Cleaveland  in  the  Anterican  Lancet^  made  use  of  a 
sentiment  for  which  he  was  severely  criticised,  both  by  the  Physopathists  and  his 
Eclectic  adversaries. 

"  I  am  of  the  opinion,"  said  he,  "  that,  as  a  glandular  stimulant,  podophyllin 
alone  or  combined  with  bloodrooi,  will  be  found  equal  to  calomel,  and  that  as  a 
cholagogue  cathartic,  it  is  superior,  more  certain,  and  more  safe  than  the  mercurials; 
but  that  it  is  not  a  solvent,  and  therefore  cannot  be  relied  on  to  supply  the  place  of 
the  mercurials  in  those  cases  where  the  solvent  property  is  demanded  as  in 
inflammatory  adhesions  of  the  tissues  of  the  eye,  or  in  pleural  or  in  other  adhesions 
of  serous  surfaces  Neither  do  I  think  it  w;ll  remove  deposits  of  inflammatory 
exudations  following  syphilitic  infections,  as  calomel  will." 

Dr.  Cleaveland  tried  lamely  to  explain  away  this  language  so  as  to  divert  atten- 
tion. Perhaps  its  counterpart  can  be  found  in  this  paragraph  of  Dr.  J.  Milton 
Sanders,  which,  in  its  way  is  equally  incapable  of  ready  deglutition,  especially  in 
view  of  actual  fact. 

"  We  are  happy  to  think  that  the  great  majority  of  the  Allopathic  profession 
are  men  of  liberal  minds  and  of  accomplished  education.  The  Allopathy  of 
Europe,  ivhich  is  really  modern  Eclecticism,  is  now  presenting  to  the  world  the 
singular  fact  of  the  medical  profession  marching  forward  in  the  van  of 
scientific  progress.  This  is  the  case,  likewise,  with  a  large  portion  of  American 
Allopaths." — Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  April,  1856. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  633 

some  filthier  domain.  We  look  in  vain  for  that  quiet 
dignity  and  self-possession  indicative  of  a  serene 
consciousness  of  being  in  the  right,  and  beyond  the 
vile  atmosphere  in  which  reptilian  creatures  abound. 
Perhaps  they  were  displayed  by  those  who  performed 
their  duties  in  quietness,  meeting  reproach  with 
silence,  and  biding  the  issues  with  patience,  conscious 
that  even  with  defeat,  the  cause  of  right  is  neverthe- 
less not  lost. 

An  action  of  quo  warranto,  by  which  to  determine 
which  was  the  lawful  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute  was  pending  through  the 
summer.  The  decision  was  finall)'  made  on  the 
twenty-fifth  day  of  October.  As  is  too  often  the  case 
in  lawsuits,  the  intrinsic  merits  of  the  controversy 
did  not  enter  into  consideration.  It  was  admitted 
that  the  Board  of  Trustees  had  constituted  the 
Faculty  a  Committee  of  Finance,  having  power  to 
receive  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock.  The  sale 
of  stock  for  promissory  notes,  however,  had  not  been 
authorized  in  that  resolution.  The  stock,  therefore, 
which  the  Faculty  had  issued  on  the  fifth  of  April 
was  ordered  to  be  cancelled,  and  the  Board  of  Trustees 
elected  at  the  house  of  Dr.  Newton  declared  to  be 
the  lawful  Board. 

The  terms  of  this  decision  exhibited  ample  proba- 
bility that  it  might  he  reversed  by  the  Supreme 
Court.  The  wiser  second  thought  led  the  defeated 
men  to  refrain  from  carrying  on  the  legal  contest 
further.  While  the  decision  of  the  Court  required  the 
cancelling  of  the  new  stock  which  had  been  issued,  it 
fully  exonerated  them  from  any  imputation  of  inten- 
tional niisconduct.  They  had  no  more  to  gain  by  an 
ayipcal   and   ultimate   victory  than  a  title   stained  by 


634  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

dishonor  and  contention,*  and  a  franchise  accom- 
panied by  an  indebtedness  which  was  liable  to  wreck 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute. 

Accordingly,  upon  the  twenty-second  day  of  Decem- 
ber, 1856,  articles  of  associationf  were  duly  filed  in 
the  office  of  the  Auditor  of  Hamilton  county,  Ohio, 
creating  a  corporation  under  the  name  and  style  of 
"  The  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine." 

The  new  institution,  despite  its  drawbacks,  was  not 
long  in  gaining  countenance  from  the  leading  Eclectic 
physicians  of  the  United  States.  Its  teachers  were 
superior,  and  they  had  the  discreetness  to  terminate 
the  controversy,  so  far  as  related  to  offensive  per- 
sonalities, in  the  pages  of  the  College  Journal.\ 

The  winter  term  was  successful,  both  in  regard  to 
patronage,  and  the  character  of  the  class.  Twenty- 
nine  students  graduated,  many  of  whom  are  yet  in 
active  and  creditable  practice. § 

*  College  Jourjial,  December,  1856,  "The  Charter  [of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute]  has  never  been  regularly  obeyed  by  the  corporation,  and  the  legal 
existence  has,  therefore,  no  substantial  basis  upon  which  an  institution  can  be 
sustained." 

+  The  "corporators"  applying  for  this  charter  were  Joseph  R.  Buchanan, 
William  Sherwood,  A.  Jackson  Howe,  C.  H  Cleaveland,  James  C.  C.  Holenshade, 
John  King,  William  A.  Ashton,  A.  H.  Wells,  William  B.  Sheppard,  William  S. 
Sampson. 

X  College  Journal,  November,  1856,  "  Knowing,  however,  that  '  a  controversy 
with  such  men  *  *  who  have  no  regard  for  truth,  nor  sense  of  strict  honor,  is 
endless  in  its  nature,  and  becomes  lower  and  lower  as  it  proceeds,'  it  was  finally 
determined  to  embody  all  the  leading  facts  together,  with  an  exposition  of  the 
character  of  our  opponents,  in  the  form  of  a  pamphlet,  which  might  be  sent  to  all 
who  desire  to  know  the  truth,  and  thus  leave  the  pages  of  the  College  Journal  to 
be  occupied  by  matter  of  scientific  interest  and  practical  importance.  *  *  * 
Our  war  with  such  individuals  shall  hereafter  be  confined,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
one  of  non-intercourse." 

Writing  upon  the  topic  at  a  later  day,  the  editors  remark  that  in  regard  to  the 
slanders  which  some  kind  friends  thought  ought  to  be  contradicted,  they  could 
only  say  that  the  individuals  propagating  them  were  unworthy  to  be  believed,  and 
it  was  not  well  to  occupy  space  with  matters  of  a  personal  character. 

§  Among  the  graduates  were  Doctors  Isaiah  Brothers,  Meredith  W.  Henry, 
R.  Winans,  H.  A.  Pelerman,  Sarah  C.  Brigham,  Eliza  A.  Brown,  Honorary 
degrees  were  also  conferred  upon  Doctors  Horace  G.  Barrows  and  Samuel  S.  Judd. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  635 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  also  followed  the 
career  which  was  before  it.  Spurred  on  by  rivalship, 
renewed  endeavors  were  put  forth  to  extend  its  influ- 
ence and  keep  unbroken  the  number  of  its  students 
and  patrons.  In  this  it  seems  to  have  been  very 
successful,  graduating  forty-two  at  the  close  of  the 
winter  term  and  twenty-three  at  the  spring  term.* 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  was  held  this  summer  at  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute.  Dr.  Newton  was  elected 
president,  and  Doctors  Grover  Coe  and  J.  M.  Scudder, 
secretaries.  The  proceedings  were  significantly  tame 
and  uninteresting.  The  medical  colleges  were  suffer- 
ing from  intestinal  discord  and  financial  depression, 
and  the  controversy  at  Cincinnati  added  its  malign 
influence.  The  meeting  was  ill  attended,  and,  although 
the  succeeding  one  was  again  appointed  at  Cincinnati, 
it  was  only  a  perfunctory  matter.  It  was  never  held, 
nor  even  any  attempt  made  to  call  it  together. 

For  the  next  two  years  the  history  of  the  two  rival 
colleges  was  uneventful.  The  strife  ceased  to  be  of 
interest  beyond  the  contending  parties.  The  Faculties 
continued  each  year  with  incidental  changes,  some 
of  which,  however,  were  significant.  Dr.  Buchanan 
withdrew  from  the  Eclectic  College,  and  Dr.  King 
became  the  Dean.  He  continued  to  write  articles  for 
the     College    Journal.]       The    classes,    however,    were 

*  In  these  enumerations  we  recognize  Doctors  Isaac  Spangler,  .■Austin  B. 
Westcott,  Francis  H.  F"isk,  Daniel  W.  McCarthy  and  Herod  D.  Garrison.  The 
honorary  degree  was  conferred  upon  Dr.  I.  J.  M.  Goss,  a  graduate  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  and  eleven  others. 

t  This  publication,  barring  its  hostility  to  Eastern  Eclectics  and  to  the  National 
organization,  was  superior  in  ability  to  all  the  other  Reform  periodicals.  It 
appears  to  have  been  so  recognized  by  the  leading  Eclectics  of  that  [)eriod  Among 
these  we  enumerate  Paul  W.  Allen,  L.  C.  Dollev,  I.  J.  M.  Goss,  Abraham  Livezy, 
Dr.  E.  Smith,  R.  O.  Williams,  H.  G.  Barrows.  M.  W.  Henry,  J.  A  Hcnning,  W. 
S.  Merrell;  also,  W.  Byrd  Powell  and  John  Buchanan.  Lr  Powell  had  become 
estranged  from  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  and  Dr.  Buchanan  was  a  favorite 
contributor  to  both  the  journals  at  Cincinnati. 


636  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

not  quite  so  numerous  as  in  the  rival  institu- 
tion, but  they  were  declared  to  be  more  thoroughly- 
instructed.* 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  made  a  somewhat 
greater  display  of  success.  There  were  more  changes 
in  the  Faculty,  but  the  principal  instructors  continued 
the  same.  In  1858,  Dr.  Herod  D.  Garrison  succeeded 
to  the  Chair  of  Chemistry,  Dr.  J.  Cam  Massie  became 
professor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine, 
and  Dr.  John  M.  Scudder  was  transferred  to  the 
department  of  Obstetrics.  Doctors  W.  Byrd  Powell 
and  A.  H.  Baldridge  were  assigned  to  the  equivocal 
honor  of  emeriti,  and  not  long  afterward  dropped  off 
the  announcements.  The  graduates  that  year  num- 
bered fifty-seven. f  The  next  5^ear  Dr.  Charles  T.  Hart 
became  professor  of  Physiology,  and  Doctors  Bickley 
and  Massie  vacated  their  respective  chairs.  The 
number  of  graduates  was  but  twenty-six,J  a  significant 
indication  of  a  waning  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Institute. 

It  was  now  becoming  manifest  that  it  was  ill-advised 
to  continue  the  existence  of  the  two  colleges  in  this 
attitude  of  competition.  One  or  the  other,  and  perhaps 
both,  would  succumb.  A  conference  was  held  between 
several  of  the  Trustees  of  both  institutions,  and  an 
agreement    made   to    drop   the    organization    of    the 

*  There  were  eighteen  graduates  in  the  winter  term  of  1857-58,  sixteen  in  the 
spring  term,  nineteen  in  the  next  winter  session,  and  twenty-four  in  the  spring 
term.  Among  them  we  find  the  names  of  Uriah  N.  Mellette,  Constantine  Markt, 
Rebecca  V.  Anton,  J.  K.  Hoyt,  making  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  graduates  and 
thirty-tour  Honorary. 

t  Among  these  were  Doctors  W.  T.  Branstrup,  C.  T.  Hart,  Richard  Marsh,  O. 
S.  Templeton  and  Elisha  S.  Warner. 

%  In  this  enumeration  appear  the  familiar  names  of  F.  P.  Antle,  R.  G.  Barham, 
A.  P.  Colter,  Joseph  R.  Duncan,  W.  W.  Houser  and  Milton  Jay,  most  of  them  still 
in  active  life. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  637 

younger  college.*  Dr.  C.  H.  Cleaveland  gives  a  further 
account  in  the  Journal  of  Rational  Medicine  for  January, 
i860.  After  declaring  the  prosperity  of  the  Eclectic 
College  of  Medicine  firmly  established,  he  adds  that 
"  Dr.  King,  Dr.  Sherwood  and  Dr.  Howe — to  whom,  in 
connection  with  seven  others,  the  Corporators  had 
placed  the  College  and  its  property  /;/  trust — without 
consultation  with  their  associate  Trustees,  sold  that 
which  was  never  theirs  to  sell,"  and  that  it  was  "done 
secretly  ; "  also,  that  they  resigned  their  professor- 
ships on  the  fifth  of  October  on  promises  of  professor- 
ships in  the  Institute,  and  "late  in  the  evening, 
without  the  slightest  intimation  to  the  [seven]  other 
Trustees,  they  produced  the  writings  already  prepared 
in  secret,  and  went  through  the  farce  of  concluding 
the  bargain  and  transfer." 

Nevertheless,  the  other  Trustees  do  not  seem  to 
have  objected  to  begin  the  next  session  at  the  old 
College  building  as  in  former  times.f  The  declaration 
was  made  of  adherence  to  "the  principles  of  practice 
obtained  in  the  old  Eclectic  Medical  Institute." 

COLLEGES    OF    PHILADELPHIA. CONTINUED. 

The  history  of  medicine  in  Philadelphia  does  by  no 
means  derive  its  principal  significance  and  impressive- 
ness  from  the  petty  conflicts  and  misconducts  of  the 

*  This  proceeding  appears  to  have  been  brought  about  chiefly  by  Dr.  John  M. 
Scudder.  The  College  Journal  made  no  mention  of  the  transaction,  but  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Journal^  in  a  double  number  for  November-December,  stated 
that  the  union  had  been  effected  "some  months  ago." 

t  The  Faculty  was  constituted  from  the  professors  of  the  two  colleges,  and 
continued  so,  more  or  less,  for  several  terms.  It  consisted  of  Doctors  H.  D. 
Garrison,  L.  E.  Jones,  C.  T.  Hart,  Z.  Freeman,  R.  Freeman  and  J.  M.  Scudder,  of 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  ;  and  Doctors  J.  F.  Judge,  John  King  and  A.J. 
Howe,  of  the  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine.  Dr.  W.  Sherwood  was  relegated  to 
the  distinction  of  Emeritus,  and  Drs.  Bickley  and  Cleaveland  left  out  altogether. 


638  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

minor  medical  colleges.  These,  certainl}',  were  to  be 
deprecated  and  rebuked  for  their  influence  upon  the 
cause  which  they  represented.  Beyond  them,  how- 
ever, was  the  corporation  with  its  multitude  of 
adherents,  magisterially  assuming  to  dictate  to  the 
entire  medical  profession,  and  aspiring  to  be  the 
umpires  with  full  authority  to  prescribe  the  standard 
orthodoxy,  professional  respectability,  and  what  should 
be  the  legal  rights  of  physicians.  For  the  first 
quarter  of  the  century  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
held  the  field  and  was  able  to  procure  the  arbitrary 
exclusion  of  all  rivals.  It  had  been  nourished  from 
the  Treasury  of  the  State  ;  its  graduates  and  none 
others  were  permitted  to  hold  municipal  positions  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia  ;  and  it  maintained  a  lobby  at 
the  capital  to  oppose  and  prevent  all  legislation  that 
might  be  distasteful,  or  possibly  take  away  part  of  its 
exclusive  privileges.  It  was  to  a  degree  the  counter- 
part of  the  British  aristocracy,  not  averse  to  thriving 
at  the  expense  of  the  other  classes,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  was  itself  fenced  about  with  privileges  which 
were  strenuously  held  fast  against  encroachment  by 
the  people. 

In  1825,  however,  despite  the  bitter  and  most 
vehement  hostility  of  the  Faculty  and  lobby  agents 
of  the  University,  the  General  Assembly  passed  an 
act  authorizing  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  of 
Cannonsburg  to  establish  a  branch  at  Philadelphia. 
Dr.  John  Eberle,  Dr.  George  McClellan,  and  others, 
were  active  in  this  enterprise.  They  found  it  no  easy 
matter,  however,  to  place  the  new  institution  upon  a 
permanent  basis.  There  was  almost  constant  quarrel- 
ling among  the  professors,  and  the  college  itself  failed 
to  secure  due  recognition  as  "respectable."     Finally, 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  639 

in  1838,  the  Legislature  separated  it  from  the  parent 
school  and  gave  it  a  distinct  charter  by  itself.  The 
bitter  dissensions,  hov^ever,  now  raged  more  fiercely 
than  ever,  and  the  new  Board  of  Trustees,  in  1839, 
dissolved  the  Faculty.  In  the  subsequent  organiza- 
tion, Doctors  McClellan  and  Colhoun  gave  place  to  Dr. 
Joseph  Pancoast.  Thus  for  fifteen  years  it  was  a  very 
difficult  matter  to  maintain  this  school  in  healthy 
existence.  Its  intestinal  feuds,  and  the  unceasing 
opposition  of  the  supporters  of  the  older  college,  at 
times  almost  destroyed  its  vitality.  A  young  man 
graduating  at  that  time  at  the  Jefferson  Medical 
College  was  regarded  as  having  marred  his  prospects 
forever,  and  as  having  virtually  disgraced  himself 
for  life. 

Meanwhile,  the  professors  who  left  the  Faculty  m 
1839,  lost  no  time  in  the  establishing  of  another 
similar  institution.  They  negotiated  with  the  Trustees 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Medical  College  at  Gettysburg 
to  open  a  medical  department  at  Philadelphia.  The 
two  brothers.  Doctors  George  and  Samuel  McClellan, 
Dr.  Colhoun,  Dr.  Samuel  George  Morton*  and  Dr. 
William  Rush  composed  the  staff  of  instructors. 
They  soon  found  that  their  powers  as  an  institution 
of  learning  were  limited,  and  applied  to  the  General 
Assembly  for  a  separate  charter.  The  Jefferson 
Medical  College  joined  the  University  in  the  usual 
opposition,  but  without  avail,  and  the  new  college 
obtained  an  act  of  incorporation. 


*  Dr.  Morton  was  the  author  of  a  text-book  on  anatomy,  and  was  widely  dis- 
tingpuished  as  a  craniologist.  He  also  contributed  largely  to  the  celebrated  work 
of  Dr.  J.  C.  Nott  and  the  Hon.  George  R.  Gliddon,  The  TyJ>ts  of  Mankind.  Dr. 
George  McClellan  was  also  noted  for  his  proficiency  as  a  surgeon.  The  late 
General  George  B.  McClellan  was  his  son. 


640  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

In  1844,  application  was  made  to  the  Legislature 
for  a  law  to  incorporate  the  Franklin  Medical  College. 
At  this  period  the  hold  of  the  privileged  order  of 
physicians  had  lost  its  tenacity  every  where,  and  the 
charter  was  granted  with  little  opposition. 

Another  application  was  made  by  Dr.  James  Mc- 
Clintock,  in  1847,  for  the  incorporation  of  the 
Philadelphia  College  of  Medicine,  with  the  unique 
condition  of  holding  its  lecturing  terms  only  in  the 
summer.  Dr.  McClintock  had  been  a  student  of  Dr. 
Eberle  and  of  the  McClellan  brothers,  and  was  an 
early  graduate  of  the  Jefferson  Medical  College.  He 
was  a  ripe  scholar  in  medicine  and  a  skilful  practi- 
tioner. After  graduating  he  often  assisted  the  pro- 
fessors in  their  instructions  and  delivered  lectures 
independently  to  classes  of  his  own.  Though  de- 
famed at  home  as  "  irregular,"  he  acquired  an 
excellent  professional  reputation  elsewhere.  In  1841, 
he  became  professor  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology  at 
Castleton  Medical  College  in  Vermont,  and  was 
elected  its  president.  The  next  year  he  accepted  a 
similar  chair  in  the  Berksliire  Medical  Institution. 
Returning  to  Philadelphia,  he  declined  several  other 
appointments  and  opened  a  School  of  Anatomy  on 
his  own  account. 

His  attempt  to  procure  a  charter  was  artfully 
resisted.  Physicians  professing  to  be  his  friends, 
did  not  scruple  to  malign  him,  and  wrote  letters  in 
profusion  to  members  of  the  Legislature  remonstrat- 
ing against  the  granting  of  his  application.  All, 
however,  was  of  little  avail.  Liberal  sentiments 
upon  the  subject  of  medicine  and  medical  instruction 
were  now  very  generally  entertained.  The  people 
and  their  representatives  in   the  General  Assembly 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  641 

had  become  averse  to  the  existence  of  monopolies, 
and  the  granting  of  privileges  exclusively  to  favored 
individuals  and  corporations.  The  journey  of  Dr. 
McClintock  to  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania  met  with 
exceptional  success.  Within  forty-eight  hours  from 
the  time  that  he  left  Philadelphia,  to  procure  the 
charter  for  his  proposed  college,  he  was  on  his  way 
home  with  the  instrument  in  his  pocket,  enacted  by 
unanimous  vote  in  both  Houses  and  signed  by  Gov- 
ernor Shunk. 

The  other  medical  colleges,  however,  refused  to 
accept  students  ad  eiindem  from  the  new  institution. 
Dr.  McClintock  accordingly  made  his  way  back  to 
Harrisburg  with  a  supplementary  bill  to  place  the 
Philadelphia  College  of  Medicine  upon  a  like  basis 
with  the  others.  All  opposition  to  this  proved  futile 
and  the  bill  was  passed  without  serious  difficulty. 

A  few  years  afterward,  under  the  stress  of  circum- 
stances, the  institution  and  franchise  became  the 
property  of  its  founder,  who  disposed  of  it  in  1854  to 
a  syndicate  of  individuals  connected  with  the  Penn- 
sylvania Medical  College.  It  was  finally  closed  in  1859. 

Medical  intolerance  in  Philadelphia  at  this  period 
was  carried  to  the  extreme  of  persecution.  No 
religious  person  or  corporation  claiming  infallibility 
for  the  Church  ever  went  farther.  Whatever  the 
extent  of  learning,  professional  merit  or  moral  excel- 
lence, it  weighed  nothing  in  the  balance.  Even  the 
Woman's  College,  although  endeavors  were  put  forth 
almost  to  abject  servility  in  order  to  win  favorable 
consideration,  was  included,  nevertheless,  under  the 
same  ban  of  medical  proscription.  In  i860,  the 
Pennsylvania  Medical  Association  adopted  resolutions 
disapproving  of  the  admission  of  women  to  the  study 


642  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  practice  of  medicine,  and  declared  those  physi- 
cians who  gave  them  professional  recognition  to  be 
virtually  quacks. 

The  case  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Penn- 
sylvania was,  therefore,  by  no  means  exceptional.  It 
received  the  like  supercilious  treatment  which  had 
been  meted  out  to  its  contemporaries.  The  tendency 
of  such  action  is  often  to  direct  the  attention  of  calm 
and  thoughtful  persons  to  the  motives  instigating  it, 
and  to  the  sentiments  of  those  who  are  impugned.  It 
was  perfectly  natural,  therefore,  that  a  man  like  Dr. 
McClintock,  himself  proscribed  and  compelled  to 
encounter  persecution  and  obloquy,  should  be  disposed 
to  consider  favorably  the  doctrines  and  procedures  of 
the  Eclectic  School.  The  result  of  his  investigation 
was  conviction.  He  at  once  gave  up  the  use  of  mer- 
cury, arsenic,  antimony,  and  other  objectionable 
drugs,  and  adopted  the  agents  employed  by  Reformed 
practitioners.  Having  resigned  the  office  of  resident 
physician  in  the  Blockley  Hospital,  he  accepted  the 
professorship  of  Surgery  in  the  Eclectic  Medical 
College  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  his  Introductory  Address,  he  declared  that  he 
had  maintained  Eclectic  doctrines  as  early  as  1842, 
while  president  of  the  medical  college  at  Castleton. 
There  had  been  classes  among  the  Allopathists,  he 
affirmed,  equivalent  to  sects  in  medicine  ;  and  it  must 
be  acknowledged  of  the  Homoeopathists  that  great 
benefit  had  resulted  from  their  labors.  Each  of  these 
parties  claimed  to  be  right  and  superior  to  the  other, 
but  they  were  alike  exclusive,  tyrannical  and  pro- 
scriptive.  He  now  chose  to  array  himself  with  the 
Eclectics.  They  were  not  bound  to  the  dogma  of 
any  school,  and  their  teachers  insisted  upon  an  inti- 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  643 

mate  acquaintance  with  all  the  subjects  which  consti- 
tute medical  knowledge — taking  the  good  from  all 
sources  and  casting  the  bad  away. 

The  winter  term  of  1859-60  began  as  usual  at  the 
College  building,  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  Callow- 
hill  streets.  The  Faculty  was  now  composed  of  Dr. 
Paine,  the  dean,  and  Doctors  Calkins,  McClintock, 
Bohannan,  Sites  and  Hollembaek.  A  spring  term 
was  also  arranged  and  duly  advertised  in  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Journal  of  Philadelphia,  to  begin  on  the 
fourth  day  of  March,  1868,  with  the  same  instructors. 
So  far  as  was  announced  to  the  public,  the  relations 
between  the  several  members  of  the  Faculty  were 
cordial.  "  With  the  present  organization  and  enlarged 
facilities  for  instruction,"  Dr.  Paine  declared  in  an 
editorial  article,  "there  is  no  Medical  College  in 
America  with  a  stronger  corps  of  teachers." 

These  arrangements,  however,  were  little  more 
than  a  prelude  to  another  departure.  Dr.  Bohannan 
resigned,  went  home  to  Virginia,  and  became  after- 
ward a  general  in  the  Confederate  army.  Dr.  Calkins, 
in  turn,  was  also  dissatisfied  with  his  environments, 
and  accepted  a  chair  in  the  Penn  Medical  College. 
He  presently  renounced  all  connection  with  the 
Eclectic  and  Reformed  Schools  of  Medicine,  and  was 
for  some  years  a  professor  in  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  Vermont  at  Burlington.  Dr. 
McClintock,  however,  was  most  aggressive  of  them 
all.  He  was  a  man  of  liberal  attainments,  a  classical 
scholar,  with  a  superior  social  and  professional 
standing,  and  did  not  find  himself  in  harmony  with 
several  of  his  colleagues.  A  rupture  of  some  kind 
was  inevitable. 

Doctors  Paine  and  McClintock  began  negotiations 


644  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

in  December  with  Mr.  Joseph  S.  Fisher,  the  president 
of  the  American  College  of  Medicine  in  Philadelphia. 
The  institution  had  been  incorporated  in  1853,  on  the 
application  of  several  individuals  who  were  not  in 
accord  with  the  Eclectic  Medical  College.  They  had 
strenuously  discarded  Eclectic  affiliations,  professing 
only  to  be  "  American  Medical  Reformers."  Several 
of  them,  indeed,  had  affiliated  with  the  Reform  move- 
ment, which  had  been  set  on  foot  in  New  York  in 
185 1  and  proposed  the  abrogating  of  denomina- 
tional distinctions.*  The  American  College  had  held 
but  a  single  term  of  lectures  in  1853,  and  then  sus- 
pended for  want  of  financial  support.  It  was  agreed 
to  appoint  a  Faculty  and  revive  the  enterprise.  A 
special  act  was  procured  from  the  General  Assembly 
on  the  fifteenth  of  February,  to  change  the  name  of 
the  institution  by  adding  the  title  of  "  The  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Philadelphia."  The  building  on 
Race-street,  known  as  the  Friends'  Literary  Institute, 
was  engaged  for  the  new  enterprise,  and  the  students 
who  adhered  to  the  two  seceding  professors  received 
their  degrees  on  the  i8th  day  of  the  same  month. f 
The  controversy  threatened  for  a  time  to  wreck 
the  institution  at  the  corner  of  Callowhill  street 
Its  supporters,  however,  determined  resolutely  to 
maintain  their  ground.  Dr.  W.  C.  Davidson  was 
appointed  to  succeed  Dr.  Paine,  and  upon  his  with- 
drawal, a  few  weeks  later,  to  accept  a  chair  in  the 
new  College,  Dr.  John   Fondey  took  the  place.     Dr. 

•  See  page  586. 

+  The  number  thus  graduated  was  twenty-one.  Among  them  were  Doctors 
Harvey  E.  Bowles,  now  of  Hammonton,  New  Jersey  :  the  late  James  P.  Cowles 
of  Hartford,  Connecticut ;  J.  T.  Dickerson,  now  of  Brighton,  Illinois ;  B.  S. 
Manly,  J.  L.  Thomas,  O.  D.  Paine.  Dr.  Bowles  is  remembered  by  the  author  as 
having  been  his  instructor  in  the  art  of  setting  type. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  645 

Joseph  Sites  became  dean  of  the  Faculty,  He  was  a 
man  of  influence,  having  been  repeatedly  elected  to 
the  City  Council  of  Philadelphia,  and  serving  after- 
ward as  a  Trustee  and  President  of  Girard  College. 
Dr.  William  F.  Smith,  a  Trustee  of  the  American 
College,  and  claiming  to  own  its  charter,  now  became 
a  member  of  the  Faculty,  and,  also,  Dr.  Joseph  P. 
Fitler,  also  of  some  note  in  political  circles,  Doctors 
John  Buchanan,  J.  C.  Everson  and  Hamilton  McDowell. 

The  next  few  years  were  characterized  by  sharp 
conflict  between  the  two  colleges.  Dr.  Hollembaek 
established  the  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  vigorously  assailed  his  former  associates 
for  lack  of  faith,  unprofessional  advertising,  and  with 
carrying  on  a  medical  school  for  which  they  had  no 
valid  charter.  Dr.  Buchanan  succeeding  to  the  edit- 
orial chair,  showed  himself  a  master  of  coarse  and 
vituperative  language  as  well  as  of  the  art  of  ex- 
aggeration. Dr.  Paine  refrained  from  often  replying 
publicly  ;  probably  from  the  consciousness  that  the 
general  public  seldom  takes  interest  in  the  private 
griefs  or  personal  wrongs  of  individuals. 

At  this  time  the  other  educational  institutions  of 
the  Reformed  School  in  the  Northern  States  had 
generally  closed  their  doors,  while  those  of  the  South 
were  suspended  from  the  conditions  produced  by  the 
Civil  War.  The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Penn- 
sylvania had  thus  become  the  chief  occupant  of  the 
field.  The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Penn- 
sylvania first  organized  in  1841,  met  steadily  under 
its  auspices  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  at  Cincinnati  maintained  relations  with  it 
for  years  of  an  amicable  character.  The  Eclectic 
Medical  Societies   of  the  United   States  and  Canada 


646  HISTORY    Oit     MEDICINE. 

generally  published  their  proceedings  in  its  official 
journal,  and  by  contributing  of  papers  and  other 
testimonials  of  regard,  gave  it  their  countenance  and 
support.  The  infant  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York  invited  its  professors  to  participate 
in  the  proceedings,  and  admitted  five  of  them  to 
membership.*  They  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity 
to  set  forth  their  version  of  the  controversy  in  Phila- 
delphia, denying  the  legality  of  the  action  of  Dr. 
Paine  and  his  associates,  and  obtained  a  vote  of 
censure  against  the  rival  college. f 

The  most  vigorous  efforts  were  put  forth  to  sustain, 
the  enterprise.  A  chair  of  military  surgery  was 
established,  and  ably  filled.  It  was  then  the  practice 
to  hold  two  terms  each  year,  and  students  beginning 
attendance  in  autumn  often  received  their  degree  the 
next  summer.^     This  practice  was    very  general   in 

*  Doctors  Hollembaek,  Sites,  Smith,  Clark  and  John  Buchanan. 

+  Dr.  W.  F.  Smith  offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolution,  which  were 
adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote  : 

"  Whereas,  The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York  has  taken 
a  high  stand  in  Medical  Reform,  which  may  lead  to  a  National  organization, 

"  'J here/ore  Resolved,  That  this  Society  will  not  recognize  or  countenance  any 
institution  or  college  unless  it  is  legally  chartered  by  the  State  in  which  it  is 
located.  ' — Adopted June%,  1864. 

%  The  number  of  graduates  from  session  to  session,  indicated  a  moderate 
degree  of  prosperity.  Eight  received  degrees  in  1863  ;  nineteen  at  the  winter 
term,  and  twenty-nine  at  the  spring  term  in  1864  ;  thirty-one  at  the  winter  term 
and  nineteen  at  the  spring  term  in  1865 ;  thirty-six  at  the  winter  term  and 
eighteen  at  the  spring  term  in  1866  ;  thirty-three  at  the  winter  term  and  twenty- 
four  at  the  spring  term  in  1867.  Among  the  graduates  thus  enumerated 
were  Doctors  George  W.  Brown,  Maurice  N.  Miller,  Judah  Isaacs,  Henry  Eitten- 
house,  Luke  D.  Broughton,  Thomas  Airey  of  England,  John  W.  Thrailkill,  A.  G. 
Stillman,  George  A.  Bagley,  J  Watson  King,  George  S.  Everts,  J.  A.  Burt,  David 
Paul,  Joseph  Fisher,  Roscoe  G.  Milliken,  A.  E.  Colerick,  Marshall  H.  Holmes, 
W.  W.  Watson,  George  H.  Day,  Isaac  Shoemaker,  William  Bell,  Stephen  Clark, 
J.  P.  Worrell,  C.  F.  Dumas,  William  Titus,  B.  P  Backus,  Henry  James,  Geo.  C. 
Washburn,  William  Wiard,  Lewis  P.  Grover,  Francis  L.  Gerald,  G.  W.  Keith,  A. 
Shattuck,  Edgar  Cole,  C.  Howard  Moore,  Eli.  G.  Jones,  M.  B.  Kenney,  Francis 
L.  Simmons,  B.  N.  Bedortha,  Dr.  W.  Harshberger,  J.  B.  McKilveen,  J.  J.  Siggins, 


MKDICAL    COLLEGES    ANi^    CONTROVERSIES.  647 

medical  colleges  till  1880.  The  advantages  were 
supplemented  by  an  Alumni  Association  which  held 
stated  sessions  in  Philadelphia,  and  was  instructed  by 
the  professors  of  the  college. 

The  institution  had  been  compelled  from  the  first 
to  depend  upon  the  personal  efforts  and  enthusiasm 
of  its  friends  and  Faculty,  unaided  by  donations 
from  the  public  treasury  or  liberal  endowments  from 
wealthy  sympathizers.  Often  the  instructors  received 
no  remuneration,  or  merely  a  nominal  one,  and 
several  of  them  after  a  brief  term  of  service,  found 
it  necessary  to  resign  their  professorship  in  order  to 
find  lucrative  employment  elsewhere.  This  was  no 
matter  of  reproach,  but  rather  of  commendation. 
Among  the  professors  in  this  category  were  several 
of  superior  merit.  We  name  Dr.  J.  P.  Fitler,  John 
Watson,  Emil  Querner,  Robert  Hamilton,  J.  V.  Lewis, 
George  H.  Da}-,  Judah  Isaacs,  George  H.  Hutchings, 
as  men  of  worth  and  honorable  distinction. 

By  this  time,  however,  the  management  of  the 
College  exhibited  irrefragable  evidence  of  disreputa- 
ble procedures,  and  a  disposition  to  impose  without 
scruple  upon  the  confidence  of  the  public.  In  the 
summer  of  1864,  a  misleading  statement  was  published 
in  the  name  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  announcing  in 
fulsome  and  inflated  terms,  the  extraordinary  success 
of  the  institution  and  the  prosperous  career  now  to 
be  expected. 

H.  N.  Rogers,  A.  J.  Haile,  J.  B.  Gallup,  W.  M.  Silvernail,  Frank  L.  Burr,  George 
Garland,  Ozias  Ellerson,  Thomas  Butlerfield  of  England. 

In  the  list  of  Honorary  Graduates  were  reported  the  names  of  B.  Keith, 
W.  T.  Branstrup,  A.  W.  Sidney,  J.  T.  Hurdick,  H.  A.  Sweet,  Horatio  E.  Firth, 
Dennis  E.  Smith,  Thomas  Simmons,  James  Day,  W.  H.  Bowlsby,  Matthew  Hale 
Smith,  James  L.  Proper,  James  Wilson. 

Yet,  in  1864,  the  Board  of  Trustees  published  tlie  extraordinary  statement  that 
since  1850,  the  number  of  matriculants  had  been  1464,  and  graduates,  873. 


648  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

"  The  friends  of  the  Eclectic  cause,"  the  Report 
declares,  "  have  nobly  responded  to  our  endeavors  to 
push  the  Reform  System  of  Practice,  so  much  that 
we  have  been  enabled  to  endow  the  College.  We  have 
received  in  all  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and 
invested  it  in  United  States  bonds.  This  sum  will 
realize  the  respective  professors  a  thousand  a  year. 
In  consequence  of  this  endowment,  the  Faculty  will 
give  free  tickets  to  attend  each  course  of  lectures,  to 
fifty  students  only,  on  payment  of  the  matriculation  fee 
[twenty  dollars]  each  session.  It  is  also  an  intention, 
at  an  early  date,  to  secure  an  eligible  site,  and  build  a 
most  magnificent  college.  The  funds  for  this  pur- 
pose are  already  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer." 

The  later  publications  of  the  College  make  no 
mention  of  the  endowment  or  resources  of  the  institu- 
tion. It  was  doubtless  a  subterfuge  to  attract  students. 
It  Served  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  formal  sanction 
of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  New  York,  and 
was  the  prelude  to  a  new  policy  which  led  inevitably 
to  dishonor.  The  fees  for  tuition  were  reduced  to 
an  inconsiderable  sum,  and  the  degrees  were  con- 
ferred thenceforward  on  individuals  at  home  and  in 
Europe,  without  any  attendance  at  lectures,  or  pro- 
ficiency in  medical  scholarship.  In  1867,  the  General 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  incorporated  the  American 
University  of  Philadelphia,  which  existed  as  an 
associate  institution,  conferring  literary  and  scientific 
degrees.* 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Society   of  New  York,  in  1868,  the   maLter  was  con- 

*  The  conferring  of  medical  and  academic  degrees  had  been  a  common 
practice  in  Great  Britain  and  Europe,  as  well  as  in  America.  A  president  of  the 
New  York  County  Medical  Society,  some  sixty  years  ago,  declared  in  his  annual 
address  that  it  had  become  a  trade  to  manufacture  diplomas,  and  that  they  were 
sold  about  the  country  like  the  merchandise  of  an  itinerant  pedler.  This  was 
before  a  Homoeopathic  or  Eclectic  College  existed  to  take  pan  in  the  business.  It 
is  hardly  probable  that  many  institutions  can  be  screened  from  the  imputation. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  649 

sidered,  and  the  following  resolution,  offered  by  Dr. 
Robert  Hamilton,  adopted  without  dissent : 

Resolved,  That  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York  protest  most  emphatically  against 
the  practice  of  certain  so-called  medical  colleges  of 
this  country  of  conferring  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  upon  persons  who  have  neither  attended 
full  courses  of  lectures,  nor  otherwise  acquired  a 
suitable  knowledge  of  medical  science  ;  and  that  we 
utterly  condemn  this  wicked  bartering  of  medical 
diplomas,  and  that  this  Society  will  refuse  to  acknowl- 
edge the  validity  of  said  diplomas. 

The  next  year  the  Society  reiterated  these  declara- 
tions, and  a  Committee  was  appointed  to  investigate 
the  matter.  A  full  report  was  made  setting  forth  the 
facts,  and  resolutions  were  adopted  denouncing  the 
traffic  in  medical  degrees,  refusing  to  recognize  the 
Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  as  a  medical 
college  at  all,  and  expelling  from  membership  the 
four  professors  enrolled. 

The  General  Assembly  also  passed  a  law  inhibiting 
the  granting  of  academic  degrees  for  pecuniary 
consideration,  and  making  it  a  misdemeanor  to  sign 
a  spurious  diploma  From  this  time  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  was  no  more  recog- 
nized by  the  American  Eclectic  School  of  Practice. 

Meanwhile,  the  new  College  on  Race  street  entered 
upon  a  career  which  promised  to  realize  the  warmest 
hopes  of  its  friends.  Dr.  Paine,  the  dean,  was  a  man 
of  great  energy  and  ability  as  a  financier,  and  was 
awake  to  the  importance  of  a  high  professional 
standard.  His  new  associates  ranked  among  the 
ablest  teachers  in  the  United  States,  and  several  of 
them  sustained  a  high  reputation  for  scholarly  attain- 
ments.    The  Announcements  declared  the  purpose  of 


650  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  Board  of  Trustees,*  "  to  raise  up  a  National 
College,  open  to  every  member  of  the  profession, 
without  distinction  of  sect  or  party."  Adhering  for 
the  time  to  the  name  of  Eclectic,  they  deprecated  the 
want  of  thorough  instruction  at  medical  colleges,  and 
especially  the  existence  of  teachers  lacking  in  general 
knowledge  and  ignorant  of  every  principle  of  Eclectic 
Medicine  and  Surgery. 

The  Faculty  in  i860  comprised  Doctors  Paine, 
McClintock,  Gauntt  and  Charles  H.  Cleaveland, 
formerly  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  and 
Eclectic  College  of  Medicine  in  Cincinnati.  Dr. 
Elbridge  G.  Dalton,  a  professor  of  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew  languages,  accepted  the  chair  of  Physiology, 
and  proved  a  most  desirable  acquisition.  The  practice 
had  not  then  become  general  to  advertise  a  group  of 
professors  who  were  instructors  in  little  other  respect 
than  the  title,  holding  the  places  nominally  for  the 
sake  of  thereby  gaining  public  attention. 

The  Civil  War  was  the  occasion  of  important 
changes  in  the  institutions  of  learning  at  Philadelphia. 
The  students  were  largely  from  the  Southern  States, 
and  repaired  home  to  take  part  in  the  great  struggle, 
The  class-rooms  of  the  Pennsylvania  Medical  College 
were  almost  entirely  deserted.  Its  building  on  Ninth 
street  was  considered  the  most  complete  and  elegant 
structure  of  the  kind  in  America.  It  had  been  erected 
at  a  cost  of  about  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  Trustees 
had  purchased  the  franchises  of  the  Philadephia 
Medical  College  and  united  it  with  their  institution, 
and  now  the  professors  were  lecturing  to  empty  seats, 

*  Among  the  members  of  this  Board  were  the  Hon.  John  S.  Prettyman,  M.  D., 
of  Milford,  Delaware  ;  WilHam  S.  Merrell,  the  Eclectic  Druggist  of  Cincinnati ; 
the  Rev.  Dr.  McClintock,  Dr.  T  S.  Perkins.  Only  two  members  of  the  Faculty 
were  Trustees. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  65 1 

with  little  hope  of  soon  beholding  them  again  filled. 
Early  in  1862,  Dr.  Paine  and  his  associates  began 
negotiations  for  the  purchase  of  the  property,  and 
after  long  delay  the  transfer  was  effected  in  October 
of  the  next  year.*  The  next  session  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Philadelphia  commenced  at  the 
new  homestead  with  great  enthusiasm.  Perhaps  the 
expectations  of  its  friends  had  never  been  raised  to 
so  high  a  pitch  ;  and  to  outward  seeming,  they  were 
abundantly  warranted. 

The  Faculty  was  enlarged  to  nine  Professors.  Dr. 
A.  R.  Thomas,  formerly  of  the  Syracuse  Medical  College 
and  Penn  Medical  University,  and  since  that  dean  of 
the  Hahnemann  Medical  College,  was  appointed  to  the 
Chair  of  Obstetrics.  Dr.  Homer  J.  Doucet,  a  graduate 
of  Union  College  and  an  accomplished  teacher.  Dr.  J. 
Milton  Sanders,  formerly  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute,  Dr._  Abraham  Livezey,  and  Dr.  Lincoln 
Oldshue,  of  Pittsburg,  were  also  made  professors. 

The  reputation  of  the  institution  was  admirably 
sustained  by  its  graduates.  Many  of  these  achieved 
a   high    rank    as    physicians, f    and    several    received 

*  Dr.  John  Buchanan  asserted  in  the  journal,  of  which  he  was  then  editor, 
that  the  three  charters,  which  Dr.  Paine  professed  to  have  purchased,  were  still 
the  property  of  other  persons  ;  that  of  the  American  College  belonging  to  Dr. 
William  F.  Smith,  that  of  the  Philadelphia  College  to  Dr.  Rand,  and  that  of  the 
Gettysburg  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  College  to  Dr.  F.  G.  Smith — all  of  Phila- 
delphia. As  none  of  them  attempted  to  estop  his  proceedings,  it  is  hardly  probable 
that  he  was  acting  without  due  authority. 

t  We  will  name  in  this  number  several  who  became  prominent  in  the  Eclectic 
school — some  as  teachers,  and  others  as  active  practitioners.  In  the  class  of  1860- 
61,  were  Doctors  E.  G.  Dalton,  William  B.  Jones,  T.  S.  Perkins  and  N  B.  Wolff ; 
in  1861-62,  Doctors  William  S.  Merrell,  honoris  causa  ;  Solomon  F.  Wehr,  Jacob 
Van  Valkenberg,  P.  A.  Allen,  M.  F.  Price,  J.  A.  Hawley  and  W.  B.  Steere  ;  in 
1862-63,  Doctors  William  Hargreaves,  H.  J.  Doucet,  Edgar  A.  Bassett,  R.  Van 
Naten  ;  in  1863-64,  Doctors  Henry  A.  BoUes,  Francis  M.  Reasner,  George  H.  Day, 
D.  A.  Loomis,  Cicero  M.  Ewing,  Corydon  C.  Johnson  ;  in  1864-65,  Doctors  Henry 
K.   Stratford,  John   D.    Young,  J.  L.    Kilgore,  John   R.   Borland,   R.   B.  Weaver 


652  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

appointments  in  the  military  and  naval  service  of  the 
United  States.  Their  training  under  Dr.  McClintock 
had  admirably  fitted  them  for  these  positions,  and 
the  public  authorities  several  times  rendered  them 
honorable  acknowledgment. 

In  1864  Dr.  Paine  perfected  negotiations  with  the 
Penn  Medical  University  for  a  union  of  the  two 
institutions.  Each  retained  its  own  corporate  exist- 
ence, and  the  announcement  of  lectures  was  made  in 
the  joint  name  of  both.  The  Faculties  were  united. 
Doctors  L.  W.  Buffington,  Charles  A.  Leech  and 
Joseph  Longshore  being  appointed  adjunct  profes- 
sors of  the  Eclectic  College.*  The  ensuing  winter,  how- 
ever, an  act  was  procured  from  the  General  Assembly 
changing  the  corporate  name  of  the  college  to  the 
title  of  the  '■'■  Philadelphia  University  of  Medicine  and 
Surgery." 

The  new  designation  was  significant  in  several 
ways.  It  was  no  less  than  the  laying  aside  of  the 
former  name  of  Eclectic,  and  the  attempt  was  made 
to  substitute  for  it  the  appellation  of  "  The  New  School 
of  Medicine."  Several  of  the  professors  had  not 
graduated  in  Eclectic  Colleges,  and  to  them  the  change 
was  by  no  means  objectionable.  The  others  saw 
a  possibility  of  gaining  professional  recognition  in 
the  medical  circles  from  which  they  had  been  excluded. 
Dr.  Paine  himself  was  facile  in  the  matter,  and 
readily  set  himself  to  work  to  find  arguments  for  the 

Harrison  A.  Tucker,  J.  Stolz,  J.  D.  Wheeler,  A.  C.  Taylor  ;  in  1865,  Doctors 
Henry  Beam  Piper,  James  M.  Louther,  Charles  E.  Heaton,  J.  C.  Michener,  Ray 
V.  Pierce.  W.  C.  Coburn. 

•  In  1874,  lectures  were  resumed  by  Dr.  Edwin  D.  Buckman  and  associate 
professors,  in  the  name  of  the  Penn  Medical  University,  and  were  continued  till 
1881.  The  Institution  at  this  time  was  described  as  non-partisan,  and  its 
graduates  affiliated  with  different  schools  of  practice. 


MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    CONTROVERSIES.  653 

step.  He  declared  that  the  peculiar  significance  of 
the  name  had  passed  away.  Most  of  the  improve- 
ments and  essential  changes  introduced  by  Medical 
Reformers  had  been  adopted  by  the  Old-School 
profession,  carefully  withholding  from  them  due 
credit,  and  thus  leaving  them  in  the  attitude  of 
outsiders.  Many  Eclectic  and  Homoeopathic  practi- 
tioners had  observed  this,  and  avoided  the  use  of 
a  distinctive  appellation  in  announcing  themselves, 
passing  simply  as  physicians. 

Besides  this,  the  Medical  Colleges,  both  of  the 
Eclectics  and  Homoeopathists,  Dr.  Paine  affirmed,  had 
been  unsuccessful  enterprises.  The  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute,  at  Cincinnati,  had  once  numbered  three 
hundred  matriculants  at  each  session  ;  but  for  the 
last  few  years,  the  number  of  actual  students  attend- 
ing each  course  of  lectures  hardly  exceeded  a  dozen. 
All  the  other  Eclectic  Schools — in  New  York,  Boston, 
Worcester,  Memphis,  St.  Louis,  and  other  places — 
had  failed  altogether  for  want  of  patronage.  Even 
the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia  hardly 
exceeded  a  hundred  students  each  session.* 

A  reason,  however,  which  was  more  likely  to  add 
force  to  the  argument,  was  the  preference  given  by 
graduates  to  the  diploma  of  the  Penn  Medical 
University  to  that  of  the  Eclectic  College.  After  the 
two  institutions  were  united,  they  were  allowed  their 
choice,  and  only  ten  accepted  the  Eclectic  degree. 
The  others  pleaded  that  if  they  received  a  diploma 
without  a  party  name,  they  could   practice  medicine 


•  "^Yit.  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  of  Cincinnati,  alluding  to  this  matter,  said: 
"This  is  rather  a  sorry  showing  and  is  to  be  regretted.  Still  it  maybe  readily 
accounted  for  ;  as  Paine  has  forsaken  Eclecticism,  considering  it  discreditable,  and 
the  other  school  is  not  organized  on  a  basis  to  siirrcf-d  " 


654  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

as  they  thought  proper,  and  at  the  same  time  escape  the 
opprobrium  medicorum,  the  odium  of  being  classed  as 
irregular.  Graduates  of  Homoeopathic  preferences 
pleaded  the  same  thing.  Yet  while  urging  this  as 
justifying  the  new  departure,  he  declared  medicine  an 
Eclectic  science  ;  and  that  unless  we  have  the 
independence  to  discard  false  teachings,  and  to 
gather  up  those  principles  which  are  true,  we  cannot 
expect  to  keep  pace  with  the  various  sciences  of  the 
day. 

"  Parting  with  the  venerable  name  of  Eclectic,''  Dr.  Paine 
added,  "we  feel  some  sentiments  of  a  sorrowful 
nature  moving  our  hearts.  But  these  feelings  are 
mitigated  by  the  reflection  that  if  we  are  necessitated 
to  part  from  the  name  Eclectic,  we  still  retain  its  spirit 
in  our  school.  We  feel  that  no  change  of  circum- 
stances could  induce  us  to  forsake  the  glorious 
principles  of  true  Eclecticism  ;  for  we  believe  that 
they  have  derived  their  foundation  from  the  ever- 
living  laws  of  truth." 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL. 

Seventy  years  ago,  Rafinesque  described  Eclectic 
physicians  as  those  who  select  and  adopt  in  practice 
whatever  is  beneficial,  and  who  change  their  pre- 
scriptions according  to  emergencies  and  acquired 
knowledge.  Such,  therefore,  were  not  to  be  held  to  any 
exclusive  dogmas,  however  plausible  and  imposing. 
Their  principles  would  be  fixed  and  unchanging,  but 
their  methods  and  procedures  must  always  be  modifi- 
able as  new  discoveries  might  require.  Our  percep- 
tions of  truth  are  always  relative,  and  it  becomes  us 
accordingly  to  give  a  hospitable  reception  to  every 
new  opinion  which  may  be  likely  to  bring  some 
better  procedure  to  our  notice.  It  was  an  apostolic 
direction  to  prove  every  thing,  and  keep  fast  hold  of 
the  good  ;  and  this  is  the  aim  and  scope  of  the 
American  Reformed  School  of  Medicine. 


the    new    departure    IN    PHARMACY. 

Nevertheless,  with  all  the  advantages  enjoyed  by 
Botanic  and  Eclectic  physicians  in  the  department  of 
Medical  practice,  from  the  manifest  superiority  of 
their  remedial  procedures,  their  existence  as  a  distinct 
school  was  its  permanency  to  their  achievement  in 
the  field  of  pharmacy.     For  a  long  time  the  vegetable 


656  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

medicines  which  they  had  introduced  and  employed 
with  salutary  results,  such  as  other  practitioners  had 
been  unable  to  accomplish,  were  prepared  after  the 
most  primitive  methods.  In  these  forms,  the  reme- 
dies, thus  simple  in  the  mode  of  application,  were 
probably  more  efficacious  for  cure.  This,  it  will  be 
remembered,  was  the  judgment  of  Rafinesque.  Expe- 
rience, however,  demonstrated  the  necessity,  or  at 
least,  the  advisability  of  a  more  thorough  manipula- 
tion. It  could  not  be  denied  that  the  agents 
employed  from  the  vegetable  kingdom,  while  superior 
to  the  others  in  use,  were  crude  and  bulky,  as  well  as 
often  distasteful  and  repulsive  beyond  the  power  of 
sensitive  patients  to  endure. 

Under  this  condition  of  facts,  it  was  morally 
certain  that  the  New  Practice  of  Medicine,  notwith- 
standing its  many  merits,  would  hardly  become 
general  or  popular.  It  was  likely  to  be  circumscribed 
to  the  rural  and  humbler  population,  to  the  "  plain 
people," and  to  be  virtually  precluded  from  a  standing 
with  the  cultured,  the  wealthy  and  fashionable. 
Indeed,  Homoeopathy  coming  from  Europe  with 
practitioners  liberally  educated,  with  a  milder  dosage 
and  ready  flexibility  in  remedial  procedures,  was  in 
better  plight  to  earn  favor  in  those  circles,  debarring 
its  American  competitor  from  that  opportunity  so 
essential  to  its  prosperity. 

This  necessity  for  an  improved  pharmacy  had  long 
been  perceived  by  the  more  intelligent  practitioners 
of  the  Botanic  schools.  As  early  as  1835,  Dr.  Isaac 
Jacobs,  of  Bangor,  in  Maine,  had  become  distinguished 
for  his  skillfulness  in  expressing  the  juices  from 
medicinal  plants.  Rademacher,  the  great  German 
Reformer,   employed    a  similar  method   with   great 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       657 

advantage.  In  this  way  it  was  practicable  to  admin- 
ister medicine  in  smaller  doses,  and  yet  with  greater 
efficacy.  Dr.  Jacobs  was  very  enthusiastic  over  his 
success,  declaring  his  confidence  that  the  Botanic 
practice  would  soon  supersede  that  of  the  Old  School, 
as  well  as  Homoeopathy  and  the  Eclectics. 

Some  years  later,  Mr.  B.  Keith,  of  New  Hampshire, 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  what  he  denominated 
"  concentrated  remedies."  His  preparations  met  with 
much  favor  among  Botanic  physicians  in  the  Eastern 
States.  He  afterward  removed  to  the  city  of  New 
York,  in  order  to  extend  his  business.  He  encoun- 
tered violent  opposition,  both  from  practitioners  and 
apothecaries  of  the  dominant  school,  and  from  many 
of  the  Reformed  practitioners.  Wri^-ers  in  the  College 
Journal^  at  Cincinnati,  decried  his  preparations  as  a 
secret  manufacture,  inert,  impure  and  adulterated. 
Dr.  Grover  Coe,  ex-president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  being  employed  in  his  laboratory, 
received  also  a  share  of  the  adverse  criticism.  Never- 
theless, the  business  became  very  prosperous  and 
lucrative  ;  and  presently  the  proprietor  dropped  all 
relations  with  the  Reformed  and  Eclectic  schools. 


WILLIAM    S.    MERRELL. 

The  honor  and  distinction  of  creating  and  estab- 
lishing the  new  pharmacy,  which  has  assumed  its 
present  permanency  to  the  American  Eclectic  School 
of  Medicine,  belong  by  indisputable  right  to  the  late 
William  S.  Merrell,  of  Cincinnati. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  had  just  been  organ- 
ized, and  its  two  prominent  founders,  Doctors  Beach 
and  Morrow,  were  awake  to  the  urgent  need  for  a 


658  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

better  mode  of  manipulating  the  new  remedies. 
Their  medicines  were  from  the  vegetable  kingdom 
and  had  been  proved  superior,  but  the  inconvenient 
forms  in  which  they  were  administered  operated  as 
an  obstacle  almost  invincible  to  their  adoption.  It 
was  resolved  to  find  a  man  able  and  willing  to  under- 
take the  work  of  improving  them,  in  order  to  rejider 
them  more  acceptable.  Their  choice  was  William  S. 
Merrell.  He  was  an  apothecary  of  signal  ability, 
well  educated,  fond  of  research,  unselfish  and  deeply 
interested  in  various  enterprises  of  public  benefit. 
He  was  in  every  way  fitted  by  personal  character  and 
early  experience  to  undertake  this  as  a  life-work. 

William  Stanley  Merrell  was  a  native  of  Oneida 
county,  in  New  York,  and  after  passing  through  a 
singular  variety  of  trying  adventures,  became  a 
student  at  Hamilton  College,  receiving  his  degree  in 
the  year  1823.  He  then  made  his  way  westward,  and 
became  principal  of  the  Tuscumbia  Female  Academy 
in  Alabama.  Here  he  remained  three  years,  in  which 
time  the  school  flourished  and  attained  a  high  degree 
of  popularity.  Returning  to  Cincinnati,  he  agreed  to 
accept  the  position  of  professor  of  chemistry  in  a 
medical  college  then  in  contemplation.  The  plan  did 
not  succeed,  and  he  began  the  study  of  medicine, 
engaging  at  the  same  time  in  the  business  of  apothe- 
cary. He  won  a  superior  reputation  in  this  enterprise 
and  formed  a  partnership  with  a  brother,  which 
proved  very  advantageous.  He  engaged,  however,  in 
another  venturous  undertaking  which  proved  unfor- 
tunate, and  finally,  some  years  later,  he  resumed  the 
business  of  apothecary. 

At  this  period,  the  proposition  of  Dr.  Morrow  to 
engage  in  the  preparation  of  Eclectic  medicines  was 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       659 

received.  He  v^^as  to  remove  his  business  to  the 
College  building,  and  was  assured  that  all  the  Botanic 
practitioners,  so  far  as  represented  by  the  school  at 
Cincinnati,  would  become  his  patrons.  The  work 
suited  his  taste,  and  he  accepted  the  proposition. 
Thus  he  became  identified  with  the  Eclectic  School, 
and  the  Father  of  the  American  Pharmacy. 

He  directly,  as  by  accident,  made  the  discovery  of 
resins  and  resinoid  principles  in  medicinal  plants,  in 
which  were  contained  the  principal  active  properties. 
In  1847,  he  found  the  gum  or  resin  of  the  mandrake, 
and,  after  experimenting  with  it  himself,  submitted  it 
to  the  professors  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute.* 
Dr.  Morrow  was  enthusiastic  over  the  new  medicine. 
It  met  a  necessity  which  he  had  long  felt  to  exist,  an 
efficacious  drug  in  minute  dose.  From  the  first  however 
it  was  decried  by  writers  of  the  dominant  school  as 
being  utterly  unfit  for  medicinal  purposes.  This, 
however,  was  soon  disproved,  and  "  podophyllin  "  came 
into  general  use.  Then  the  common  makeshift  was 
employed,  to  affirm  that  it  had  been  already  discov- 
ered and  was  introduced  from  them. 

Merrell  pushed  his  experiments  with  renewed  zeal, 
and  in  1848,  obtained  in  quick  succession  the  resinoid 
principles  of  the  Macrotrys  or  Cimicifuga,  the  Lep- 
tandra  or  Culver's  physic,  the  Iris  versicolor,  and 
others.  Adopting  an  etymology  which  had  already 
been  suggested,  he  named  his  new  medicines  podo- 
phylline,  macrotine,  leptandrin,  iridin.  Afterward, 
when  manipulating  the  blood-root  and  yellow  pucoon, 
he  obtained  alkaloid  principles  analogous  to  morphia 

•  He  learned  afterward,  and  promptly  acknowledged,  that  several  others  had 
made  the  same  discovery  ;  nevertheless,  he  was  the  first  who  brought  it  into  use 
as  a  medicinal  agent. 


66o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  quinia.  These  he  named  accordingly,  sanguin- 
aria  and  hydrastia.  He  continued  his  efforts  in  this 
direction,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  educts  from  the 
principal  medicinal  plants  of  the  vegetable  Materia 
Medica. 

These  discoveries  were  received  by  the  Botanic  and 
Reformed  physicians  with  a  joyful  welcome.  They 
imparted  new  energy  to  the  Eclectic  cause.  The 
practitioners  now  felt  confident  that  the  trite  desig- 
nation of  "unscientific  "  could  no  longer  be  applied. 
They  could  have  a  pharmacopoeia  equal  in  merit  and 
erudition  to  that  of  their  adversaries.  The  new 
remedies  were  eagerly  procured,  and  others  engaged 
in  their  manufacture.*  The  results  were  duly  reported 
to  the  medical  journals.  New  zeal  was  enkindled  to 
organize  medical  societies  in  which  to  compare  obser- 
vations and  discuss  the  new  advances  in  the  Reformed 
Practice.  Since  the  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  medical 
legislation  that  had  made  them  all  culprits,  liable  to 
fine  and  imprisonment,  there  had  nothing  occurred  to 
fire  the  heart  of  Eclectic  physicians  with  such  glowing 
hope, 

ESSENTIAL     TINCTURES. 

Mr.  Merrell  made  copious  notes  of  his  observations 
and  discoveries,  many  of  which  he  explained  in  com- 
munication to  the  various  medical  and  pharmaceutic 
journals.  A  complete  outline  of  them,  however,  was 
given  by  him  in  King's  America^i  Eclectic  Dispensatory, 
in  1858,     He  there  propounded   as  a  law  of  organic 

*  The  term  "  positive  medicine  "  was  invented  at  this  time  to  describe  the 
quality  of  these  remedies.  The  mania  for  discovering  "concentrated  remedies" 
raged  for  some  years  with  great  violence,  but  many  of  the  preparations  were  of 
little  value,  and  soon  fell  into  disuse. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS   IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       66l 

chemistry,  having  few  exceptions,  that  pure  alcohol 
in  its  solvent  powers,  discriminates  between  those 
elements  in  vegetable  and  animal  bodies,  which  are 
medicinal  or  poisonous,  and  those  which  are  nutritive 
or  inert.  Thus  albumen,  gluten,  gum,  non-medicinal 
oils,  fat  and  other  analogous  substances  are  insoluble  ; 
while  the  alkaloids,  resinoids,  resins,  acids,  oils  which 
are  medicinal,  musk,  castor,  the  various  poisons  of 
serpents  and  insects,  the  pus  of  ulcers,  and  other 
secretions,  readily  dissolve  in  that  fluid. 

Following  out  this  hypothesis,  he  proposed  a  new 
series  of  fluid  medicines,  very  concentrated,  definite 
and  durable,  which  he  believed  would  be  superior  in 
most  cases  to  other  pharmaceutic  preparations.  These 
solutions  or  tinctures  are  certain  to  retain  fully  all  the 
volatile  elements  of  the  plants  or  materials  from  which 
which  they  are  prepared  ;  the  resinoids  and  oleo- 
resinous  principles  are  all  retained  and  held  in  per- 
manent solution  ;  the  tinctures  will  not  only  be  clear 
and  elegant,  but  not  liable  to  fermentation  or 
decomposition,  and  thus  unaffected  by  tiine  or  tem- 
perature. They  may  be  made  of  definite  and  uniform 
strength,  or  nearly  so,  although  the  materials  used 
may  not  be  uniformly  of  prime  quality. 

"  These  tinctures,  containing  as  they  do  all  the 
virtues  of  the  plant  separated  from  extraneous 
matter,  and  being  of  definite  and  known  strength, 
may  readily  be  diluted  by  alcohol  into  officinal  tinctures, 
or  be  added  to  simple  syrup  to  form  beautiful  and 
efficient  medicinal  syrups,  or  be  evaporated  to  the  fibular 
consistence,  and  thus  form  luost  permanent  and 
reliable  alcoholic  extracts." 

In  order  that  the  new  preparations  might  be  dis- 
tinguished   from     others    of     different    quality,  Mr, 


662  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Merrell  gave  them  the  designation  of  "  Essential 
Tinctures."  * 

Though  William  S.  Merrell  was  in  no  sense  ambi- 
tious for  honor  except  that  of  doing  well  and 
thoroughly  the  work  at  which  he  was  engaged,  he  was 
by  no  means  unnoticed.  He  was  elected  to  the  City 
Council  of  Cincinnati  and  held  places  of  distinction  in 
the  church  of  which  he  was  a  member.  In  1861,  he 
was  chosen  a  Trustee  in  the  American  College  of 
Medicine  in  Philadelphia,  and  at  the  next  annual 
commencement  received  from  it  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  One  or  two  other  medical 
colleges  conferred  similar  testimonials.  He  was  also 
for  many  years  a  trustee  and  president  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  at  Cincinnati. 

Few  of  the  present  generation  realize  how  the 
genius  of  William  S.  IMerrell  stamped  itself  upon  the 
theory  and  practice  of  pharmacy.  Though  his  work 
may  not  be  generally  known,  or  even  acknowledged 
when  known,  by  many  teachers  and  practitioners,  it  is 
nevertheless  interwoven  with  the  web  and  woof  of 
modern  pharmacy  ;  for  when  he  began  it,  the  pharmacy 
of  our  American  Materia  Medica  was  a  new  and 
unexplored  field.  He  was  diligent  and  conscientious  ; 
he  risked  his  private  fortune  to  make  sure  of  his 
operations,  and  his  success  enured  not  merely  to  his 

*  In  1870,  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  directed  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  to  prepare  and  report  a  National  Eclectic  Pharmacopoeia  The 
secretary,  Dr.  Robert  A.  Gunn,  was  further  authorized  to  copyright  the  titl^age 
The  matter,  however,  remained  in  desuetude  till  1878,  when  a  committee  was 
appointed,  consisting  of  Doctors  Albert  Merrell,  S.  B.  Munn,  C.  E.  Miles,  F.  J. 
Lock  and  A.  L.  Clark  to  prepare  a  plan  for  the  work.  Dr.  Merrell  reported  the 
plan  two  years  later,  and  was  authorized  to  take  the  copyright  in  his  own  name. 
The  work  was  accordingly  completed  and  published  in  i&8(,  and  duly  accepted  by 
resolution  as  being  under  the  direction  and  approval  of  the  Association.  In  this 
work  Dr.  Merrell  adopts  the  designation  of  "Normal  Tinctures,"  indicating  bjr 
it  a  standard  strength  in  the  preparations. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       663 

own  emolument,  but  to  the  general  benefit.    He  always 
held  fast  his  integrity. 

Dr.  Merrell  died  at  Cincinnati,  September  4,  1880, 
in  his  eighty-third  year. 

ECLECTIC    MEDICAL     INSTITUTE — ITS    CHANGES. 

The  two  rival  college  enterprises  at  Cincinnati  had 
united,  and  the  Eclectic  Medical  Instituie  began 
its  new  career  with  a  loud  note  of  exultation.  The 
two  journals  had  also  been  consolidated,  with  Doctors 
Newton  and  Hart  as  editors.  It  was  announced  that 
the  class  numbered  "  more  than  is  now  attending 
all  the  other  schools  in  the  city."  There  were  forty- 
four  graduates  at  the  close  of  the  winter  term,  and 
thirty-one  in  the  month  of   May  following.* 

The  war  of  1861,  momentous  in  the  history  of  the 
American  Republic,  was  by  no  means  a  prosperous 
period  for  Medical  Colleges.  The  class  in  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute  diminished  to  smaller 
numbers,  only  twenty-nine  graduating  at  the  winter 
session,!  and  eight  in  the  spring.  Nevertheless,  the 
editorial  articles  of  the  Eclectic  Aiedical  Journal  betrayed 
no  sign  of  despondency,  yet  they  contained  the 
significant  admission  that  a  jealous  feeling  existed 
among  many,  that  the  men  connected  with  the 
Institute  wished    to   set   themselves   up   for   leaders. 

*  The  following  well  known  physicians  were  among  the  number,  namely  : 
Doctors  John  W.  Pruitt,  of  Arkansas  ;  Edward  E.  Spencer,  of  Massachusetts  ; 
John  B.  Shuilz,  of  Indiana;  Milton  M.  Fenner,  and  John  G.  Fross,  of  Michigan. 
Dr.  Pruitt  was  appointed  a  surgeon  in  the  Confederate  army,  sustaining  a  rigid 
examination,  and  was  the  pioneer  in  establishing  the  Eclectic  School  of  Medicine 
in  Arkansas. 

t  Doctors  Anson  L.  Clark  and  Henry  K.  Whitford,  founders  of  the  Bennett 
College,  at  Chicago,  George  H.  Field,  the  founder  of  the  St.  Louis  Eclectic 
Medical  College,  and  Abner  Thorp,  of  Cmcinnati,  were  of  the  number. 


664  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE, 

Dr.  Newton  disavowed  emphatically  the  existence  of 
such  a  spirit.  "  We  are  certain,"  said  he,  "  that  no 
such  object  is  an  incentive  to  action  with  those  who 
have  been  or  are  now  connected  with  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute."  Nevertheless,  there  was  a  cloud 
overhead.  The  Civil  War  had  begun  and  impeded 
all  business  in  the  country.  At  the  end  of  six  months 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Jourjial  was  suspended  for  want  of 
support. 

A  radical  change  was  made  in  the  management  of 
the  affairs  of  the  College.  It  had  been  a  joint-stock 
company  and  subjected  to  the  various  contingencies 
and  embarrassments  incident  to  such  enterprises. 
This  arrangement  was  terminated,  and  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute  became  the  property  of  Doctor 
Scudder.  He  was  a  man  of  excellent  financial 
ability,  resolute  of  purpose,  and  energetic  in  his 
efforts  for  success  in  undertakings.  Doctors  King, 
Howe,  Garrison,  Judge  and  Freeman  were  retained 
as  professors,  forming  a  coterie  of  instructors  certain 
to  assure  the  reputation  of  the  institution  for 
thorough  instruction  and  careful  training  in  the 
varied  duties  of  the  practitioner.  Dr.  vScudder  had 
been  a  partner  of  Dr.  Newton,  but  now  dissolved  that 
relation,*  and  gave  his  attention  more  exclusively  to 
the  management  of  the  College.  The  Eclectic  Medical 
Journal  was  now  revived,  and  has  been  published 
regularly  till  the  present  time  as  the  official  organ  of 
the  Institute  and  the  exponent  of  the  sentiments  of 
its  proprietor. 

There  was  a  strong  attempt  at  this  period  to  put 
an  end  to  the  existence  of  the  College  as  well   as  of 

*  Dr.  R.  S.  Newton  removed  to  New  York,  and  Dr.  L.  E.  Jo.ies  was  no 
longer  retained  in  the  Faculty. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       665 

the  Eclectic  School.  The  Examining  Boards,  acting 
as  umpires,  refused  to  accept  any  Eclectic  for  the 
public  service.  The  classes  were  small.  In  1863,  the 
graduates  received  their  degrees  at  the  rooms  of  the 
Institute  without  any  public  display.  They  were 
conferred  by  William  S.  Merrell,  the  vice-president  of 
the  corporation,  upon  thirteen  students  at  the  close 
of  the  winter  session,*  and  nine  at  the  spring  term. 
The  next  year,  however,  exhibited  a  greater  degree 
of  prosperity,  and  the  College  has  since  continued  in 
a  successful  career.  Two  sessions  have  been  held 
every  year  to  the  present  time  ;  the  classes  have  been 
large,  and  the  graduates  have  generally  become 
physicians  of  superior  merit  and  ability.f 

*  Doctor  George  Covert,  of  Wisconsin,  late  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  W.  M.  Johnson,  of  Illinois,  and  John  M.  Powell,  of  Ohio, 
were  among  this  number.  In  his  address  to  the  class.  Dr.  Merrell  made  this 
noteworthy  utterance : 

"  There  is  another,  perhaps  a  higher  qualification  that  must  be  brought  into 
use.  It  is  an  intuition— a.  reception  of  truth  not  derived  from  outward 
teachings.  This  is  experienced  by  men  in  every  vocation,  but  by  none  in  a 
higher  degree  than  by  the  physician  when  exercising  his  profession  in  the  Uwe  of 
it.  I  hold  it  to  be  an  intlu.x  from  the  inner  and  higher  life.  Explain  it  as  you 
will,  suggestions  or  impressions  come  into  the  mind  when  anxiously  desiring  the 
truth,  and  placing  themselves  in  a  passive  or  recipient  condition,  which  it  cannot 
trace  to  any  instructions  previously  received.  It  is  owing  to  this  that  there  have 
always  been  many  doctors,  so  called,  who  acquire  no  little  noionety  in  curing 
diseases  and  often  in  their  success  shame  the  educated  M.  Ds.  around  them,  who 
yet  are  entirely  uneducated  and  know  not  the  first  rudiments  of  medical 
science."' 

t  We  will  name  several  of  those  who  have  been  more  or  less  prominent  in 
effort  to  maintain  organized  action,  and  to  advance  the  Eclectic  cause.  Of 
graduates  in  1864,  John  W.  Thraillcill,  Frederick  J.  Lock  ;  in  1865,  Wilson  H.  Davis, 
Noah  Simmons,  Ray  V.  Pierce,  B.  T.  Gadd,  Edwin  H.  Carter,  David  Surber, 
Phineas  Sage,  M.  R.  Teegarden,  W.  Hope  Davis  ;  in  1866,  George  C.  Pitzer, 
Edwin  Younkin,  George  W.  Pickerill,  J.  H.  Woodward,  E.  Blackman.  W.  B. 
Church,  W.  Molesworth,  L.  R.  Brigham,  William  L.  Tuttle  ;  in  1867,  C.  Edwin 
Miles,  Frank  H.  Kelley,  Ira  Van  Camp,  J.  L.  Hensley,  John  T.  McLaughlin  ;  in 
1868,  Philo  B.  Wright,  Permetus  D.  Yost,  Ellis  J.  Kirk,  Joseph  D.  Peters,  Josiah 
Arnold,  B.  H.  Aylsworth ;  in  1869,  Hiram  C.  Miller,  Joseph  A.  Munk,  Ansel 
M.  Eidson,  Nelson  G.  Smith,  Samuel  J.  Smith. 


666  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 


ECLECTIC     PHYSICIANS    AND     PUBLIC    SERVICE. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  in  1861,  it  was  the 
invariable  practice  in  many  of  the  Northern  States  for 
the  Examining  Boards  to  reject  all  applications  of 
Reform  physicians  for  appointment  as  surgeons  in  the 
Federal  Army.  A  Committee  of  the  Medical  Society 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  some  years  after, 
explained  the  reason  for  such  exclusion.  "  In  Epis- 
copal religions,  the  Bishop  gives  the  formula,  and 
the  minister  who  disputes  or  practically  differs  is 
disrobed  ;  so  the  only  governing  body  in  medicine  in 
this  country  is  the  American  Medical  Association,  the 
representative  organ  of  the  whole  regular  profession." 
This  was  confidently  regarded  as  the  opportunity  to 
put  this  prelatic  authority  in  force.  Compared  to 
that  consideration,  the  health  and  welfare  of  the 
soldiers  made  but  a  subordinate  matter,  and  were  so 
treated.*  It  was  confidently  declared  that  "  exclusion 
from  positions  in  the  Army  would  kill  off  Eclecti- 
cism, and  every  species  of  quackery." 

Nevertheless,  they  were  unable  to  justify  this 
procedure  by  plausible  pretexts  of  unfitness  or  other 
disqualification.  They  rejected  experienced  phy- 
sicians from  the  motive  of  pure  partisanship.  As  a 
sequence,  the  places,  very  many  of  them,  were  con- 
ferred upon  physicians  who  had  been  unable  to  make 
a  livelihood  by  their  profession,  and  upon  men  fresh 
from     College,    often    where   the     terms     had     been 


*  In  the  Confederate  service  such  discrimination  was  not  always  made.  Eclectic 
and  Botanic  physicians  were  often  accepted,  and  by  their  superior  skill  and 
professional  talent,  reflected  honor  upon  themselves,  and  upon  the  School  of 
Medicine  to  which  they  belonged. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       667 

shortened  in  order  to  enable  them  to  obtain  appoint- 
ment.* 

As  might  be  expected,  flagrant  inefficiency  as  well 
as  insufficiency  characterized  this  branch  of  the 
military  service.  In  1862,  when  the  war  was  prose- 
cuted more  actively,  incompetency  and  neglect  of 
duty  became  notorious.  The  wounded  in  battle  were 
left  uncared  for  sometimes  for  two  and  even  three 
days.  There  was  often  more  danger  incurred  from 
the  surgeon  than  from  the  bullets  of  the  foe. 

The  attention  of  Congress  was  directed  to  the 
exigency,  and  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Army 
reorganized.  A  new  Surgeon-General,  Dr.  William 
A.  Hammond,  was  appointed,  at  the  desire  of  General 
McClellan,  and  the  number  of  surgeons  increased. 
Besides  this,  the  Governors  of  the  States  also  provided 
volunteer  surgeons  for  emergencies,  who  agreed  to 
bestow  their  services  without  remuneration. 

Medical  partisanship  was  to  some  extent  disre- 
garded. In  Pennsylvania,  for  example,  physicians 
from  the  two  Eclectic  Medical  Colleges  were  employed 
whenever  found  competent.  Governor  Oliver  P. 
Morton,  always  prompt  and  in  the  advance,  sent 
more  than  a  hundred  surgeons  to  the  regiments  from 
Indiana,  selecting  them  impartially  from  the  differ- 
ent Schools  of  Medicine.  Governor  Yates,  of  Illinois, 
was  likewise  active  and  diligent.  Governor  Tod,  of 
Ohio,  from  the  first  acted  solely  in  behalf  of  the 
dominant  School.  The  Board  for  examination  of 
applicants  rejected  unqualifiedly  every  candidate  for 


*  In  Connecticut,  several  Eclectic  physicians  offered  their  services  to  the 
Governor  and  were  accepted  by  him.  The  Examining  Board  rejected  them,  and 
a  special  term  was  held  of  the  Medical  Department  of  Yale  College,  at  which  a 
class  was  hastily  graduated  to  fill  the  positions. 


668  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

appointment  who  was  not  in  accord  with  Old  Physic. 
The  General  Assembly  attempted  to  check  this  by  a 
law  forbidding  any  distinction  to  be  made  by  the 
appointing  power  between  graduates  of  the  different 
Medical  Colleges  of  Ohio  The  Examining  Board 
was  also  abolished.  The  Governor,  however,  ap- 
pointed another.  He  had  been  authorized  by  the 
Legislature  to  secure  the  gratuitous  services  of 
surgeons  and  physicians,  as  in  the  other  States,  for 
the  proper  care  of  the  volunteers  from  Ohio,  their 
expenses  to  be  defrayed  from  the  Treasury.  He, 
however,  demanded  instead  that  he  should  have 
authority  to  appoint  sixty  surgeons  at  a  fixed  salary. 
Thirty  were  granted,  and  he  made  choice  of  inexperi- 
enced men.  Meanwhile,  he  appointed  none  of  those 
who  had  offered  their  services,  the  Eclectics  being 
rejected  and  others  not  willing  to  serve  gratuitously 
for  any  considerable  time. 

Nevertheless,  several  hundred  Eclectic  and  other 
heterodox  physicians,  did  pass  Examining  Boards 
and  receive  appointments.  They  generally  found  it 
politic,  however,  to  conceal  their  sentiments  in  regard 
to  Therapeutics. 

FAMOUS    ORDER    BY  SURGEON-GENERAL    HAMMOND. 

A  prodigious  excitement  was  created  throughout 
medical  circles  by  an  order  of  the  Surgeon-General, 
issued  on  the  fourth  of  May,  in  1863.  Dr.  Hammond, 
observing  from  the  reports  of  his  subordinates  that 
the  use  of  mercury  had,  in  innumerable  cases,  been 
attended  by  most  baleful  results,  and  remarking  that 
the  diseases  prevalent  in  the  Army  might  as  well 
be  treated  without  antimony  as  therewith,  directed 
that  those  drugs  should  in  future  be  struck  from  the 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       669 

supply  table  and  that  no  further  requisitions  for  them 
should  be  approved. 

The  order  was  regarded  by  his  professional  asso- 
ciates as  a  virtual  apostasy  from  medical  orthodoxy, 
and  a  veritable  scvittling  of  the  ship  in  which  they  had 
sailed  for  three  centuries  following  the  days  of  Carpi 
and  Basil  Valentine.  Their  indignation  was  not 
concealed.  They  did  not,  however,  depend  simply 
upon  a  defense  of  their  favorite  drugs,  but  resorted, 
like  the  masters  of  the  exorcised  Pythonic  maiden,* 
to  a  more  insidious  mode  of  attack.  It  had  been  an 
established  usage,  they  pleaded,  that  all  promotions 
in  the  medical  service  of  the  Government  should  take 
place  in  the  order  of  rank.  Doctor  Hammond,  how- 
ever, had  been  appointed  over  colleagues  who  ranked 
above  him.  They  demanded  accordingly  that  he 
should  be  removed,  and  that  the  old  order  of  promo- 
tion restored. 

Dr.  Hammond  had  exhibited  a  remarkable  fitness 
for  his  position.  He  possessed  superior  administra- 
tive ability  and  capacity  for  organizing  and  executing 
his  plans  for  the  required  improvement  of  the  medical 
service.  At  his  suggestion  many  of  the  colleges  of 
the  several  schools  established  professorships  of 
military  surgery  in  order  to  fit  their  students  to 
respond  to  the  pressing  exigencies  of  the  time.  All 
this,  however,  counted  for  little  with  his  adversaries, 
so  long  as  he  had  ventured  to  pass  beyond  the  cordon 
that  circumscribed  the  medical  arena.  Medical 
Societies  adopted  resolutions  denouncing  him,  and 
an  abortive  attempt  was  made  to  procure  his  condem- 
nation at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  American 
Medical  Association.     Finally,  however,  charges  were 

*  Acts  0/ the  Apos  tes,  xvi.,  19-21. 


670  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

instituted  against  him  of  malfeasance  and  dishonest 
practices.  A  court-martial  was  held  and  he  was 
dismissed  from  office  in  May,  1864. 

The  belief,  nevertheless,  was  very  generally  enter- 
tained, that  this  entire  proceeding  was  corrupt  and 
directed  by  personal  malice,  and  with  no  adequate 
ground  for  the  accusations.  Several  years  later,  the 
sentence  was  reversed,  and  Dr.  Hammond  indemni- 
fied. Under  the  new  Surgeon-General,  the  famous 
"Order  No.  VI,"  was  speedily  revoked,  and  the 
interdicted  drugs  again  included  in  the  medical 
supplies  for  the  Army.  It  was  also  directed  that 
henceforth  only  graduated  physicians  from  the 
"regular  medical  colleges,"  should  be  accepted  as  sur- 
geons in  the  military  service.  It  seems  to  have  been 
supposed  that  this  would  be  effectual  in  putting  the 
Reform  and  Eclectic  Schools  of  Medicine  out  of 
existence.  At  the  time  some  nine-tenths  of  the 
practitioners  of  the  United  States  had  never  gradu- 
ated in  Medicine  in  any  institution,  and  in  later 
years,  of  those  who  had  come  from  the  approved 
colleges,  four-fifths  were  rejected  at  their  official 
examination  for  deficient  scholarship.  Repeated 
endeavors  have  been  made  to  procure  the  abrogation 
of  this  partisan  distinction. 

ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    ORGANIZATION. 

Upon  the  cessation  of  persecution,  incident  upon 
the  abrogation  of  the  medical  statutes  in  the  several 
States  of  the  American  Union,  there  ensued  among 
the  Reform  and  Physio-Medical  practitioners  a  very 
general  feeling  of  indifference  in  regard  to  the 
maintaining   of    further   concert  of    action.       Their 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       671 

Societies  generally  passed  out  of  existence,  and  many 
of  them  abandoning  their  former  exclusiveness, 
adopted  the  Eclectic  procedures.  Such  was  the  case 
all  the  way  from  Maine  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Even 
the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  first 
organized  in  1848,  with  which  many  physicians  had 
affiliated  who  had  belonged  to  opposing  schools, 
held  no  meetings  after  1857. 

This  indifference,  however,  did  not  prevail  among 
all  practitioners  of  the  Reformed  School.  They  had 
the  brunt  of  conflict  to  sustain,  and  many  of  them 
were  awake,  more  or  less  visibly  to  the  vital  impor- 
tance of  association,  both  for  their  own  improvement 
as  physicians,  and  for  the  common  defense  in  case  of 
attempts,  such  as  were  already  in  operation,  for 
invasion  of  their  rights. 

The  Ohio  Eclectic  Medical  Society  had  been  formed 
in  1853,  and  held  its  meetings  regularly  till  the  Civil 
War.  The  Missouri  Valley  Eclectic  Medical  Society 
organized  in  1855,  and  the  Union  Society  of  Clermont 
county  were  also  in  successful  operation  at  the  same 
period.  The  Cincinnati  Eclectic  Medical  Society  was 
organized  by  members  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Institute 
and  other  physicians,  in  1856,  with  Dr.  William  S. 
Latta  as  president,  and  Dr.  Edwin  Freeman  as 
secretary.  In  i860  its  constitution  was  amended,  a 
code  of  ethics  adopted,  and  the  name  changed  to  that 
of   the  "Cincinnati   Academy  of    Eclectic   Medicine." 

There  was  also  in  existence  the  Pennsylvania 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  organized  in  1843,  but 
its  scope  of  activity  extended  little  beyond  that  of 
the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania.  There 
was  also  the  American  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 
purporting  to  be  a  continuation  of  the  Middle  States 


672  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Reformed  Medical  Society,  which  was  allied  in  an 
analogous  manner  to  the  rival  institution. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Indiana,  was 
organized  at  Indianapolis  in  1857.  The  late  Dr. 
William  H.  Kendrick  was  its  president  for  several 
years.  A  Society  was  also  begun  the  same  season  at 
Marshall,  in  Illinois,  with  Dr.  Thomas  A.  Bland  as 
secretary,  but  it  was  short-lived.  The  States  in  the 
valley  of  the  Ohio  and  upper  Mississippi  were  as  yet 
sparsely  populated,  and  it  was  difficult  to  form  and 
sustain  organizations.  An  attempt  was  made  in 
Iowa,  and  proved  futile. 

The  Connecticut  Eclectic  Medical  Association  had 
already  been  incorporated  by  the  General  Assembly 
with  full  authority  to  provide  for  the  instruction  of 
students  in  Medicine,  and  to  license  practitioners. 
The  Massachusetts  Eclectic  Medical  Society  was 
organized  in  i860,  and  duly  incorporated  by  the 
Legislature.  Both  Societies  were  largely  composed 
of  members  who  had  belonged  to  the  Reform  or 
Physopathic  organizations  that  existed  previously. 
An  Eclectic  medical  society  was  also  formed  in  the 
city  of  Boston.  All  these  societies  are  still  in  vigor- 
ous operation. 

The  most  systematic  plan  of  organization  was 
established  in  New  York.  There  had  been  several 
state  and  local  societies  which  continued  in  active 
existence  for  years,*  some  of  them  still  in  operation, 
but  others  of  them  had  fallen  to  pieces.  In  1863,  the 
present  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 

*  Page  482.  The  Genesee  Reformed  Medical  Society  had  exfsted  from  an 
early  period.  In  1854  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Kings  was 
organized  and  incorporated.  In  i86i  the  name  was  changed  to  the  "  Brooklyn 
Academy  of  Eclectic  Medicine,"  and  in  1866  it  became  auxiliary  to  the  State 
Society. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       673 

York  was  organized  at  Albany,  and  a  union  was 
effected  soon  afterward  with  the  Reform  Medical 
Society,  in  which  there  were  already  many  Eclectic 
physicians,  as  well  as  Physio-Medical  practitioners. 
In  1865  the  new  Society  was  incorporated  by  special 
act  of  the  Legislature  with  power  to  establish  auxil- 
iary Societies  which  also  should  be  corporate  bodies. 
The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  was  also  incorporated  at  the  same  session.* 
Auxiliary  Societies,  sixteen  in  number,  embracing  the 
entire  State  except  the  northern  counties,  were 
quickly  constituted.  This  example  was  followed  with 
manifest  advantage  in  subsequent  years  in  other 
States  where  the  physicians  possessed  the  requisite 
esprit  de  corps  and  were  sufficiently  numerous. 

Renewed  zeal  for  cooperative  action  became  widely 
diffused.  The  Societies  of  the  Western  States  had 
been  suffered  to  go  out  of  existence,  but  new  move- 
ments were  set  on  foot  for  forming  new  ones  in  their 
place. f  The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Indiana 
was  thus  organized  at  Indianapolis,  in  1865.  The 
Central  Indiana  Eclectic  Medical  Society  was  formed 
at  Anderson,  in  December  of  the  same  year,  with  Dr. 
Milton  Jay  as  president. 

The  Ohio  State  Eclectic  Medical  Association  was 
organized  at  Cincinnati  in  May,  and  made  choice  of 
Dr.  John  King  for  president.  The  new  State  of  West 
Virginia,  joining  with  the  northern  counties  of  Ohio, 

*  These  enactments  were  procurer!  by  the  author,  who  was  then  the  legislative 
correspondent  of  The  Evening-  Post  at  Albany.  He  encountered  the  resolute 
opposition  of  the  Committee  on  Medical  Colleges  and  Medical  Societies,  which 
consisted,  as  usual,  of  physicians  hostile  to  the  new  practice. 

t  Doctors  R.  S.  Newton,  S.  H.  Potter,  Joseph  Adolphus,  W.  Molesworth,  J.  M. 
Templeton,  James  Anton,  J.  R.  Duncan,  E.  M.  Morehouse,  were  among  the  most 
active  in  these  enterprises. 


43 


074  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

also  formed  a  "Union  Eclectic  Medical  Society."* 
Meanwhile  a  meeting  was  held  at  Anderson,  in  Ohio, 
and  organized  the  "  People's  Western  Reserve  Med- 
ical Reform  Society,"  electing  Doctors  J.  M.  Fry  and 
James  M.  Hole  as  secretaries. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  Maine 
was  organized  the  same  year.  There  had  been  an 
active  and  very  effective  Botanic  association  in 
earlier  years,  which  had  been  able  to  procure  the 
repeal  of  the  medical  law,  but  almost  directly  after- 
ward fell  to  pieces.  Its  practitioners  presently 
adopted  the  procedures  and  affiliated  with  the  Eclec- 
tic School.  There  were  many  energetic  men  in  the 
new  Society, f  and  it  continued  prosperous  for  many 
years. 

The  Vermont  State  .Eclectic  Medical  Societ)'-  was 
organized  at  Montpelier,  in  June,  1866.  Its  leading 
members  were  the  late  Doctors  Templeton,  G.  H. 
Plumley,  G.  A.  Bagley,  Matthew  McClearn,  G.  A. 
Gray.  It  still  takes  rank  among  the  most  active  and 
effective  societies. 

The  Iowa  State  Eclectic  Medical  Association  was 
organized  at  DesMoines,  in  June,  1868.  The  late  Dr. 
W.  Molesworth  was  its  president  for  several  years  ; 
and  among  the  principal  members  were  Doctors 
Joseph  R.  Duncan,  James  A.  Reid,  E.  H.  Carter,  J.  Gadd. 
This  Society  has  passed  through  many  severe  con- 
flicts, but  still  holds  its  place  among  the  most  vigor- 
ous of  the  Eclectic  Medical  bodies. 

•  This  organization  was  not  successful,  and  the  West  Virginia  State  Eclectic 
Medical  Society  was  organized  in  1870. 

t  The  president  was  Dr.  Horatio  G.  Newton,  a  nephew  of  the  founder  of  the 
Worcester  Medical  Institution.  Doctors  George  H.  Day,  Marshall  H.  Holmes, 
W.  R.  Wright,  Noah  R.  Martin,  Algernon  Fossett,  and  T.  G.  Batchelder  were 
prominent  members. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       675 

The  Nebraska  State  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
was  formed  at  Lincoln,  in  October  of  1868,  and  is  still 
in  active  operation. 

The  Illinois  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society  was 
organized  in  direct  connection  with  Bennett  College. 
A  preliminary  meeting  was  held  at  Elgin,  in  May, 
1868,  at  which  Dr.  Anson  L.  Clark  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  arrangements  were  made  to  procure  the 
cooperation  of  the  Eclectic  practitioners  of  the  State. 
The  effort  was  successful,  and  a  complete  organiza- 
tion accomplished  the  next  year.  Thirty-eight 
members  were  enrolled,  among  whom  were  Doctors 
Henry  Wohlgemuth,  its  president,  R.  F.  Bennett, 
Robert  A.  Gunn,  Thomas  D.  Worrall,  W.  Hope 
Davis,  Henry  Buecking,  William  W.  Houser,  George 
Kirkpatrick,  H.  D.  Garrison,  Henry  Olin,  David 
Bates,  S.  F.  Wehr,  W.  F.  Bayne,  Zera  Waters,  John 
M.  Scudder.  The  Society  now  numbers  its  members 
by  the  score. 

The  Minnesota  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society  was 
formed  and  incorporated  at  Owatonna,  in  May,  1869. 
and  continued  for  many  years  a  very  efficient  organi- 
zation. 

The  same  year  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of 
the  new  State  of  Kansas,  was  organized  at  Topeka. 
Its  officers  were  men  prominent  in  the  Eclectic 
ranks.*  It  has  met  various  fortunes.  The  first 
attempt  to  procure  a  medical  law  in  the  state,  resulted 
in  a  statute  which  upon  strict  construction,  gave  to 
this  Society  the  sole  power  to  license  physicians. 
There  was  accordingly  a  large  increase  of  its 
members.       The    law,    however,    was   repealed    at   a 

*  Dr.  S.  E.  Martin,  president;  George  H.  Field,  vice-president;  Noah 
Simmons,  secretary  ;    David  Surber,  treasurer. 


676  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

subsequent  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  and  most  of 
them,  not  having  sympathy  with  Eclectic  principles, 
dropped  connection  with  the  Society. 

The  zeal  for  organization  extended  further.  The 
Eclectics  of  Missouri  met  at  Chillicothe,  in  June,  1870, 
and  formed  a  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  with 
Dr.  J.  S.  Calloway  for  president.  The  outlook  was  en- 
couraging and  the  Society  prospered  for  many  years. 

State  Societies  were  also  formed  the  same  year  in 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  A  call  for  a  meeting  to 
organize  a  society  in  Rhode  Island,  however,  met 
with  but  a  feeble  response. 

Reformed  Medicine  at  this  period  was  not  circum- 
scribed to  the  United  States.  An  Eclectic  Medical 
Society  was  also  organized  in  Canada  West,  now  the 
Province  of  Ontario,  which  was  very  effective  in 
securing  for  its  practitioners  equal  rights  and 
immunities  to  those  enjoyed  by  other  physicians. 

The  Eclectics  of  Great  Britain  formed  a  Society  in 
1867,  by  the  title  of  the  British  Eclectic  Medical 
Reform  Association,  and  continued  to  hold  meetings 
for  many  years.  Among  its  members  were  Doctors 
J.  H.  Blunt,  J.  F.  Payne,  James  Skelton,  William 
Hitchman.  Unfortunately,  however,  there  was  great 
indifference  to  thoroughness  of  medical  study,  and 
an  indisposition  to  great  exertion  for  the  promotion 
of  the  cause.  The  medical  laws  of  England  are  very 
severe  toward  the  minor  Schools,  and  the  Reformed 
practitioners  exist  under  disabilities  hard  to  sur- 
mount. 

NEW    MEDICAL    COLLEGES. 

With  the  fresh  impulse  to  establish  Eclectic  Medical 
Societies  was  developed  a  kindred  ambition  to  found 
medical   colleges   to   instruct    students  in    Reformed 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       677 

Medicine.  It  was  generally  felt  by  practitioners  that 
the  possession  of  a  medical  degree  would  impart 
greater  confidence,  and  in  some  measure  assure  them 
against  unreasonable  discrimination  and  further  en- 
croachment upon  their  rights. 

The  Society  in  the  State  of  New  York  was  the  first  to 
make  the  attempt.  There  seemed  to  be  an  appropriate- 
ness in  this  undertaking.  The  city  of  New  York  was 
the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  American  Republic, 
and  the  establishing  of  a  medical  college  equal  in 
character  and  scientific  merit  to  the  other  institutions 
there  would  be  an  important  factor  in  the  way  of 
divesting  Eclectic  Medicine  of  a  provincial  and 
sectarian  character,  and  giving  it  a  national  impor- 
tance. The  American  Reformed  Practice  had  orig- 
inated there,  and  its  re-instatement  after  so  many 
vicissitudes  would  be  a  new  triumph  for  the  cause. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  the  proposition  was 
thoroughly  discussed.  There  were  prominent  physi- 
cians in  attendance  from  Massachusetts  and  Pennsyl- 
vania,* who  were  experienced  in  the  management  of 
medical  institutions,  and  participated  in  the  proceed- 
ings. Resolutions  were  reported  and  adopted,  in- 
structing the  Board  of  Directors  to  procure  from  the 
Legislature  of  New  York  an  act  of  incorporation  for 
the  Society  and  a  charter  for  the  proposed  college. f 
The  desired  legislation  was  accomplished  in  1865,  and 
the  new  college  began  its  first  term  in  October  of  the 

*  Doctors  C.  Edwin  Miles,  William  Paine,  Henry  Hollembaek,  Joseph  Sites 
and  John  Buchanan. 

t  Dr.  Robert  S.  Newton  was  president  of  the  Society.  When  he  severed  his 
connection  with  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  and  removed  from  Cincinnati,  he 
had  stipulated  with  Dr.  J  M.  Scudder  that  he  would  not  attempt  to  establish  another 
medical  college.  After  he  took  up  his  residence  in  the  city  of  New  York,  he 
declined  accordingly  a  proposition  for  such  an  enterprise,  but  in  this  case  he 
evidently  regarded  the  action  of  the  society  as  n  paramount  oblication. 


678  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ensuing  year.  The  president  was  the  Honorable 
William  F.  Havemeyer,  late  Mayor,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Alexander  Wilder,  in  1868.  The  Faculty 
consisted  of  Doctors  Robert  S.  Newton,  Edwin 
Freeman  and  J.  Milton  Sanders,  formerly  of  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute  ;  William  W.  Hadley,  late 
of  the  Central  and  Metropolitan  Medical  Colleges  ; 
Paul  W.  Allen,  of  the  Eclectic  Institute  of  Virginia  ; 
John  M.  Youart  and  Thomas  D.  Worrall.  In  its 
announcements  and  reports  the  authorities  of  this  in- 
stitution announced  their  adherence  to  the  principles 
of  Eclectic  Medicine  as  set  forth  by  its  first  teachers. 

The  Reform  Medical  College  of  Georgia  resumed 
lectures  at  Macon  in  the  autumn  of  1867.  The 
Georgia  Eclectic  Medical  College  which  had  been 
incorporated  by  the  Legislature,  in  1865,  began 
lectures  in  1866.  Doctors  I.  J.  M.  Goss,  T.  A.  Warren 
and  S.  W.  Thompson  were  the  principal  instructors. 
These  institutions,  neither  of  them,  were  affiliated  or 
identified  with  any  Eclectic  organization. 

The  Bennett  College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  and 
Surgery  was  organized  in  1868,  and  incorporated  by 
the  General  Assembly  of  Illinois,  the  ensuing  winter. 
The  principal  founders  were  Doctors  John  Forman, 
Anson  L.  Clark,  H.  K.  Whitford,  Robert  A.  Gunn  and 
Herod  D.  Garrison.  The  name  was  chosen  in  honor 
of  Dr.  John  Hughes  Bennett,  of  Edinburgh,  whom  its 
journal  declared  to  be  "the  celebrated  leader  of  the 
Eclectic  School,  and  considered  throughout  the  world 
as  the  most  eminent  medical  reformer  living."  * 

*  The  announcement  declared  this  explicitly  : 

"  The  scientific  principle  of  conservative  Eclectic  Medicine,  first  enunciated 
and  so  ably  defended  by  Professor  Bennett,  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
some  \  ears  ago,  has  established  true  Eclecticism  upon  a  basis  which  cannot  be 
controverted." 

Dr.  Bennett  certainly  was  more  closely  identified  with  characteristic  Eclectic 
procedures  than  many  who  now  bear  the  designation  of  Eclectic. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       679 

vSonie  exception  was  taken  by  the  Eclectic.  Medical 
Journal,  to  this  position  as  not  being  that  of  American 
Eclecticism,  and  as  differing  from  the  Eclecticism 
taught  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute.  A  con- 
troversy afterward  followed,  which  was  maintained 
for  several  years  with  considerable  acrimony  of 
feeling.* 

SPECIFIC     MEDICATION. 

In  the  meantime.  Dr.  Scudder  himself  acknowl- 
edged a  departure  from  the  earlier  teachers  of  the 
American  Reformed  Medical  Practice.  He  justified 
this  by  the  fact  that  the  inception  of  the  Eclectic 
movement  was  a  revolt  against  medical  despotism, 
and  its  first  expressions  were  for  unlimited  research 
and  entire  freedom  to  choose  from  all  sources  which 

*  It  was  apprehended  in  different  places  at  that  time  that  Dr.  Scudder  was 
•pposed  to  every  attempt  to  establish  new  colleges  of  the  Eclectic  School.  This 
was  deduced  from  expressions  implying  that  they  were  short-lived  and  unworthy 
©f  support.  "  Our  profession  has  been  cursed  with  mushroom  colleges  aad 
juvenile  and  inefficient  professors,"  he  declared.  "  Select  such  institutions  as 
have  lecturers  proven  to  be  competent  by  the  long  occupancy  of  their  positions  a»d 
the  intrinsic  value  of  their  publications."  The  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  he 
described  as  amply  secured  from  such  failure  by  the  money  invested  in  it,  and  was 
superior  to  other  Eclectic  schools.  Referring,  in  i86g.  to  a  want  of  students  to 
sustain  more  than  one  or  two  medical  colleges,  he  estimated  the  number  of  Eclectic 
students  at  250  yearly,  and  that  of  these  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  would  have 
175  ;  Rush  and  Ann  Arbor  Colleges,  being  near,  and  cheap,  and  good,  would  get  a 
portion,  "leaving  a  small  driblet  for  any  new  Eclectic  College  that  may  be  started. 
This  has  been  the  case  in  the  past,"  he  adds,  '"  and  it  will  very  certainly  be  the  case 
in  the  future,  for  the  same  causes  e.xist.  A  student,  therefore,  who  attends  and 
takes  his  diploma  from  such  a  school  takes  the  risk  of  an  imperfect  and  feeble 
course  of  lectures  from  men  not  properly  trained  and  experienced,  and  the  certainty 
that  he  will  hold  a  defunct  diploma  in  a  few  years." 

On  the  other  hand,  however,  Dr.  Scudder  declared  in  1866,  that  he  woi4d  gladly 
welcome  one  or  more  reputable  medical  colleges.  The  same  year,  when  recording 
the  establishment  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Colleges  at  Atlanta  and  New  York,  he 
described  them  as  "  favorably  located,  and  certain  with  sufficient  perseverance,  to 
succeed,"  and  he  wished  them  every  success.  Even  when  criticizing  the  manifesto 
of  the  Bennett  College,  in  1868,  he  begged  its  managers  to  "come  out  plainly  for 
American  Eclecticism,"  thus  allowing  him  "to  give  them  the  hand  of  fellowship, 
and  wish  them  God-speed." 


68o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

seemed  best.  "Dr.  Beach's  shoes  do  not  fit  me,"  said 
he,  ''  and  I  do  not  know  why  I  should  wear  Dr. 
Morrow's  coat  if  I  can  get  a  better  one." 

Again,  referring  to  the  fact  that  the  opponents  of 
the  Eclectic  School  had  approximated  to  the  Eclectics 
in  practice  and  taken  up  some  of  their  remedies, 
having  been  forced  to  discard  mercury,  antimonials, 
and  the  lancet,  or  to  use  these  agents  secretly,  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  patients,  he  demanded 
whether  the  mission  of  the  Eclectics  was  thereby 
fulfilled,  "  as  some  faint-hearted  Eclectics  would  say," 
and  whether  they  were  willing  to  be  absorbed  by 
their  opponents.  "  For  me,"  said  he,  "  I  do  not 
intend  to  be  '■gobbled  up,'  and  I  could  not,  if  I  would, 
forget  the  insulting  treatment  and  disregard  of  our 
rights  manifested  by  Old-School  physicians.  They 
may  make  up  their  minds  to  continued  war  until  they 
learn  that  this  country  is  as  free  in  Medicine  as  it  is 
in  religion  or  politics." 

These  considerations  possibly  had  some  influence 
in  regard  to  the  diverging  from  the  views  entertained 
by  the  founders  of  the  Eclectic  School  of  Medicine, 
As  early  as  1864,  Dr.  Scudder  declared  that  he  believed 
to  some  extent  in  specific  remedies  and  specific  modes 
of  treatment.  He  protested,  however,  that  he  did 
not  desire  to  adopt  the  Homoeopathic  doctrine  or 
infinitesimal  dosage,  but  stated  that  he  was  making 
an  examination  of  their  therapeutic  procedures.  He 
gave  much  attention  to  the  peculiar  views  promul- 
gated by  Hale,  Hempel,  Rau,  Rademacher  and 
Honigberger.  It  was  practicable  from  a  comparing  of 
the  doctrines  of  these  various  teachers  to  digest  a 
theory  which  should  be  sufficiently  recondite  and  plaus- 
ible, while  differing  materially  in  certain  points  from 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       68l 

the  formulated  notionsof  the  other  schools.  This  would 
give  a  doctrinal  focus  distinct  from  theirs,  and  afford 
a  reason  for  the  permanent  maintaining  of  a  School 
of  practice  apart  from  them. 

The  new  dogma  was  denominated  '■''  Specific  Medication" 
and  was  defined  as  follows  :  "  We  use  the  term  specific 
with  relation  to  definite  pathological  conditions,  and 
propose  to  say  that  certain  well-determined  deviations 
from  the  healthy  state  will  always  be  corrected  by 
specific  medicines."* 

The  originality  of  the  doctrine  has  been  repeatedly 
controverted.  Dr.  William  H.  Cook  ascribed  it  to  a 
Thomsonian  origin.  ''  It  is  an  old  Physio-Medical 
doctrine,"  he  declared,  "that  remedies  should  be 
adapted  to  the  work  in  hand  ;  and  the  more  exactly 
they  are  thus  adapted,  the  better.  The  Eclectics 
'  borrow'  this  comely  suit  of  Physio-Medical  clothing, 
and  would  make  the  world  believe  it  is  a  brand- 
new  suit  of  their  own."f 

Dr.  Scudder  cautiously  refrained  from  any  argu- 
ment upon  this  point.  He  published  a  series  of 
papers  in  W\q  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  oi  1869,  setting 
forth  the  new  doctrine — not  making  it  a  test,  however, 
of  Eclectic  orthodoxy,  and  it  became  the  distinctive 
feature  of  the  teachings  in  the  Medical  Eclectic 
Institute. 


*  The  American  Honiiropathic  Observer^  of  1869,  virtually  accepted  the 
hypothesis  upon  which  this  proposition  is  based.  "  For  the  present  and  in  the 
majority  of  instances,"  it  remarked,  "  we  must  take  the  pathological  condition 
as  being  practically  the  ultimatum  in  all  cases,  regarding  this  condition  as  being 
practically  the  ultimatum  of  the  morbific  forces  operating  behind." 

t  Dr.  Cook  objected  to  this  use  of  the  \.^xm.  specific  vicdicatioii.  He  insisted 
that  the  Homceopathists  first  gave  origin  to  it,  and  gave  it  its  definition  which  the 
professional  world  has  adopted  ;  and  therefore,  if  the  Eclectics  do  not  mean  the 
same  thing  when  they  use  the  term,  they  should  find  another  phrase  to  convey 
their  meaning. 


682  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

THE    MEDICAL    CONFLICT    RENEWED. 

In  1845,  Dr.  Thomas  V.  Morrow  declared  his  hope 
that  medical  monopoly  had  met  its  overthrow,  and 
that  all  laws  granting  to  one  class  of  physicians 
exclusive  privileges  had  been  blotted  out  forever. 
Human  progress,  however,  whether  moral  or  scientific, 
is  never  in  a  straight  line  forward,  but  always  in 
circles — for  a  season  apparently  advancing,  and  then 
for  a  season  retrograding.  The  sound  of  Dr.  Morrow's 
utterance  had  hardly  died  away  on  the  air  when  the 
initiative  steps  were  taken  to  organize  the  American 
Medical  Association  on  purpose  to  check  further 
movement  toward  medical  enfranchisment.  Its  sup- 
porters speedily  assumed  it  to  be  "  the  only  govern- 
ing body  in  medicine."  Its  influence  was  chiefly 
employed  to  prevent  any  but  members  of  its  own 
order  from  receiving  appointments  to  places  of  public 
trust.  "Regular  medicine  only,"  it  was  set  forth, 
"  should  be  called  in  to  serve  the  government  ;  and 
Homoeopathy  and  other  irregular  sects  in  medicine, 
no  matter  how  numerous  or  influential,  politically  or 
otherwise,  should  not  be  represented." 

There  was  for  the  time  little  other  partisan 
legislation.  The  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 
North  Carolina,  however,  in  1859,  passed  an  act  in- 
corporating the  Medical  Society  of  the  State,  and  em- 
powering it  to  appoint  a  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  ; 
and  all  practitioners  not  licensed  by  that  Board  were 
debarred  from  the  right  to  receive  compensation  for 
service. 

The  Civil  War  afforded  opportunity  for  aggressive 
work.  The  Federal  Government,  willing  to  divest 
itself  of  some   of  its  responsibilities,  had  yielded  the 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       68^ 

control  of  the  medical  department  of  the  army,  and 
for  a  time  the  exclusive  policy  was  rigidly  in  opera- 
tion. The  hope  was  confidently  expressed  that  such 
proscription  would  effect  the  entire  uprooting  of  the 
other  schools  of  practice.  Their  general  disorganiza- 
tion seemed  to  give  ground  for  such  a  hope.  In 
many  of  the  states  the  medical  boards  refused  to 
accept  every  application  of  an  Eclectic  or  Homoeo- 
pathist  for  the  post  of  regimental  surgeon.  A  few, 
however,  passed  the  cordon  ;  and  such  governors  as 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  of  Indiana,  and  examiners  like 
those  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  accepted  competent 
physicians  without  regard  to  their  views  of  thera- 
peutics. 

Too  generally,  however,  the  character  and  efficiency 
of  the  surgeons  were  held  as  of  less  importance  than 
the  school  of  practice.  New  graduates  and  unsuccess- 
ful physicians  were  over-numerous.  That  the  soldiers 
suffered  by  this  seemed  to  be  regarded  as  a  secondary 
if  not  unimportant  matter.*  The  Government  soon 
found  it  necessary  to  remodel  the  medical  service,  but 
the  war  upon  the  non-conformist  physicians  was  con- 
tinued to  the  last. 

The  smoke  of  the  civil  conflict  was  beginning  to 
disappear  from  the  hills  when  the  lobbies  of  the 
legislatures  were  thronged  by  eager  applicants  for 
special  medical  legislation.  The  disbanding  of  the 
Federal  and  Confederate  armies  had  left  several 
thousand  army  surgeons  without  occupation,  and  their 
professional  brethren  were  now  employing  various 
devices  to  provide  for  them.    Numerous  pretexts,  more 

*  A  letter  from  an  Eclectic  physician  holding  an  appointment,  gave  this  state- 
ment: "The  records  of  two  U.  S.  General  Hospitals,  comprising  six  thousand 
cases,  show  I  hat  one-third  of  all  the  patients  admitted  die!  *  *  Of  my  own 
cases  [included  in  the  enumeration]  exactly  one  in  fifteen  died." 


684  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

or  less  specious,  were  put  forth.  The  third  invasion 
of  Asiatic  cholera  afforded  occasion  to  procure  the 
sanction  of  numerous  commissions  and  boards  of 
health,  with  extraordinary  and  almost  unconstitutional 
powers,  on  which  a  large  number  of  the  unemployed 
physicians  were  supplied  with  salaried  positions.  All 
Eclectics  and  Homoeopathists  were  treated  as  in- 
eligible. 

Another  step  was  to  obtain  legislation  which  could 
be  interpreted  and  carried  out  against  physicians  of 
the  heterodox  schools  desirous  to  begin  or  continue 
in  practice.  It  was  hoped  that  this  would  make  room 
for  the  others.  The  pretexts  for  such  legislation  were 
the  same  as  had  been  put  forth  in  the  earlier  years  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century.  The  people  were  to  be  pro- 
tected in  spite  of  their  wishes  to  manage  their  own 
medical  concerns.  Protection  is  a  significant  word  in 
American  politics. 

So  far  there  had  been  no  general  protest.  Many  of 
the  former  obstacles  were  out  of  the  way.  The  excit- 
ing events  had  virtually  relegated  all  the  older 
American  history  to  the  oblivion  which  eventually 
enshrouds  all  past  achievements.  The  generation 
that  had  demanded  and  secured  equal  rights  for  all 
schools  of  physicians  had  passed  from  active  life. 
It  had  been  succeeded  by  new  men,  who  very  gen- 
erally possessed  feebler  stamina,  less  earnestness  of 
purpose,  less  profoundness  of  conviction.  Then, 
likewise,  the  stringent  and  arbitrary  measures  incident 
in  military  administration,  had  operated  to  accustom 
the  people  to  passive  endurance,  and  had,  to  a  very 
large  extent,  quelled  the  instinct  of  liberty  in  Ameri- 
can bosoms.  Measures  that  would  have  been  strenu- 
ously   resisted    a   few   years    before,    might    be   now 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       685 

attempted  with  a  fair  prospect  of  success.  A  people 
has  often  parted  with  freedom  many  years  before 
finding  it  out. 

Under  all  the  pretexts  set  forth  for  the  new  legisla- 
tion cupidity  is  manifest,  as  well  as  the  lust  of 
dominion.  There  were  five  to  six  thousand  Eclectic 
physicians  in  the  country,  a  like  ntimber  of  Homoeo- 
pathists,  and  many  Physio-Medical  and  unclassified 
practitioners.  The  excluding  of  a  sujfficient  number 
of  these  from  their  lawful  right  to  follow  their  call- 
ing would  create  vacant  places  for  their  competitors 
out  of  employment.  The  machinery  of  a  Trade- 
union  was  set  in  motion  ;  the  American  Medical 
Association,  which  had  been  organized  originally  for 
such  purposes,  abetted  the  movement ;  and  the  auxil- 
iary societies  in  the  several  states  and  others  seeking 
for  favor,  acted  together  in  the  matter  like  disci- 
plined soldiers.  It  was  made  in  this  way  to  seem  like 
a  common  demand  everywhere. 

In  1859,  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  legislature  of 
Pennsylvania,  requiring  that  every  practitioner  should 
be  a  graduate  of  a  medical  school.  Dr.  John  Buchanan, 
then  dean  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, at  once  declared  his  hearty  approval  of  the 
measure.  "  It  is  an  act,"  said  he,  "that  will  do  much 
in  elevating  the  standard  of  our  profession — in  afford- 
ing protection  to  our  citizens  from  those  unqualified 
to  practice.     It  is  entirely  free  from  sectarianism." 

The  General  Assembly  of  Ohio,  had  already  in 
1868,  enacted  a  statute  more  severe  and  stringent  than 
any  of  the  others.  It  required  the  physician  to  be  a 
graduate  of  some  medical  school,  or  to  hold  the 
certificate  of  a  medical  society,  except  he  had  already 
been  engaged  ten  years  in   the  practice   of  medicine. 


686  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  penalty  was  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  first 
offense  and  imprisonment  for  the  second. 

Dr.  Scudder,  remarking  on  this  bill,  referred  to 
the  fact  that  only  one  school  of  physicians  had  been 
active  in  procuring  medical  legislation,  and  intimated 
that  the  power  would  be  used  against  the  others.  "A 
Board  of  Examiners  drawn  from  the  regular  ranks 
would  be  like  some  courts  ;  organized  to  convict  all 
irregulars."  In  regard  to  quacking,  he  declared  :  "If 
quackeries  are  not  injurious  to  life  and  health  no  one 
has  a  right  to  complain."  This  was  not  a  plea  in 
favor  of  quackery  as  many  would  insinuate,  but  a 
consideration  of  its  relations  and  its  tenure  with  its 
purchasers. 

The  next  proposition  was  to  establish  a  censorship 
over  practitioners  of  medicine.  The  Surgeon-General 
who  had  been  diligent  to  remove  Eclectic  and  Homoeo- 
pathic physicians  from  the  military  service,  com- 
plained bitterly  of  the  utter  unfitness  of  the  others. 
"None  but  graduates  of  the  regular  medical  schools 
were  admitted  to  examinations,  and  yet  over  eighty 
per  cent,  of  these  were  rejected  for  incompetency. 
The  ignorance  betrayed  by  many  of  the  candidates 
was  deplorable,  proving  that  the  diploma  of  a  medical 
college  had  ceased  to  be  of  any  value  as  evidence  of 
capacity." 

Thus,  was  need  urged  of  legislation,  not  because  the 
heterodox  institutions  had  been  found  at  fault,  except 
for  being  "  irregular,"  but  because  of  the  deplorable 
illiteracy  and  unfitness  of  those  denominated  "  scien- 
tific." Boards  of  Medical  Examiners  were  suggested. 
The  jealousies  of  the  colleges  was  sufficient,  however, 
for  years,  to  hold  back  such  legislation,  the  ulterior 
effect  of  which  must  be  to  weaken  their  importance. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS   IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       687 

The  example  of  Canada,  likewise  had  a  deterrent 
influence.  Examiners  had  existed  there  for  many 
years  ;  when  in  1861  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legis- 
lative Council  and  Assembly  to  create  a  new  Board  to 
examine  all  persons  desiring  to  obtain  a  license  to 
practice  medicine  in  the  Province  "  according  to  the 
doctrines  and  teachings  of  Eclectics." 

This  legislation  was  followed,  a  few  years  later,  by 
other  measures,  placing  the  three  schools  of  medicine 
on  an  equal  footing.  Nothing  like  this  was  desired. 
The  dominant  school  in  Canada  set  itself  in  1869  to 
the  work  of  procuring  the  annulling  of  all  liberal 
legislation,  thus  taking  the  lead  of  the  "  regular  pro- 
fession "  of  the  United  States. 

The  first  enactments  were  sufficiently  mild  to 
allay  apprehension,  except  from  the  far-seeing. 
Some  of  the  heterodox  physicians  themselves  re- 
garded them  with  favor.  Curious  as  it  may  seem, 
many  men  having  been  established  in  exclusive 
privileges,  are  willing  to  help  impose  disabilities  to 
prevent  others  from  obtaining  them.  The  medical 
statutes  of  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and  Illinois  at  that  period 
simply  reqiiired  physicians  to  possess  diplomas  from 
reputable  medical  colleges,  on  penalty  of  being 
disqualified  from  recovering  fees  in  a  court  of  law. 
In  1869,  an  enactment  of  similar  tenor  was  passed  in 
Minnesota.  More  stringent  legislation  followed 
afterward. 

In  regard  to  enactments  to  regulate  the  practice  of 
medicine,  Dr.  Scudder  acknowledged  that  his  mind 
was  not  fully  made  up  as  to  what  was  really  best  for 
the  profession  and  the  people.  He  seemed  to  hesitate 
between  his  convictions  of  natural  right  and  govern- 
mental  supervision.       "  Entire   freedom  to  choose  a 


688  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

medical  practice  and  physician  is  in  the  spirit  of  our 
institutions,"  he  frankly  declared,  "  and  entire  free- 
dom of  medical  practice,  governed  only  by  those 
common  laws  which  protect  against  injury  to  life  or 
limb,  would  seem  to  be  also  the  right  of  freemen. 
Laws  never  increase  the  real  value  of  anything  ;  and 
it  is  as  great  nonsense  to  talk  of  elevating  the  medical 
profession  by  law,  as  to  raise  the  price  of  cows,  calico 
and  other  commodities,  and  improve  their  quality  by 
legislative  enactment.  If  there  is  a  demand  for 
skilled  labor,  individuals  are  trained  to  meet  it ;  if 
there  is  a  demand  for  higher  attainments  in  educa- 
tion the  supply  naturally  follows.  So  if  there  is  a 
real  demand  by  the  people  for  a  greater  degree  of 
skill,  and  a  more  intelligent  use  of  remedial  means 
and  appliances,  it  will  be  supplied  as  certainly  as 
effects  follow  causes." 

On  the  other  hand,  "  when  medical  colleges  are 
sufficiently  numerous,"  Dr.  Scudder  approved  of  a  law 
requiring  every  practitioner  to  present  evidences  of 
a  sufficient  course  of  study.  This  he  thought  that 
the  State  might  justly  demand.  It  being  admitted, 
however,  that  the  diploma  of  a  medical  college  is  by 
no  means  sufficient  evidence  of  a  good  medical  educa- 
tion, a  plea  is  made  for  the  State  to  provide  for 
examinations  to  test  the  capacity  of  each  practitioner 
This  of  course  relates  to  the  physicians  created  by 
the  schools  and  not  endowed  by  native  fitness.  Dr. 
Scudder  compared  medical  examining  boards  to 
boards  for  examinations  as  to  the  proficiency  of  the 
ministry  of  religion.  When  one  religious  sect  ob- 
tained control  of  such  a  Board,  candidates  from  the 
other  sects  would  receive  no  mercy.  So  in  medicine  ; 
only  with  a  Board  of  each  school,  or  equal  representa- 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       689 

tion  of  each  school  upon  a  common  Board,  would  there 
be  any  hope  of  fairness.* 

In  Michigan  the  legislation  took  a  shape  most 
unacceptable  to  those  who  had  set  it  in  operation.  A 
medical  department  had  been  established  in  the  State 
University  at  Ann  Arbor,  and  maintained  from  the 
public  treasury.  Presently  the  Legislature  directed 
that  a  professorship  of  Homoeopathic  Medicine  should 
be  added.  For  years,  however,  the  Board  of  Regents, 
on  one  or  another  frivolous  pretext,  evaded  any  com- 
plying with  the  law.  In  1868,  the  Legislature  again 
took  the  matter  in  hand,  and  made  all  appropriations 
for  the  department  conditioned  upon  the  establishing 
of  the  chair.  Much  protesting  was  made,  and  threat- 
ening to  resign,  but  eventually  the  law  was  carried 
into  effect,  and  the  elements  subsided  into  calm. 

The  American  Medical  Association  took  another 
aggressive  step.  The  Committee  on  Education 
recommended  that  "  an  appeal  be  addressed  to  the 
various  state  authorities  advocating  that  no  more 
charters  be  granted  to  medical  colleges  which  do  not 
agree  to  adopt  the  plan  of  teaching  which  the  Associ- 
ation shall  hereafter  demand."  This  was  followed  by 
a  renewal  of  efforts  for  restrictive  legislation,  under 
the  pretext  of  elevating  the  standard  of  medical 
attainment,  regulating  the  practice  of  medicine,  and 
protecting  the  people  from  quackery  and  empiricism. 
At  that  period  the  trend  of  American  legislation  was 
unequivocally  toward  the  creating  of  monopolies  and 

*  No  arrangement  of  this  character  had  ever  been  regarded  as  a  final  disposi- 
tion of  the  matter.  Those  who  conceived  the  purpose  of  the  medical  laws  regard 
such  boards  only  as  temporary  makeshifts  and  make  effort  unceasingly  to 
procure  a  change.  The  examinations  are  often  little  else  than  schoolmasterlike 
exhibitions,  of  small  consequence  in  determining  the  fitness  of  the  candidates. 
But  with  Medical  Boards  most  of  the  Medical  colleges  are  of  little  account. 


690  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE, 

privileged  bodies,  the  multiplying  of  offices  and 
general  irresponsibility.  Bills  were  introduced  simul- 
taneously into  the  legislatures  similar  in  purport 
and  language,  showing  their  common  origin.  As 
the  tendency  of  such  measures  is  to  increase  litiga- 
tion to  the  farthest  pitch  of  endurance,  lawyers 
often  constituted  their  advocates  in  the  legislative 
lobbies.  It  was  a  strife  between  cunning  wrong  and 
passive  truth. 

NEW    NATIONAL    ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    ASSOCIATION. 

The  awakened  impulse  of  Eclectic  physicians  to 
form  societies,  tended  directly  to  open  the  way  for 
combining  once  more  in  one  general  organization. 
Their  exclusion  from  the  volunteer  military  medical 
service  in  many  of  the  states,  as  in  Massachusetts, 
New  York  and  Ohio,  operated  as  a  stimulus  to  union 
for  future  exigencies.  The  Massachusetts  Eclectic 
Medical  Society  took  the  preliminary  steps,  in  1864, 
by  appointing  a  committee  to  correspond  with  the 
secretaries  of  the  societies  in  regard  to  the  feasibility 
of  a  national  organization. 

Dr.  Robert  S.  Newton  was  the  first  promoter  of  the 
movement.  He  had  been  identified  with  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  in  concert  with  Dr. 
Morrow  and  his  colleagues  in  1848  ;  had  been  zealous 
to  maintain  it  when  his  colleagues  at  Cincinnati  had 
deserted  it,  and  was  its  president  at  its  last  meeting, 
in  1857.  He  was  a  man  of  marked  individuality, 
fertile  in  expedients,  plausible  in  address,  with  a  rich 
endowment  of  statesmanlike  qualities  and  powers  of 
persuasion.  He  had  now  became  a  resident  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  had  actively  employed  him- 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS   IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.      69I 

self  to  establish  closer  relations  among  the  Reformed 
practitioners.  He  had  attended  the  meeting  in  Mas- 
sachusetts in  1864,  and  the  action  taken  at  that  session 
was  largely  due  to  his  influence.  The  president,  Dr. 
Paul  W.  Allen,  engaged  heartily  in  the  proposed 
measure. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  held  its  second  annual  meeting  a  week  later, 
and  adopted  resolutions  concurring  in  the  proposition. 
Dr.  Jacob  Van  Valkenburg,  the  secretary,  was  directed 
to  correspond  with  the  proper  officers  of  other 
societies  with  a  view  to  effecting  a  national  organiza- 
tion of  Eclectic  physicians.  Present  at  this  meeting 
were  Doctors  Joseph  Sites,  Henry  Hollembaek  and 
John  Buchanan,  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania.  They  promised  to  unite  in  the  move- 
ment and  were  received  as  members. 

At  its  meetings  for  the  next  five  years  this  action 
was  repeated;  committees  of  correspondence  appointed 
and  delegates  selected. 

The  State  Society  in  Ohio  having  ceased  to  exist 
and  a  new  Association  having  been  duly  organized, 
the  question  was  introduced  at  its  annual  meeting,  in 
1867.  A  resolution  was  presented  by  Dr.  J.  M. 
Scudder,  and  adopted,  declaring  that  the  time  had 
come  for  the  organization  of  a  National  Society,  and 
asking  the  cooperation  of  the  several  Eclectic  Medical 
societies.* 


*  He  defined  his  views  in  an  editorial  article.  "  We  want  associated  action 
for  the  regulation  of  our  own  affairs  and  for  the  further  advancement  of  Eclecti- 
cism. I  hold  that  no  one  man  or  half-dozen  men,  self-appointed,  have  the  right  to 
control  the  faith,  standing  and  practice  of  six  to  eight  thousand.  *  *  *  If  the 
Eclectic  physicians  would  unite  as  one  man,  they  would  obtain  all  they  could 
possibly  desire.  Instead  of  being  a  personal  fight,  it  is  the  campaign  of  a  well 
org^anixed  and  resistless  army." 


692  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  matter  continued  under  discussion  for  several 
years.  Several  endeavors  were  made  to  fix  a  time  for 
the  beginning  of  active  operation.  The  Eclectic 
Medical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  adopted  a  resolu- 
tion in  1866,  contemplating  a  National  Convention  at 
Philadelphia  in  1867.  The  apprehension,  however, 
that  the  Eclectic  College  there  was  not  properly  con- 
ducted had  developed  into  conviction.  The  contro- 
versy with  Dr.  Paine,  which  had  finally  induced  him 
to  withdraw  from  the  Eclectic  body,  increased  this 
feeling.  Nevertheless,  there  had  been  no  open  divis- 
ion, and  many  of  the  societies  were  on  friendly  terms 
with  the  institution.  It  was  plain,  however,  that  the 
time  for  more  complete  organization  had  not  come. 

The  proposition  was  also  made  to  hold  the  pre- 
liminary convention  at  Cincinnati.  The  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association  at  its  last  session,  in 
1857,  had  appointed  that  place  for  the  next  meeting 
there,  and  it  seemed  appropriate  to  act  upon  that 
suggestion.  The  Association  of  Indiana,  as  if  to 
direct  the  action,  appointed  two  delegates,  in  1867, 
"  to  the  National  Association  which  meets  at  Cincin- 
nati in  June,  1868."  The  matter,  however,  went  no 
further,  and  at  its  next  meeting,  at  Indianapolis,  in 
1868,  Dr.  Joseph  Adolphus  offered  a  resolution  calling 
upon  the  other  societies  and  upon  the  medical  journals 
to  imite  their  endeavors,  "  that  a  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  be  formed  at  as  early  a  day  as 
possible." 

There  was  much  reason  for  such  a  demand.  Many 
were  becom.ing  averse  or  indifferent  to  a  general 
organization,  through  distrust  of  the  persons  most 
active,  and  from  grave  doubts  of  its  feasibility.  The 
ruling  spirits  of   the  Eclectic    Medical   Society   and 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       693 

College  of  Pennsylvania,  finding  themselves  losing 
the  confidence  of  the  physicians  of  the  New  School, 
determined  to  forestall  the  movement.  The  line  of 
division,  however,  had  not  been  definitely  laid  down, 
except  by  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  New  York, 
and  several  societies  exhibited  a  disposition  to  act 
with  the  organization  at  Philadelphia.  It  was  an- 
nounced in  1869,  that  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  had  been  formed,  and  would  hold  its 
annual  meeting  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  January, 
1870.  This  was  to  be  an  organization  for  the  benefit 
of  practitioners  solely,  and  no  professor  of  a  medical 
college  would  be  suffered  to  have  a  controlling  in- 
fluence, to  make  it  subsidiary  to  private  ends. 

The  meeting  in  January  was  imposing  in  descrip- 
tion. Delegates  were  reported  from  every  state  in  the 
Union,  and  from  Canada,  eighty  in  all ;  *  and  a 
constitution  adopted.  A  committee  of  correspondence 
was  appointed  to  communicate  with  the  executive 
officers  of  medical  societies,  and  another  to  prepare  a 
National  Eclectic  Pharmacopoeia.  The  Rev.  Matthew 
Hale  Smith  was  elected  president,  and  the  next  annual 
meeting  was  appointed  at  the  city  of  Washington,  in 
January,  187 i.f     The  subsequent  meetings,  however, 

*  Among  these  were  Doctors  J.  B.  Gallup,  John  Sims,  of  Delaware;  J.  R. 
Simmons  and  William  M.  Durham,  of  Georgia  ;  Benjamin  Thompson,  of  Iowa  ; 
Dr.  James  C.  Harrell,  of  Kentucky  ;  W.  Young  and  E.  G.  Jones,  of  Maine  ;  G.  H. 
Hutchings,  of  Massachusetts  ;  M.  H.  Smith,  W.  H.  Bowlsby,  E.  P.  Huyler  and 
L.  D.  Bro'ighton,  of  New  York  ;  \V.  II.  Blake,  of  Pennsylvania. 

t  Doctors  Daniel  Mayer,  of  West  Va. ;  W.  M.  Durham,  of  Georgia;  E.  P. 
Huyler,  of  New  York  ;  G.  Hutchings,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Philip  Rowden,  were 
vice-presidents.  The  Board  of  Censors  was  announced,  and  comprising  among 
others,  Doctors  J.  W.  Johnson,  of  Connecticut;  Duncan  McLeod,  of  Canada; 
John  Sims,  of  Delaware;  W.  M.  Durham,  of  Georgia  ;  A.  Abbett,  of  Indiana; 
George  W.  Brown  (formerly  of  Kansas),  of  Illinois  ;  Joseph  Adolphus,  of  Iowa  ; 
Samuel  York,  of  Maine  :  Horatio  G.  Barrows,  of  Massachusetts;  A.  R.  Brown,  of 
Michigan  ;  J.  M.  Roberts,  of  New  Hampshire;  James  L.  Watson,  of  New  York; 
J.  Monroe  Templeton,  of  Vermont  ;  J.  S.  Eastland,  of  Wisconsin. 


694  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

were  held  in  Philadelphia,  but  the  proceedings  were 
of  no  historic  consequence.  The  Eclectic  Medical 
Societies  generally  disowned  the  whole  affair,  and 
with  the  legal  proceedings  which  were  instituted  in 
1878,  the  Association,  Eclectic  Medical  College,  and 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  of  Pennsylvania  ceased 
to  exist. 

In  1869  the  movement  for  national  organization 
acquired  new  strength.  Dr.  Newton  was  unremitting 
and  indefatigable  in  his  endeavors,  corresponding 
with  leading  physicians  and  attending  the  meetings 
of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Societies  in  the  several  States. 
To  his  efforts  and  energies  must  be  ascribed  the 
ultimate  success. 

In  the  summer  of  1869,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Asso- 
ciation of  Iowa,  on  the  motion  of  Dr.  Joseph  R. 
Duncan,  its  president,  adopted  a  resolution  urging 
immediate  measures,  and  appointed  Doctors  Duncan 
and  Molesworth  a  Committee  of  Correspondence.  The 
Society  of  New  York  went  further  and  designated 
Doctors  R.  S.  Newton,  J.  M.  F.  Browne  and  Prince  A. 
Morrow,  a  Committee  of  Conference  with  a  view  to 
early  action.     There  was  now  no  further  delay. 

The  suggestion  to  hold  the  preliminary  meetings  in 
the  city  of  New  York  did  not  meet  with  general 
favor.  The  proposition  to  convene  at  Cincinnati  was 
made  and  promptly  declined.  Chicago  was  then 
selected.  The  call  was  prepared  and  signed  by  the 
executive  officers  of  eight  Eclectic  Medical  Societies 
and   the   two   Colleges    at   New   York  and  Chicago.* 


*  The  Societies  of  New  York,  Maine.  Connecticut,  Indiana,  Minnesota,  Iowa, 
New  Hampshire  and  IlHnois  were  thus  included.  The  name  of  the  author,  as 
president  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  headed  the 
list.     The  signers  were  generally  representative  men  of  the  Eclectic  School. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       695 

Twelve  delegates  were  allotted  to  each  State  Society, 
and  eleven  of  these  were  represented.  The  convention 
assembled  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  September,  1870. 
It  was  a  very  enthusiastic  session.  The  Eclectic  phy- 
sicians of  Chicago  put  forth  every  effort  to  make  the 
occasion  enjoyable  and  memorable.  Dr.  Robert  S. 
Newton  presided  with  Doctors  George  W.  Pickerill 
and  John  W.  Johnson  as  secretaries.  It  was  decided 
to  organize  the  Association  anew  under  the  former 
name  adopted  in  1848.*  Ninety  delegates  were 
accepted  as  members.  Several  of  these  were  women, 
although  many  members  had  not  been  ready  to  adopt 
this  new  policy  so  sternly  repudiated  by  the  other 
Schools  of  Medicine. 

A  Constitution,  with  By-Laws  and  a  Code  of  Ethics, 
was  adopted.  The  latter  was  in  some  respects  broad, 
authorizing  special  as  well  as  general  practice  ;  the 
use  of  cards,  lectures,  printed  publications  and  certifi- 
cates of  cures  ;  the  presence  of  laymen  at  surgical 
operations;  the  holding  of  patents  for  inventions,  and 
free  consultation.  But  except  a  person  had  qualified 
himself  practically  by  attendance  at  college  or 
otherwise  with  the  various  departments  of  medical 
knowledge,  he  might  not  be  considered  as  a  physician  ; 
and  thenceforward,  a  young  man  was  imperatively 
required  to  attend  two  full  courses  of  lectures  and 
graduate  from  a  medical  college,  regularly  chartered. f 


*  There  was  some  difference  of  judgment,  and  the  author  pleaded  for  omitting 
the  denominational  appellation.  Probably  the  enthusiasm  evoked  by  the  success 
of  the  convention  decided  the  matter.  Some,  too,  were  mindful  of  the  history  of 
the  Physio-Medical  School  which  had  changed  its  name  so  often  as  to  effect 
seriously  its  prestige.  Besides,  it  may  have  been  deemed  politic  to  afford  no 
apparent  opportunity  for  the  leaders  at  Philadelphia  to  vaunt  theirs  as  the  genuine 
representative  body. 

+  These  provisions  were  adopted  in  1872. 


696  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

A  permanent  organization  was  effected  by  the 
election  of  officers,  namely  :  Dr.  John  W.  Johnson,  of 
Connecticut,  President ;  Doctors  Stephen  H.  Potter,  of 
Ohio,  James  S.  Cowdrey,  of  Indiana,  and  William 
Molesworth,  of  Iowa,  Vice-Presidents ;  Robert  A. 
Gunn,  of  Illinois,  Secretary  ;  James  M.  Comins,  of 
New  York,  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  Benjamin 
J.  Stow,  of  New  York,  Treasurer.*  Dr.  Johnson  was  a 
man  of  superior  energy  and  decision  of  character, 
familiar  with  public  business,  and  popular  in  the 
Eastern  States.  He  had  belonged  to  the  Botanic 
School  and  acted  as  trustee  and  professor  in  the 
Worcester  Medical  Institution.  The  Secretary,  Dr. 
Gunn,  was  a  graduate  of  the  Medical  University  at 
Buffalo,  of  sanguine  temper,  enthusiastic,  ready  with 
pen  and  effort,  and  in  earnest  with  whatever  he 
undertook.  He  had  been  a  founder  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Society  of  Illinois,  of  the  Bennett  College, 
and  the  Chicago  Medical  Times ;  and  the  successful 
organization  of  the  National  Association  was  largely 
duetto  his  activity  and  persistent  efforts.  He  excelled 
as  a  writer  and  lecturer,  and  was  among  the  most 
accomplished  surgeons  in  the  Eclectic  School. 

Among  the  first  measures  adopted  was  the  appoint- 
ing of  a  committee  to  prepare  a  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Pharmacopoeia,  and  directing  the  Secretary  to 
procure  a  copyright  for  the  titlepage. 

The  second  meeting  after  the  reorganization  was 
held  in  the  hall  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation, in  the  city  of  New  York,  beginning  on  the 
fourth  day  of  October,    187 1.      Twelve  Societies  and 


*  There  was  an  implied  understanding  that  no  professor  or  representative  of 
a  medical  college  should  be  chosen  president.  The  rule  was  enforced  till  the 
election  of  Dr.  John  King  in  1879. 


IMPORTANT     EVENTS     IN     THE     ECLECTIC     SCHOOL.     697 

nineteen  States  were  represented  by  delegates.  Dr. 
Alexander  Wilder  presented  the  act  of  the  Legislature 
of  New  York,  incorporating  the  Association,  and  a 
resolution  was  adopted  making  it  a  part  of  the  con- 
stitution. Dr.  Joseph  R.  Duncan,  of  Iowa,  was  elected 
President ;  Doctors  C.  Edwin  Miles,  of  Massachusetts, 
Alexander  Thompson,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Vincent 
A.  Baker,  of  Michigan,  Vice-Presidents  ;  Dr.  R.  A. 
Gunn,  Secretary ;  Dr.  J.  M.  Comins,  Corresponding 
Secretary  and  Dr.  B.  J.  Stow,  Treasurer. 

Resolutions  were  adopted  denouncing  unqualifiedly 
the  selling  of  medical  diplomas,  and  all  persons  and 
colleges  engaged  in  the  traffic ;  also  condemning 
physicians  of  all  Schools  engaged  in  "  the  growing 
evil  of  the  practice  of  abortion,"  and  "  the  vending  by 
physicians  of  patent  or  proprietary  medicines,  or 
boastful  advertisements." 

A  resolution  of  greeting  to  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  of  Great  Britain  was  also  adopted.* 

The  Association  held  its  third  meeting  at  Indian- 
apolis, beginning  on  the  eighteenth  of  September, 
1872.  Governor  Baker  delivered  the  address  of 
welcome.  A  significant  occurrence  was  the  accession 
of  new  members  from  Ohio,  who  had  remained  apart 
and  adverse  to  the  movement.  At  their  instance  the 
provisions  of  the  Code  of  Ethics  were  expunged, 
which  related  to  specialties  in  practice,  advertising, 
the  holding  of  patents  for  inventions,  and  the  requir- 
ing of  future  practitioners  to  graduate  from  medical 
colleges  after  two  full  terms  of  attendance.  The 
subject  of  an  Eclectic   Pharmacopoeia  was  discussed, 

*  "  Its  influence  and  power  are  such,"  Dr.  Newion  declared,  "  tliat  at  the  last 
ParHament  they  came  within  three  votes  of  repealing  the  entire  Medical  Laws  of 
England." 


690  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  a  committee  appointed  with  directions  to  prepare 
and  publish  the  work  at  once.*  Dr.  Scudder  pre- 
sented a  syllabus  on  Positive  Medication,  which  was 
discussed  in  connection  with  the  subject.  The 
following  officers  were  chosen  for  the  ensuing  year, 
namely :  C.  Edwin  Miles,  of  Massachusetts,  Presi- 
dent ;  Doctors  Lewis  Frazee,  of  Indiana,  Dennis  E. 
Smith,  of  New  York,  and  M.  B.  McKinney,  of 
Michigan,  Vice-Presidents ;  Dr.  Robert  A.  Gunn, 
Secretary;  Dr.  Austin  B.  Westcott,  Corresponding 
Secretary  ;  Dr.  B.  J.  Stow,  Treasurer. 

The  fourth  meeting  was  held  at  Columbus,  in 
Ohio,  beginning  on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  June, 
1873.  Governor  Noyes  made  the  address  of  welcome.f 
The  discussions  embraced  a  variety  of  professional 
topics,  among  which  Specific  Medication  was  promi- 
nent. Dr.  H.  D.  Garrison  presented  a  preamble  and 
resolution,  setting  forth  that  the  people  are  almost 
wholly  incapable  of  estimating  the  scientific  attain- 
ments of  medical  practitioners,  and  that  diplomas 
had  been  granted  by  medical  colleges  of  all  schools  to 
persons  grossly  incompetent,  so  that  they  have  ceased 
to  be  sufficient  evidence  of  qualifications,  and  therefore 
recommending  the  passage  of  laws  in  the  various 
states,  making  a  rigid  examination  necessary  of  can- 
didates for  medical  practice. J 

*  Doctors  John  King,  of  Ohio,  H.  D.  Garrison,  of  IlHnois,  T.  L.  A.  Greve,  of 
Ohio,  E.  S.  McClellan,  of  New  York,  and  John  M.  Scudder  constituted  this 
committee. 

+  He  remarked  that  the  Association  had  four  colleges  in  successful  operation, 
and  a  constituency  of  six  thousand  practitioners.  The  American  Medical  College, 
at  St.  Louis,  had  been  established  during  the  past  years. 

t  The  following  officers  vvere  elected,  namely:  C.  E.  Miles,  M.  D.,  President ; 
Doctors  W.  M.  Ingalls,  of  Ohio,  John  R.  Borland,  of  Pennsylvania,  R.  A.  Beach, 
of  New  York,  Vice-Presidents ;  Dr.  R.  A.  Gunn,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  B.  J.  Stow, 
Treasurer,  and  Dr.  O.  H.  P.  Shoemaker,  Corresponding  Secretary. 


IMPORTANT     EVENTS     IN     THE     ECLECTIC     SCHOOL.     699 

The  fifth  meeting  was  held  at  Wesleyan  Hall,  in 
the  city  of  Boston,  beginning  on  the  sixteenth  day 
of  June,  1874.  The  president  delivered  an  address 
urging  the  importance  of  Sanitary  and  Preventive 
Medicine.  A  resolution  was  adopted  requesting  the 
instructors  in  Eclectic  medical  colleges  to  adopt,  as 
near  as  practicable,  a  uniform  standard  of  qualifica- 
tions, and  to  require  proficiency  in  Medical  Botany 
and  Chemistry,  or  in  Materia  Medica  and  the  prin- 
ciples of  Medicine.  The  following  officers  were 
elected  :  W.  M.  Ingalls,  of  Ohio,  President  ;  Doctors 
Luke  F.  Stoddard,  of  Illinois,  S.  B.  Munn,  of 
Connecticut,  and  H.  D.  Jillson,  of  Massachusetts, 
Vice-Presidents ;  Dr.  B.  J.  Stow,  Treasurer ;  Dr. 
Robert  A.  Gunn,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  J.  R.  Borland, 
Corresponding  Secretary. 

The  sixth  meeting  of  the  Association  took  place 
at  Springfield,  in  Illinois,  in  the  Hall  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  beginning  on  the  fifteenth  of 
June,  1875.  Governor  Beveridge  delivered  the 
address  of  welcome.  The  session  was  occupied  by 
medical  and  surgical  topics,  and  a  visit  was  paid  to 
the  mausoleum  of  the  late  President  Lincoln.  The 
following  officers  were  elected  :  Benjamin  J.  Stow, 
M.  D.,  of  New  York,  President  ;  Doctors  Robert  W. 
Geddes,  of  Massachusetts,  O.  H.  P.  Shoemaker,  of 
Iowa,  A.  B.  Woodward,  of  Pennsylvania,  Vice-Presi- 
dents ;  Dr.  Anson  L.  Clark,  of  Illinois,  Secretary  ;  Dr. 
George  C.  Pitzer,  of  Missouri,  Corresponding  Secretary; 
Dr.  James  Anton,  of  Ohio,  Treasurer. 

The  next  annual  meeting,  the  sixth,  was  held  at 
Willard's  Hotel,  in  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
commenced  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  June,  1876. 
Thirteen  states  were  represented,  but  the  attendance 


700  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

was  significantly  less  than  in  previous  years,  and  many 
were  apprehensive  that  this  would  be  the  final 
session.  The  proceedings  were  spirited,  and  measures 
adopted  to  assure  the  future  prosperity  of  the  Asso- 
ciation. The  principal  discussion  related  to  the 
contemplated  Eclectic  Pharmacopoeia,  which  had 
received  little  attention  from  the  several  committees. 
A  resolution  was  adopted  to  appoint  a  Bureau  of 
Correspondence  to  prepare  and  circulate  memorials, 
and  to  present  them,  asking  Congress  for  legislation 
to  provide  equal  favor  for  each  distinctive  school  of 
medicine,  in  medical  appointments  in  the  Army, 
Navy  and  Pension  Bureau,*  and  equal  representation 
on  all  Boards  of  administration  and  examination, 
without  liability  to  proscription  or  rejection  on  any 
pretext  based  on  a  code  of  ethics.  A  committee  was 
also  appointed  to  revise  the  Constitution  and  By-Laws, 
with  a  view  to  secure  greater  ef^ciency  and  prosperity 
to  the  Association.  The  secretary  was  also  directed 
to  prepare  for  publication  a  list  of  the  remedial  agents 
and  compounds  discovered  and  introduced  by  Eclectic 
physicians  and  druggists,  which  have  since  been 
adopted  as  official  by  the  Old  School,  carefully  with- 
holding the  credit  of  their  introduction  and  original 
discovery  from  those  to  whom  it  rightfully  belongs,  f 

*  Dr.  Barnes,  the  Surgeon-General,  rigorously  excluded  all  Eclectics  and 
HomcEopathists  from  appointment  in  the  Army,  and  Dr.  Henry  Van  Aernam,  the 
Commissioner  of  Pensions,  removed  them  from  ofifice  as  e.xaminers.  The  Eclectic 
Medical  Society  of  New  York,  and  several  Homoeopathic  Medical  Societies, 
presented  the  matter  and  their  complaints  to  the  President,  who  removed  the 
Commissioner. 

t  See  Transactions  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  for  \'i^^-^% 
(Vol.  VI.),  page  209.  When  a  speaker  of  an  CEcumenical  Council  of  Rome 
attempted  to  mention  favorably  an  utterance  of  a  distinguished  Protestant  writer, 
he  was  called  to  order  at  once,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  permitted  to  name  a 
Protestant  with  approval.  It  is  also  said  that  Omar,  the  Khalif ,  commanded  the 
Alexandrian  library  to  be  burned,  declaring  that  if  the  books  contained  doctrines  to 


IMPORTANT     EVENTS    IN    THE     ECLECTIC     SCHOOL.     701 

The  following  officers  were  elected :  O.  H.  P. 
Shoemaker,  M.  D.,  President  ;  Doctors  Stephen  B. 
Munn,  of  Connecticut,  Lefaver  H.  Borden,  of  New 
Jersey,  Joseph  A.  Munk,  of  Missouri,  Vice-Presidents; 
Alexander  Wilder,  of  New  Jersey,  Secretary ;  W. 
Hope  Davis,  of  Illinois,  Corresponding  Secretary ; 
James  Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  seventh  annual  meeting  convened  at  Pittsburg, 
in  Pennsylvania,  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  June,  1877. 
The  committee  on  revision  of  the  Constitution  sub- 
mitted a  report  which  was  discussed,  amended  and 
adopted.  It  made  radical  changes,  providing  that 
henceforth  the  National  Association  should  be  a 
representative  body,  receiving  new  members  only 
upon  the  nomination  of  auxiliary  organizations,  and 
holding  distinct  and  defined  relations  to  the  State 
societies,  and  such  as  were  essential  to  their  mutual 
efficiency.  The  qualifications  for  the  medical  degree 
were  strictly  laid  down,  and  two  full  terms  of  lectures 
required,  with  three  years  of  medical  study  ;  and  all 
officers  and  instructors  in  colleges  voting  or  cooperat- 
ing in  a  disregard  of  this  requirement,  were  made 
liable  to  censure  and  expulsion  from  the  Association. 
Disreputable  modes  of  practice  or  advertising,  which 
tended  to  reflect  discredit,  were  declared  unpro- 
fessional. 

The  preamble  was  a  Bill  of  Rights,  and  asserted 
unequivocally  that  the  profession  of  medicine 
may  be  exercised  by  any  and  every  perscn  duly 
qualified    by   natural  endowment  and   acquired  skill 


be  found  in  the  Kurdn,  they  were  superfluous  ;  if  not,  then  they  were  false.  By  an 
analogous  rule  all  Eclectic  and  Homceopalhic  literature  liad  been  vifjorously 
forbidden  to  be  accepted,  or  their  treatment  and  medicines  employed  till  "  intro- 
duced "  or  pirated  by  some  authority  denominated  re^ul ir. 


702  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  knowledge  ;  that  it  should  no  more  be  hedged  in 
by  penal  laws,  ethical  codes  or  other  instruments  of 
barbarism  and  oppression,  having  become  the  lawful 
vocation  of  citizens  like  other  callings  ;  that  all 
legislation,  political  favor,  or  other  discrimination 
tending  to  restrict  or  contravene  this  right,  especially 
for  the  purpose  of  fostering  any  school  of  practice, 
under  the  pretext  of  regularity  or  superior  scientific 
knowledge,  is  a  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  and  ought  to  be  opposed 
and  resisted  as  a  departure  from  the  principles  of 
republican  government  as  well  as  of  natural  right  ; 
and  that  Reformed  practitioners  have  the  same  and 
every  claim  to  the  encouragement  of  the  govern- 
ment as  physicans  of  the  other  schools  and  all  good 
citizens. 

From  this  period  the  Association  became  a  more 
prosperous  as  well  as  influential  organization. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  :  Stephen  B. 
Munn,  M.  D.,  President  ;  Doctors  C.  D.  Thompson,  of 
Pennsylvania,  Edward  M.  Shaw,  of  Michigan,  R. 
Elton  Warner,  of  Pennsylvania,  Vice-Presidents  ;  Dr. 
Alexander  Wilder,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  Stephen  H.  Potter, 
Corresponding  Secretary  ;  Dr.  James  Anton,  Treas- 
urer. 

The  eighth  annual  session  was  held  in  Michigan, 
beginning  on  the  nineteenth  of  June,  1878.  The 
attendance  was  larger  than  at  former  meetings.  A 
report  was  received  from  the  Bureau  of  Corre- 
spondence, setting  forth,  that  the  Commissioner  of 
Education  of  the  United  States  had  omitted  in  his 
reports  of  the  Centennial  Exhibition,  all  mention  of  the 
American  Eclectic  and  Reformed  Practice.  At  his 
suggestion  a  sketch  of  the  Eclectic  School  had  been 


IMPORTANT     EVENTS    IN     THE     ECLECTIC     SCHOOL.     703 

prepared.  This  had  been  delivered  to  Dr.  N.  S.  Davis, 
to  include  in  the  Medical  Reports,  who  had  suppressed 
it,  together  with  documents  relating  to  the  Homoeo- 
pathic practice.  For  this  delinquency  Commissioner 
Eaton  was  technically,  if  not  morally,  responsible. 
The  following  officers  were  elected  :  John  King, 
M.  D.,  President  ;  Doctors  J.  H.  Bundy,  of  California, 
Anson  L.  Clark,  of  Illinois,  John  W.  Kermott,  of 
Michigan,  Vice-Presidents  ;  Alexander  Wilder,  Secre- 
tary ;  James  Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  ninth  annal  meeting  was  held  at  Cleveland,  in 
Ohio,  commencing  on  the  nineteenth  of  June,  1879. 
The  president,  in  his  address,  advised  the  lengthening 
of  the  collegiate  terms,  and  a  higher  standard  of 
general  education.  He  called  attention  to  the  efforts 
annually  made  in  the  Legislatures  for  arbitrary  laws, 
with  the  hope  and  intention  of  effecting  the  annihila- 
tion of  all  medical  systems  except  the  favored  one, 
and  advised  the  forming  of  committees  in  every  state 
to  watch  over  the  interests  of  Reformed  physicians. 
He  denounced  the  laws  already  made  as  a  disgrace  to 
the  intelligence  of  the  age  and  to  the  people  where 
they  had  been  enacted. 

A  special  committee  had  been  appointed  on  the  man- 
ufacture of  medicines.  A  report  was  made  recom- 
mending the  annual  appointment  of  a"  Committee  on 
Pharmacopaeia,"  to  correspond  with  manufacturers 
and  others,  to  conduct  experiments,  till  the  work  was 
completed,  and  to  present  at  the  next  annual  meeting 
a  plan  for  an  American  Pharmacopoeia.  The  report 
was  accepted  and  the  Committee  appointed.*  A 
resolution  was  also  adopted   declaring  the  American 

*  Doctors  Albert  Merrell,  S.  B.  Munn,  C.  E.  Miles,  F.  J.  Lock,  and  A.  L, 
Clark,  constituted  this  committee. 


704  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Dispensatory  the  standard  authority  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association.  Resolutions  were  also 
presented  by  Dr.  Scudder  and  adopted,  naming  several 
medical  colleges  as  in  good  standing,  and  approving 
of  their  courses  of  study,*  with  the  further  recom- 
mendation of  a  graded  course,  or  attendance  of  three 
years  at  lectures.  Several  noteworthy  amendments 
were  made  to  the  By-Laws.  One  by  Dr.  McMaster 
required  the  two  terms  for  a  student  at  college  to 
have  an  interval  of  five  months  instead  of  being 
consecutive.  Another  prohibited  advertising  by  hand- 
bills, circulars  or  certificates  of  cure,  or  announcing 
as  member  of  any  Eclectic  medical  society  or  college 
A  third  required  specific  charges  to  be  made  against 
an  accused  member,  and  a  month  of  time  allowed  for 
reply,  instead  of  suffering  him  to  be  accused,  tried 
and  punished  all  at  one  time.  The  election  of  officers 
was  fixed  on  the  third  day  of  the  session  of  the 
Association.  The  following  officers  were  elected  : 
Milbrey  Green,  of  Massachusetts,  President  ;  Doctors 
John  B.  Shultz,  of  Indiana,  Albert  G.  Springsteen,  of 
Ohio,  Henry.  B.  Piper,  of  Pennsylvania,  Vice-Presi- 
dents ;  Alexander  Wilder,  Secretary  ;  James  Anton, 
Treasurer. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  at  Chicago,  beginning  on 
the  sixteenth  of  June,  1880.  It  being  the  tenth  anniver- 
sary of  the  reorganization,  special  attempts  had  been 
made  for  display  and  entertainment.  All  the  surviv- 
ing ex-presidents,  except  Dr.  Stow,  were  in  attendance. 
Dr.  Merrell,  from  the  Committee  on  Pharmacopoeia, 

*  There  were  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  the  American  Medical  College  of 
St.  Louis  ;  the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  of  New  York  ;  the  Bennett  College  and 
the  United  States  Medical  College.  Dr.  H.  B.  Piper's  motion  to  include  the 
Georgia  Eclectic  Medical  College  was  lost.  The  resolutions  covered  another 
question  that  was  otherwise  likely  to  excite  controversy. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.       705 

presented  a  plan  for  the  work,  to  be  a  reliable  standard, 
to  dispense  with  a  large  number  of  forms  for  a  drug, 
and  having  but  one  liquid  and  one  in  powder,  to  have 
processes  for  the  standard  forms  simple,  to  omit 
compound  formulas.  He  proposed  four  forms,  a 
tincture,  an  alcoholic  extract,  a  powdered  alcoholic 
extract,  and  a  saccharated  extract.  The  plan  thus 
submitted  was  adopted,  and  a  proposition  was  ac- 
cepted from  Dr.  Merrell  to  prepare  and  publish  the 
work  at  his  own  expense,  he  having  the  copyright. 

A  resolution  by  Dr.  A.  J.  Howe  was  adopted,  de- 
claring the  members  in  favor  of  State  Boards  having 
their  chief  object  the  suppression  of  traffic  in  medical 
diplomas,  and  to  expel  unqualified  persons  from 
practice,  provided  such  Boards  shall  not  be  under  the 
majority  rule  of  any  one  School  of  Medicine. 

An  order  was  also  made  to  establish  sections  for 
the  various  departments  of  medical  science,  at  the 
annual  meetings.  The  California  Medical  College 
was  accepted  as  auxiliary. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  :  Anson  L. 
Clark,  M.  D.,  President ;  Doctors  V.  A.  Baker,  of 
Michigan,  H.  B.  Piper,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  A.  G. 
Springsteen,  of  Ohio,  Vice-Presidents  ;  Alexander 
Wilder,  Secretary ;  James  Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  eleventh  annual  meeting  was  held  at  the 
Lindell  Hotel,  in  St.  Louis,  beginning  on  the  fifteenth 
day  of  June,  1881.  The  papers  contributed  and  the 
discussions  were  highly  creditable.  A  new  auxiliary 
society  in  Arkansas  was  announced.  The  Eclectic 
colleges  of  Indiana  and  Georgia  having  made  appli- 
cation to  be  recognized  like  the  six  other  institutions, 
the  matter  was  referred  to  a  select  committee,  and  a 
report  made,  proposing  to  defer  action  till  a  future 


7o6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

time.  Finally,  a  resolution  was  offered  by  Dr.  R.  A. 
Gunn,  and  adopted  admitting  the  two  colleges  to  the 
privileges  and  recognition  of  the  National  Association 
for  one  year. 

A  resolution  was  also  adopted  asking  the  publishers 
of  Appleton's  Cyclopcedia  to  correct  their  description  of 
the  Eclectic  Practice  of  Medicine,  which  was  calumni- 
ous and  erroneous. 

A  paper  upon  Vaccination  was  read  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Reid, 
and  gave  rise  to  a  warm  discussion. 

The  officers  elected  were  as  follows  :  William  S. 
Latta,  M.  D.,  of  Nebraska,  President ;  Doctor  Robert 
W.  Geddes,  of  Massachusetts,  Samuel  S.  Judd,  of 
Wisconsin,  Hamilton  S.  McMaster,  of  Michigan,  Vice- 
Presidents  ;  Alexander  Wilder,  Secretary ;  James 
Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  twelfth  meeting  took  place  in  the  city  of  New 
Haven,  the  session  beginning  on  the  twenty-first  day 
June,  1882.  The  two  medical  colleges  of  Indiana  and 
Georgia  were  accepted  without  opposition.  Dr. 
Merrell  sent  a  communication  announcing  the  early 
completing  of  the  Pharmacopoeia.  This  year  for  the 
first  time  was  introduced  the  mode  of  holding 
sections  for  the  different  branches,  and,  although  a 
new  matter,  was  successful.  The  officers  for  the 
ensuing  year  were  as  follows  :  Andrew  J.  Howe,  M.  D., 
of  Ohio,  President  ;  Doctors  A.  B.  Woodward,  of 
Pennsylvania,  Henry  K.  Stratford,  of  Illinois,  Maurice 
F.  Linquist,  of  Connecticut,  Vice-Presidents  ;  Alex- 
ander Wilder,  Secretary  ;  James  Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  thirteenth  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Topeka, 
Kansas,  commencing  on  the  twentieth  day  of  June, 
1882.  The  invocation  was  offered  by  Bishop  Vail,  of 
the  diocese  of  Kansas,   and   the  address  of  welcome 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.      707 

was  delivered  by  Governor  G.  W.  Glick.  Fifteen 
state  societies,  besides  local  organizations,  and  six 
medical  colleges  were  represented.  A  standing 
committee  on  medical  institutions  was  ordered.  The 
committee  on  Pharmacopoeia*  reported  that  they  had 
examined  the  manuscript  completed  by  Dr.  Albert 
Merrell,  and  that  it  would  more  fully  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  Eclectic  medical  profession  than 
any  publication  now  extant.  A  resolution  was 
adopted  accepting  the  report. 

The  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  as  follows  : 
Edwin  Younkin,  M.  D.,  President ;  Doctors  J.  Milton 
Welch,  of  Kansas.,  George  Covert,  of  Wisconsin, 
Lemon  T.  Beam,  of  Pennsylvania.  Vice-Presidents  ; 
Alexander  Wilder,  Secretary  ;  James  Anton,  Treas- 
urer. 

The  fourteenth  annual  meeting  was  at  Cincinnati 
and  began  on  the  eighteenth  day  of  June,  1884.  The 
address  of  reception  was  made  by  Dr.  John  King,  and 
answered  by  the  secretary.  Twenty  societies  of 
states  and  five  medical  colleges  were  represented  at 
this  session.  The  professional  work  of  the  sections 
was  successfully  conducted.  Dr.  King  delivered  an 
address  on  Medical  Legislation,  criticizing  the  statutes 
requiring  registration,  and  the  State  Examining  Boards 
as  invasions  and  infractions  of  civil  liberty  and  per- 
sonal rights.  A  resolution  was  adopted  declaring  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  in  favor  of 
elevating  the  standard  of  medical  education,  but  as 
opposed  to  all  class  medical  legislation.  Dr.  A.  L. 
Clark,  by  invitation,  delivered  an  address  in  support 
of  medical  examining  laws.      The   two  medical  col- 

♦Doctors  J.  Milton  Welch,  S.  B.  Munn,  H.  K.  Stratford,  B.  L.  Veagley, 
V.  A.  Baker. 


7o8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

leges  in  Iowa,  the  King  Medical  College,  and  medical 
department  of  Drake  University,  were  accepted  as  on 
probation  for  a  year.  The  officers  for  the  ensuing 
year  were  as  follows  :  Henry  K.  Stratford,  M.  D.^ 
President  ;  Doctors  J.  Milton  Welch,  of  Kansas, 
William  M.  Durham,  of  Georgia,  William  F.  Curryer, 
of  Indiana,  Vice-Presidents  ;  Dr.  Alexander  Wilder, 
Secretary,  Dr.  James  Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  fifteenth  meeting  was  held  at  the  city  of 
Altoona,  in  Pennsylvania,  beginning  on  the  seven- 
teenth day  of  June,  1885.  The  auxiliary  societies  and 
medical  colleges  were  fully  represented,  and  the 
professional  work  of  the  sections  was  transacted  with 
gratifying  success.  A  resolution  was  adopted  recom- 
mending as  a  manual  and  text  book,  the  Digest  of 
Materia  Medica  and  Pharmacy,  which  had  been 
prepared  by  Dr.  Albert  Merrell,  under  the  direction 
and  with  the  approval  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association.  The  officers  elected  for  the 
ensuing  year  were  as  follows  :  Henry  Beam  Piper, 
M.  D.,  of  Pennsylvania,  President  ;  Doctors  John  W, 
R.  Williams,  of  Alabama,  George  Covert,  of  Wiscon- 
sin, Elizabeth  G.  Smith,  of  Connecticut,  Vice-Presi- 
dents ;  Dr.  Alexander  Wilder,  Secretary,  Dr.  James 
Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  next  meeting  took  place  at  Atlanta,  in  Georgia, 
and  was  convened  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  June,  1886, 
The  address  of  welcome  was  delivered  by  the  Mayor, 
Hon.  George  Hillyer,  and  answered  by  the  Secretary. 
This  was  the  first  meeting  of  the  Association  in  the 
Southern  States,  and  all  the  proceedings  were  marked 
by  a  rare  courtesy  and  cordiality.  It  was  successful 
in  a  professional  sense,  and  an  unusual  number  of 
new  members  were  received.     It  having  been  sup- 


IMPORTANT     EVENTS    IN     THE    ECLECTIC     SCHOOL.     709 

posed  from  the  terms  of  invitation  and  former  usage, 
that  physicians  of  all  schools  were  admitted  as  mem- 
bers at  the  meetings  of  the  International  Medical 
Congress,  the  Association  elected  twenty-six  delegates 
with  alternates  for  its  session  at  Washington,  in  1887. 
The  officers  elected  were  as  follows  :  Lorenzo  E. 
Russell,  M.  D.,  of  Ohio,  President ;  Doctors  Theophilus 
J.  Batchelder,  of  Maine,  Joseph  N.  Adkins,  of  Texas, 
Henrietta  K.  Morris,  of  Illinois,  Vice-Presidents ; 
Dr.  Alexander  Wilder,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  James  Anton, 
Treasurer. 

The  seventeenth  meeting  was  convened  at  Wauke- 
sha, in  Wisconsin,  on  the  fifteenth  of  June,  1887. 
Dr.  Batchelder  called  it  to  order,  and  Mr.  D.  J. 
Hemlock  delivered  the  address  of  welcome.  A  large 
attendance  characterized  this  session.  The  president 
had  changed  the  order,  substituting  an  "  Arena  of 
Debate  "  for  the  sections,  and  it  proved  a  successful 
arrangement.  On  motion  of  Dr.  Wilder,  the  action 
of  the  last  year  in  relation  to  delegates  to  the  Inter- 
national Congress  was  reviewed,  and  recommenda- 
tions afterward  adopted  to  invest  all  who  desired  it 
with  the  proper  credentials.* 

The  officers  for  1887-8  were  as  follows  :  Samuel  S. 
Judd,  M.  D.,  of  Wisconsin,  President  ;  f  Doctors 
William  M.  Durham,  of  Georgia,  Robert  A.  Hicks,  of 
Tennessee,  G.  Hermann  Merkel,  of  Massachusetts 
Alexander  Wilder,  Secretary;  James  Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  annual  meeting  for   1888,  at  Detroit,  in  Michi- 

*  The  Congress  was  held  at  Washington  in  September,  1887.  The  American 
Medical  Association,  overriding  the  action  of  the  previous  session  at  Kopenhagen, 
adopted  the  policy  of  excluding  all  but  those  of  its  own  kind.  Though  the 
attendance  was  large,  the  results  were  little  regarded,  and  its  proceedings  were 
not  published  and  distributed. 

*  Dr.  Judd  died  August  30,  1887,  and  Dr.  Durham  became  president  in  his 
■place. 


7IO  HISTORV    OF    MEDICINE. 

gan,  was  among  the  most  significant  in  its  action.. 
The  Iowa  Eclectic  Medical  College  was  accepted 
by  the  Association.  The  time  was  principally  em- 
ployed in  a  "  Medical  Symposiac  "  in  the  discussion  of 
the  following  topics  :  Asiatic  Cholera,  Liberal  Educa- 
tion of  Physicians,  Specific  Medication,  Eclectics  in 
Surgery,  Relative  Merits  of  Medication  and  Nursing, 
Possibilities  of  Uniting  the  Several  Schools  of  Medi- 
cine. On  motion  of  Dr.  Albert  Merrell,  a  Standing 
Committee  was  created  on  Medical  Legislation,  to 
consider  all  matters  relative  to  the  enactment  or 
enforcement  of  the  laws  in  the  several  states  for  the 
regulation  of  the  practice  of  medicine,  so  far  as 
they  influence  unfavorably  the  status  of  Eclectic  or 
Eclectic  physicians.  A  resolution  was  adopted  recom- 
mending the  several  Eclectic  Medical  Societies  to 
establish  Vigilance  Committees  or  Committees  on 
Legislation  to  procure  the  defeat  or  amendment  of 
all  bills  and  statutes  tending  to  abridge  the  rights  of 
honorable  practitioners  or  establish  discrimination 
between  the  different  schools  of  medicine. 

The  following  officers  were  elected,  namely  :  Milton 
Jay,  M.  D.,  of  Illinois,  President ;  Doctors  Vincent 
A.  Baker,  of  Michigan,  John  W.  Migrath,  of  Georgia, 
William  A.  Montgomery,  of  Tennessee,  Vice-Presi- 
dents ;  Dr.  Alexander  Wilder,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  James 
Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  nineteenth  annual  meeting  was  held  at  Nash- 
ville, in  Tennessee,  beginning  on  the  seventeenth  of 
June,  1882.  The  Association  was  received  by  the 
Hon.  A.  S.  Colyer,  and  the  Hon.  T.  P.  McCarver, 
mayor  of  the  city.  Both  assured  the  members  ofthe 
kindest  fraternal  sentiment  ;  and  the  secretary,  in 
reply,  declared  that  they  knew  no  distinctions  of  state 


IMPORTANT     EVENTS    IN     THE     ECLECTIC     SCHOOL.     "JXl 

and  district,  except  as  accidents  of  place,  and  in  no 
sense  a  division  of  purpose  or  interests.*  The  attend- 
ance was  large,  twenty  states  being  represented. 
Resolutions  were  received  from  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  of  Pennsylvania,  declaring  the  recent 
conflict  in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  that  state 
a  high-handed  attempt  to  trample  upon  and  overturn 
the  natural  and  personal  rights  of  all  not  belonging 
to  the  ranks  of  the  dominant  school,  and  part  of  a 
general  conspiracy  to  impose  a  medical  yoke  upon 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  a  general  plot  of  the 
American  Medical  Association  and  the  professional 
mediocrity  which  it  represented,  to  get  arbitrary 
power,  and  do  other  acts  unworthy  of  men,  or  of 
loyal  and  patriotic  citizens.  Dr.  Williams,  of  Ala- 
bama, explained  at  length  the  position  of  the  Medical 
Law  of  Alabama,  which  was  virtually  an  incorporat- 
ing of  the  Code  of  Ethics  into  the  enactment,  and 
enabled  one  individual  f  to  dominate  in  the  State 
Medical  Board  and  transact  its  entire  business.  The 
"Arena  of  Debate  "  had  been  continued,  and  discus- 
sions were  held  upon  Specific  Medication  and  Con- 
servative Surgery. 

Resolutions  were  adopted  in  relation  to  the  disaster 
at  Johnstown,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in  honor  of 
Doctors  Lemon  T.  Beam  and  William  C.  Beam,  who 
had  perished  in  the  flood.  An  eloquent  letter  of 
acknowledgment  was  received  from  Dr.  B.  L.  Yeagley. 

The   following   officers   were   elected  :    William    T. 

*  "  I  remember,''  said  he,  "  when  in  18,14,  the  vote  of  New  York  made  your 
own  townsman,  James  K.  Polk,  president,  although  the  vote  of  his  own  slate  was 
cast  against  him.  Again,  it  is  a  report,  that  in  our  own  North,  with  its  schools, 
progress  and  intelligent  citizens,  many  of  them  are  voting  for  Jackson  still." 

t  Dr.  Jerome  Cochran,  a  former  Botanic  physician  and  graduate  of  the 
Botanical-Medical  College  of  Memphis,  but  now  an  active  prosecutor  of  his 
former  associates. 


712  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Gemmill,  of  Ohio,  President  ;  Doctors  John  W. 
Pruitt,  of  Arkansas,  Francis  H.  Fisk,  of  Tennessee, 
Thomas  Garth,  of  Iowa,  Vice-Presidents  ;  Alexander 
Wilder,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  James  Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  Association  convened  the  next  year  at  the 
International  Hotel,  in  Niagara  Falls,  NewYork,  on  the 
seventeenth  day  of  June.  Dr.  Robert  A.  Gunn,  Presi- 
dent of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  New  York, 
delivered  the  address  of  welcome.  The  regular 
order  of  sections  had  been  resumed,  and  employed 
the  session  with  the  general  approval  of  the  result. 
The  meeting  was  regarded  as  the  most  successful  of 
all  yet  held.  On  motion  of  Dr.  H.  C.  Gazlay,  of  New 
York,  the  Association  adopted  the  following  resolu- 
tion : 

Resolved,  That  Dr.  Alexander  Wilder  be  and  is  here- 
by requested  to  prepare  a  History  of  Medical  Reform 
during  the  earlier  periods,  under  the  authority  and 
sanction  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association. 

Dr.  Gunn  proposed  that  the  publishers  of  the 
Medical  Tribune  be  authorized  to  print  the  work  in 
their  series,  and  thus  relieve  the  Association  from 
the  expense.  The  Executive  Committee  was  autho- 
rized to  make  the  necessary  agreements. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  next 
year  :  George  Covert,  M.  D.,  Wisconsin,  President  ; 
Doctors  Benjamin  L.  Yeagley,  of  Pennsylvania, 
William  F.  Curryer,  of  Indiana,  Marquis  E.  Daniel, 
of  Texas,  Vice-Presidents  ;  Dr.  Alexander  Wilder, 
Secretary;  Finley  Ellingwood,  of  Illinois,  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  ;  Dr.  James  Anton,  Treasurer. 

The  twenty-first  annual  meeting  took  place  at  Hot 
Springs,  in  Arkansas,  beginning  on  the  sixteenth  of 
June,    1891.     The  societies  of  seventeen  states  were 


IMPORTANT   EVENTS   IN    THE   ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.      713 

represented  out  of  a  total  number  of  twenty-five.  A 
letter  was  received  from  Dr.  Anton,  resigning  the 
office  of  Treasurer,  and  Dr.  William  T.  Gemmill,  of 
Ohio,  was  elected.  The  session  was  devoted  to  pro- 
fessional subjects  in  the  sections,  and  was  marked  by 
an  extraordinary  addition  of  new  members.  The 
Eclectic  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of 
Indiana,  was  admitted  to  the  number  recognized  by 
the  Association. 

Protests  were  received  from  the  Societies  of  Wis- 
consin, Missouri,  Arkansas  and  Connecticut,  against 
the  proposition  of  the  American  Medical  Association 
for  Congress  to  create  a  Cabinet  Officer  to  have  charge 
of  all  matters  relating  to  the  public  health.  It  was 
pleaded  that  the  measure  was  not  demanded  by  the 
people,  or  by  any  public  necessity  ;  that  it  would  be 
no  less  than  the  establishing  of  a  useless  executive 
department,  with  a  swarm  of  subordinate  officers  "  to 
prey  upon  the  people,  and  eat  out  their  substance  ;  " 
that  it  was  to  be  in  the  interest  of  an  exclusive  class 
in  order  to  assure  their  own  position  in  the  nation, 
to  employ  the  strong  arm  of  the  Federal  government 
for  selfish  and  partisan  ends,  to  establish  a  medical 
corporation  after  the  model  of  a  national  religion, 
which  the  Federal  constitution  inhibits  ;  to  create  a 
privileged  class  in  the  government,  and  to  secure 
offices  of  emolument  for  favored  members  of  that 
class,  incompetent  to  practice  the  Healing  Art 
successfully,  or  to  compete  with  the  more  liberal 
members  of  the  medical  profession.  The  Association 
adopted  a  resolution  pledging  cooperation  with  this 
purpose. 

Another  imporant   subject   received   attention.     In 
commemoration    of    the    discovery    of    America,   by 


714  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Christopher  Columbus  in  1492,  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  had  provided  for  a  "  World's  Fair  "  to  be  held  at  the 
city  of  Chicago  in  1893,  at  which  the  various  departments  of 
Science,  Industry  and  Human  Progress  generally,  should  be 
represented.  A  Committee  was  accordingly  authorized  to 
confer  with  the  World's  Fair  Commission,  with  a  view  to 
the  establishing  of  a  Department  of  Eclectic  Medicine,  Sur- 
gery and  Pharmacy,  at  the  proposed  Columbian  Exposition ; 
and  to  ascertain  what  concessions  would  be  made  and  privi- 
leges given  to  this  Association  to  encourage  it  to  establish 
such  a  department. 

The  officers  were  elected  for  the  next  year  as  follows: 
William  F.  Curryer,  M.  D.,  of  Indiana,  president ;  Doctors 
James  M.  Park,  of  Arkansas,  Marquis  E.  Daniel,  of  Texas, 
and  N.  L.  Van  Sandt,  of  Iowa,  vice-presidents ;  Dr.  Alexan- 
der Wilder,  Secretary;  Dr.  John  V.  Stevens,  of  Wisconsin, 
corresponding  secretary  ;  Dr.  William  T.  Gemmill,  of  Forest, 
Ohio,  treasurer. 

Doctors  Finley  EUingwood,  George  Covert,  and  John  V. 
Stevens,  with  the  president  and  secretary,  were  appointed 
the  Committee  to  confer  with  the  World's  Fair  Commission 
with  a  view  to  the  establishing  of  a  Department  of  Eclectic 
Medicine,  Surgery  and  Pharmacy  at  the  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion. 

The  twenty-second  annual  meeting  took  place  at  the 
Olympic  Theatre,  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  begin- 
ning on  the  fifteenth  day  of  June,  1892.  Nineteen  states 
were  represented  by  delegates,  who  afterward  became  mem- 
bers. The  Mayor,  Hon.  E.  A.  Noonan,  delivered  an  address 
of  welcome,  to  which  the  secretary  replied.  Dr.  Albert  Mer- 
rell  also  welcomed  the  Association  in  behalf  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Societies  of  the  City  and  State  of  Missouri.  An 
important  amendment  to  the  By-Laws  was  adopted  in  rela- 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.         715 

tion  to  the  term  of  study  to  be  required  at  medical  colleges. 
It  prescribed  that  every  candidate  for  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine  shall  be  twenty-one  years  of  age,  that  he  shall 
have  pursued  the  study  of  medicine  four  years  under  the 
supervision  of  a  reputable  physician  or  in  a  reputable  medical 
college, .  and  shall  have  attended  at  least  three  full  terms  of 
instruction  of  at  least  five  months'  duration,  the  last  of  them 
in  the  college  conferring  the  degree.* 

The  question  of  obtaining  a  department  in  the  Columbian 
Exposition  was  the  topic  of  debate.  The  Committee  did 
not  report  except  verbally,  and  the  matter  was  difficult  to 
comprehend.  There  was  a  "  World's  Congress  Auxiliary  " 
organized  with  a  president  and  secretary,  and  provision 
made  for  three  departments.  General  Medicine,  Homoeopathy 
and  Eclectic  Medicine.  The  opportunity  to  hold  the  session 
would  come  in  the  month  of  May.f  The  Association  on 
motion  of  Dr.  S.  B.  Munn  of  Connecticut,  adopted  a  reso- 
lution to  take  part  in  the  holding  of  a  Department  in  the 
World's  Congress  Auxiliary  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
consisting  of  three  ladies  and  three  men  to  confer  with  the 
Auxiliary  Committee  at  Chicago  in  relation  to  the  arrange- 
ments. 

Another  resolution  was  adopted  in  relation  to  Life  Insur- 
ance Companies,  protesting  against  their  practice  to  refuse 
to  employ  Eclectic  physicians  for  examiners,  and  proposing 
to  withhold  support  from  such  companies. 

The  following  were  the  officers  elected :  Benjamin  Lin- 
coln Yeagley,  M.D.,  of  Pennsylvania,  president ;  Doctors 
Albert  Merrell  of   Missouri,  John  C.  Butcher  of  Ohio,  and 

*  The  Association  from  its  re-organization,  had  devoted  attention  to  the  prolonging 
of  the  term  of  medical  study,  amidst  much  evasion  and  opposition,  and  nowr  fixed  its 
attitude  beyond  dispute. 

tOnly  the  Eclectic  and  Homoeopathic  Auxiliary  Congresses  were  held.  The  other, 
on  some  pretext,  drew  out  of  the  arrangement,  and  would  have  no  more  to  do  with  the 
matter. 


7l6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Laura  L.  Randolph  of  Illinois,  vice-presidents;  Alexander 
Wilder,  secretary ;  Dr.  John  V.  Stevens  of  Illinois,  corres- 
ponding secretary  ;  Dr.  William  T.  Gemmill  of  Ohio,  treas- 
urer. 

World's  Eclectic  Medical  Congress. 
After  several  attempts  at  effecting  an  arrangement  of 
preliminary  matters,  a  conference  was  held  at  Chicago,  on 
the  twenty-ninth  of  November,  1892,  There  were  in 
attendance  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
National  Association,  and  of  the  several  Committees  of  the 
World's  Congress  Auxiliary  of  the  Congress  of  Eclectic 
Physicians  and  Surgeons.  It  was  agreed  that  the  two  bodies 
should  act  together  in  the  holding  of  the  Congress  upon  the 
condition  of  equal  interests  in  the  enterprise  and  the  main- 
taining of  the  dignity  and  integrity  of  each.  The  twenty- 
third  Annual  Meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  was  held  accordingly  in  Chicago  in  the  Memorial 
Art  Building,  beginning  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  May,  1893. 
Sessions  were  held  daily  for  business  during  the  week,  but 
no  election  of  ofificers  took  place. 

Journal  of  the  Congress. 

The  World's  Medical  Congress  Auxiliary  of  Eclectic 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  commenced  at  the  Memorial  Art 
Building  in  Chicago,  on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  May,  1893.* 

The  session  was  formally  opened  by  the  Hon.  Charles  C. 
Bonney,  president  of  the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary.  He 
tnen  announced  the  Eight  General  Divisions  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Medicine  and  Surgery. 

*The  World's  Medical  Congress  Auxiliary  of  Homceopathic  Physicians  and  Surgeons 
and  the  National  Institute  of  Homoeopathy ,  also  held  sessions  in  the  same  building, 
simultaneously.  Both  were  thus  admitted  to  the  great  platform  of  the  hall,  and  duly 
recognized  as  liaving  by  full  title,  a  place  among  learned  and  scientific  bodies. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.         flf 

It  was  the  first  time  in  Medical  History,  he  remarked,  that 
separate  Medical  Congresses  had  met  in  the  same  building 
in  fraternal  relations,  with  sincere  respect  for  each  other,  and 
extending  to  each  other  the  courtesies  demanded  by  the 
Golden  Rule  of  Conduct.  This  meeting  of  these  several 
medical  bodies,  he  trusted,  was  an  indication  of  the  coming 
unity  of  the  whole  Profession  of  Medicine.  The  coming 
physician  will  not  confine  his  attention  to  the  routine  of  a 
single  School  of  Practice,  but  intelligently  and  fraternally 
comprehend  all.  The  physician  who  is  entitled  to  the 
highest  honors  of  his  calling  will  be  the  one  that  can,  with 
justice,  make  it  his  boast  that  he  has  suffered  nothing  to 
escape  his  attention  in  which  experience  has  taught  any  use- 
ful lesson  for  the  cure  or  prevention  of  illness. 

In  these  Congresses  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  Woman, 
he  was  glad  to  say,  had  at  last  her  conspicuous  and  appro- 
priate part.  The  Committee  of  Organization  had  been  made 
up,  one  of  men,  and  another  of  women,  acting  both 
separately  and  in  co-operation,  and  they  had  prepared  the 
program,  aided  by  the  advice  of  an  Advisory  Council. 

Mr.  Bonney  then  welcomed  the  members  and  introduced 
as  president  of  the  Congress,  Dr.  Milton  Jay. 

After  the  formalities  of  replying  had  been  concluded,  in 
which  the  members  of  the  several  Committees  participated 
the  General  Order  of  Business  was  announced.  Dr.  Wilder 
the  Secretary  of  the  National  Association  delivered  an 
address  setting  forth  the  History  and  Principles  of  the 
American  Eclectic  School  of  Medicine.  Dr.  Yeagley,  the 
president,  also  delivered  his  Annual  Address.  The  Rev. 
Jesse  H.  Jones  of  Mississippi,  pronounced  an  eulogy  upon 
the  late  Doctor  William  Byrd  Powell. 

The  work  of  the  Congress  had  been  classified  in  six 
Divisions,  namely : 


-718  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Division  A. — Practical  Medicine.  John  M.  Scudder, 
President ;  Harvey  B.  Laflin,  Vice-president ;  Edwin  M. 
Ripley,  Secretary, 

Division  B.  —  Gyncecology  and  Obstetrics.  Elizabeth  G. 
Smith,  President ;  George  W.  Boskowitz,  Vice-president, 
Lorenzo  E.  Russell,  Secretary. 

Division  C. — Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics .  Albert 
Merrell,  President ;  John  Fearn,  Vice-president ;  Annette 
J.  Shaw,  Secretary. 

Division  D. —  General  Pathology.  William  F.  Currver, 
president ;  Lyman  Watkins,  Vice-president ;  Vincent  A. 
Baker,  Secretary. 

Division  E. — Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System.  Herbert 
T.  Webster,  President ;  Elam  H.  Stevenson,  Vice-presi- 
dent;   Hannah  S.  Turner,  Secretary. 

Division  F. — General  Surgery.  Robert  A.  Gunn,  Pres- 
ident ;  William  M.  Durham,  Vice-president ;  Henr)'  Long, 
Secretary. 

The  sessions  of  the  Congress  were  continued  through  the 
week  with  an  increase  of  interest,  and  made  ample  demon- 
strations of  the  merits  of  the  Eclectic  School  of  Medicine. 
The  leading  members,  both  in  America  and  the  other  hemi- 
sphere, contributed  papers,  and  in  those  Divisions  in  which 
discussions  were  permitted,  these  were  among  the  most 
valuable  features  of  the  proceedings.  The  Journal  and 
papers  of  the  Congress  were  afterward  published  by  joint 
authority  of  the  Committees,  as  the  '■'■Columbian  Volume'''' oi  the 
Transactions  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association. 

Later  Meetings  of  the  National  Association. 
The  Twenty-fourth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  was  held  in  the    International  Hotel  at 
Niagara  Falls,  New  York,  and  began  the  sessions  on  the 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.         719 

nineteenth  day  of  June,  1894.  Dr.  Yeagley  the  president 
was  unable  to  attend  *  and  Dr.  William  E,  Bloyer  was 
elected  to  preside  till  the  arrival  of  Doctor  Butcher,  the  Vice- 
president,  A  memorial  from  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society 
of  Utah,  asked  help  to  aid  against  persecution  under  the 
medical  statutes  of  the  state.  The  Iowa  Eclectic  Medical 
College  was  removed  from  the  list  of  recognized  medical 
institutions,  and  the  Medical  Department  of  Cotner  Univer^ 
sity  at  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  was  admitted  to  such  recognition 
for  a  year. 

An  Eclectic  Medical  College  Association  was  authorized, 
to  be  composed  of  two  delegates  from  each  of  the  recognized 
colleges  ;  and  the  Standing  Committee  on  Affairs  of  Medical 
Colleges  was  empowered  to  sanction  any  action  which  the 
College  Association  might  take. 

The  following  officers  were  elected,  namely :  Vincent  A. 
Baker,  M.D.,  President ;  Doctors  Cicero  M.  Ewing  of 
Pennsylvania,  George  W.  Johnson  of  Texas,  and  Malachi  A. 
Carriker  of  Nebraska,  Vice-presidents ;  Dr.  Alexander 
Wilder,  Secretary  ;  Dr.  John  V.  Stevens  of  Illinois,  Corre- 
sponding Secretary ;  Dr.  William  T.  Gemmill  of  Ohio, 
Treasurer. 

The  Twenty-fifth  Annual  meeting  was  held  at  the  Foun- 
tain Spring  House  in  Waukesha,  Wisconsin,  and  began  its 
session  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  June,  1895.  Less  than  the 
usual  amount  of  professional  work  was  transacted ;  many  of 
the  Sections  failing  to  be  organized.     Resolutions  were  dis- 


*  Dr.  Yeagley  transmitted  his  Annual  Address  to  the  Association  and  it  was  read  by 
the  Secretary.  It  was  his  last  official  act.  He  continued  to  fail  in  healtli  and  died  at 
Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  January,  1895.  It  was  justly  said  of 
him  that  "  he  strengthened  the  Eclectic  organization  while  he  ornamented  it  ;  he  acted 
from  principle  and  not  from  personal  motive  or  selfish  advantage."  He  read  men  like 
open  books.  In  his  character  he  greatly  resembled  liis  kinsman,  the  late  President 
Lincoln;  and  for  fidelity,  probity  and  sincerity,  he  was  not  excelled.  He  was  certain 
to  do  the  right  thing,  to  make  the  right  decision ,  and  all  with  admirable  tact  and  gentle- 
ness.     To  the  writer  he  was  a  true  and  warm  friend,  such  as  is  seldom  found. 


720  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

cussed  relating  to  the  propriety  of  legislation  to  prohibit  the 
sale  of  cigars  and  cigarettes  ;  also,  declaring  that  the  present 
method  of  Medical  Examining  Boards  is  not  in  accord 
with  the  spirit  of  American  freedom  and  progress,  and 
should  be  reformed  in  its  procedures  or  abolished  outright. 
Dr.  Edward  B.  Foote  of  New  York,  sustained  the  latter 
resolution,  which  evoked  strong  discussion.  A  vote  was 
finally  taken,  which  resulted  in  eleven  voices  in  favor  and 
twenty-eight  against. 

The  officers  elected  for  the  ensuing  year  were  as  follows : 
William  E.  Bloyer,  M.D.,  of  Ohio,  President;  Doctors 
George  W.  Johnson  of  Texas,  Herschel  E.  Curry  of  Oregon, 
and  Harriet  C.  Hinds  of  New  Jersey,  Vice-presidents ;  Dr. 
William  E.  Kinnett  of  Illinois,  Secretary  *  ;  Edwin  H.  Car- 
ter of  Iowa,  Corresponding  Secretary ;  Dr.  William  T.  Gem- 
mill  of  Ohio,  Treasurer. 

The  Twenty-sixth  Annual  Meeting  was  held  at  the  rooms 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  Portland,  Oregon,  begin- 
ning on  the  sixteenth  day  of  June,  1896.  The  address  of 
welcome  was  made  by  Dr.  W.  S.  Mott  of  Salem. 
Members  were  in  attendance  from  thirteen  states.  The 
officers  elected  for  the  next  year  were  as  follows,  namely  : 
Daniel  Maclean,  M.D.,  of  California,  President ;  T.  Willis 
Miles  of  Colorado,  and  Harriet  C.  Hinds  of  Illinois,  Vice- 
presidents  ;  William  E.  Kinnett  of  Illinois,  Recording  Secre- 
tary ;  Pitts  E.  Howes  of  Massachusetts,  Corresponding 
Secretary  ;  William  T.  Gemmill  of  Ohio,  Treasurer. 

The  Twenty-seventh  Annual  meeting  was  held  at  the 
Hotel  St.  Louis  at  Lake  Minnetonka,  Minnesota,  and  began 
its  sessions  on  the  fifteen  day  of  June,  1897.  The  members 
were  welcomed   by   the   governor,  the   Hon.  R.  M.  Clough, 

*  Before  a  ballot  was  taken  Dr.  Wilder  declined  an  election  to  the  office. 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC    SCHOOL.         72 1 

and  by  Mayor  Pratt  of  Minneapolis.  A  poem  was  also  read 
by  Lucy  Sherman  Mitchell  welcoming  the  Association  in 
behalf  of  the  Authors'  Club  of  the  city.  Members  were  in 
attendance  from  eleven  states,  and  the  session  was  princi- 
pally devoted  to  the  reading  and  discussion  of  papers  read 
in  the  several  Sections.  Officers  for  the  next  year  were 
elected,  namely :  Edward  J.  Farnum,  M.D.,  of  Illinois, 
President;  Doctors  David  WiUiams  of  Ohio,  J.  T.  McClan- 
ahan  of  Missouri,  and  Warren  L.  Marks  of  Michigan,  Vice- 
presidents  ;  Dr.  William  E.  Kinnett  of  IlUnois,  Recording 
Secretary ;  Dr.  Pitts  Edwin  Howes  of  Massachusetts,  Corre- 
sponding Secretary  ;  William  T.  Gemmill  of  Forest,  Ohio, 
Treasurer. 

The  Twenty-eighth  Annual  Meeting  was  held  at  Creighton 
Hall  in  Omaha,  Nebraska,  the  session  beginning  on  the 
twenty-first  day  of  June,  1898.  The  address  of  welcome 
was  made  by  the  Mayor,  the  Hon.  Frank  E.  Moores. 
Members  were  present  from  seventeen  states,  and  the  session 
was  devoted  to  the  reading  and  discussion  of  professional 
papers  by  the  Sections.  Among  them  was  one  by  Dr.  John 
K.  Scudder  of  Ohio,  on  the  "Attitude  of  Life  Insurance 
Companies  toward  Eclectic  Physicians."  It  appeared  that 
no  general  discrimination  against  Eclectic  Physicians  existed; 
thirty-two  not  discriminating  at  all,  seven  evading  inquiry, 
but  giving  every  preference  to  Examiners  belonging  to  the 
Old  School;  four  openly  declaring  that  only  Old- School 
physicians  were  employed,  and  twelve  making  no  reply  to 
questions.  At  the  same  time.  Dr.  David  A.  Strickler  of 
Denver,  Colorado,  Chairman  of  the  Bureau  of  Life  Insur- 
ance Examination  for  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy 
had  sought  to  show  in  1897,  that  there  was  unusual  discrim- 
ination against  Homoeopathic  physicians  by  most  of  the 
large  companies  in  twenty  of  the  largest  cities  in  the  United 


722  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

States.  A  digest  of  the  Medical  Statutes  of  several  states 
and  territories  was  also  presented  by  Dr.  David  Williams  of 
Ohio. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  1898-99,  namely; 
David  Williams,  M.D.,  of  Ohio,  President ;  Doctors  War- 
ren L.  Marks  of  Michigan,  John  T.  Clanahan  of  Missouri, 
and  J.  A.  McKlveen  of  Iowa,  for  Vice-presidents  ;  Dr.  Pitts 
Edwin  Howes  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  Recording  Secre- 
tary ;  Dr.  E.  Lee  Standlee  of  Missouri,  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary ;    Dr.  William  T.  Gemmill  of  Ohio,  Treasurer. 

The  Twenty  ninth  Annual  Meeting  held  its  sessions  at  the 
Hotel  Cadillac  in  District  of  Michigan,  beginning  on  the 
twentieth  day  of  June,  1899.  The  address  of  welcome  was 
made  by  the  Hon.  William  C.  Maybury,  Mayor  of  the  city. 
It  was  eloquently  delivered  and  treated  upon  the  "  Lost 
Arts "  in  medicine,  hygiene  and  anaesthesia.  These  the 
ancients  possessed,  he  remarked  ;  but  they  were  lost  because 
men  in  that  archaic  periods  did  not  come  together  as  now. 
He  extolled  the  change  in  practice.  "A  spavined  horse  and 
a  few  ounces  of  calomel,  more  or  less,  are  not  now  consid- 
ered the  equipment  of  the  best  physician."  The  mayor  also 
paid  a  tribute  to  the  advance  in  surgery  and  to  the  high 
merits  of  the  trained  nurse. 

The  address  was  answered  in  fitting  terms  by  Dr.  Alexander 
Wilder  of  New  Jersey.  After  that  the  Association  proceded 
to  the  order  of  business.  The  following  officers  were  chosen 
for  1899-1900,  namely:  George  W.  Boskowitz,  M.D., 
of  New  York,  President ;  Doctors  Milburn  H.  Logan  of 
California,  Nathaniel  A.  Graves  of  Illinois,  Philander  B. 
Wright  of  Michigan,  Vice-presidents ;  Dr.  Pitts  Edwin 
Howes  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  Recording  Secretary  ;  Dr. 
E.  Lee  Standlee  of  Missouri,  Corresponding  Secretary  ;  Dr. 
William  T.  Gemmill  of  Forest,  Ohio,  Treasurer.  The  annual 


IMPORTANT    EVENTS    IN    THE    ECLECTIC   SCHOOL.         72$ 

meeting  for  1900  was  appointed  to  be  held  at  Atlantic  City, 
New  Jersey,  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  June. 

The  Thirtieth  Annual  Meeting  was  held  at  the  Hotel 
Dennis  in  Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey,  beginning  on  the  nine- 
teenth day  of  June,  1900.  The  address  of  welcome  was 
delivered  by  the  Mayor,  Hon.  F.  P.  Stoy,  and  answered  by 
Dr.  C.  Edwin  Miles  of  Boston,  on  the  part  of  the  Association. 
The  professional  business  of  the  Association  was  very  thor- 
oughly transacted,  and  the  Sections  were  successfully 
handled.  Courtesies  were  exchanged  with  the  National 
Institute  of  Homoeopathy  then  also  in  session  at  the  City  of 
Washington,  and  the  Association  was  cordially  invited  to 
attend  at  the  unveiling  of  the  statue  of  Samuel  Hahnemann 
at  the  National  Capitol.  Dr.  John  Uri  Lloyd  of  Cincinnati, 
also  announced  that  from  the  sale  of  a  work  of  his,  the  pro- 
ceeds which  he  had  dedicated  for  the  purpose,  had  been  suf- 
ficient in  amount  to  enable  the  erecting  of  a  monument  to  the 
memory  of  John  King,  the  friend  of  Dr.  Wooster  Beach,  and 
a  pioneer  of  Eclecticism  in  Medicine.  The  Association  was 
also  out  of  debt,  and  with  about  six  hundred  dollars  in  the 
Treasury.*  The  following  officers  were  chosen  for  the  com- 
ing year  :  President,  E.  Lee  Standlee,  M.  D.,  of  Missouri ; 
Vice-Presidents,  Doctors  Joseph  D.  McCann,  of  Indiana, 
A.  B,  Young,  of  Tennessee,  J.  R.  Duval,  of  Georgia;  Secre- 
tary, Dr.  Pitts  Edwin  Howes,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts; 
Corresponding  Secretary,  Dr.  Nathaniel  A.  Graves  of  111. ; 
Treasurer,  Dr.  William  T.  Gemmill,  of  Forest,  Ohio.  The 
next  annual  meeting  was  appointed  to  be  held  at  Chattanooga, 
Tennessee,  beginning  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  June  in  the 
year  1901. 


•Justice  requires  the  matter  to  be  correctly  stated.  The  National  Association  was 
entirely  free  from  debt  in  1892.  But  the  holding  of  the  World's  Congress  in  1893, 
entailed  a  heavy  expenditure  for  printing  the  Columbian  Volume  and  incidental  matters. 
An  appeal  was  made  to  members  to  contribute  a  dollar  and  a  half  each  to  meet  the  out- 
lay, but  only  a  small  number  responded.  President  Yeagley  and  others  advanced  a  sura 
amounting  to  several  hundred  dollars,  but  it  was  insufficient.  Since  that  time,  on  the 
motion  of  Dr.  S.  B.  Munn,  the  annual  dues  were  increased  from  three  to  five  dollars, 
which  has  enabled  the  Association  to  cancel  the  indebtedness.  But  no  just  imputation 
of  mismanagement  or  unwise  extravagance  can  rest  against  any  one  in  the  matter. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Eclectic  Medical  Colleges  and  Medical  Societies. 

The  movement  in  1868  and  1869,  to  effect  the  rehabil- 
itating of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  was 
attended  by  a  rival  attempt  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia; 
and  so,  about  the  time  of  the  meeting  in  Chicago  for  that 
purpose  in  1870,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  published  by 
Dr.  John  Buchanan,  gave  the  account  of  an  organization  by 
that  name,  in  that  city,  with  its  proceedings.  It  indicated 
the  support  of  auxiliary  societies  in  many  of  the  states, 
leading  Eclectic  physicians  and  all  the  accompaniments  of  a 
large  and  prosperous  society.  It  is  foreign  to  our  purpose 
to  deny  or  dispute  the  existence  of  all  these  things ;  but 
letters  addressed  to  individuals  named  in  connection  with 
the  movement,  have  been  answered  by  disavowals  of  any 
connection  with  the  matter.  It  is  not  easy  now  to  find  a 
reliable  trace  of  these  societies,  except  in  the  periodical 
published  in  Philadelphia.  The  late  Rev.  Matthew  Hale 
Smith  was  announced  as  president,  with  a  formidable  array 
of  associate  officers.  The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of 
Philadelphia,  was  the  nucleus  of  the  affair,  and  its  certificates 
of  membership  were  scattered  abundantly,  both  in  America 
and  Great  Britain.  As  the  fortunes  of  the  College  and  its 
manager  waned,  the  Association  and  even  its  memory  faded 
away. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.  725 

Another  rival  organization  likewise  existed  for  several 
years,  which  for  a  time  bade  fair  to  prove  formidable.  The 
preliminary  steps  were  taken  in  1879.  The  National  Eclec- 
tic Medical  Association  met  that  year  at  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
and  its  proceedings  created  considerable  disaffection. 
Two  members  had  been  summarily  expelled  in  a  manner 
that  was  considered  too  hasty,  and  the  Eclectic  Medical 
College  of  St.  Louis,  was  disowned.  It  was  intimated 
that  the  management  of  this  procedure  was  arbitrary  and  un- 
parliamentary, that  usages  were  followed  that  were  adopted 
from  the  Old  School,  and  the  rights  of  individuals  were  not 
properly  regarded.  Several  amendments  were  accordingly 
made  to  the  Constitution  to  afford  greater  protection.  The 
new  organization  elected  the  late  Dr.  Morgan  L.  Filkins  of 
New  York,  president,  and  adopted  a  constitution  and  course 
of  procedure.  Its  second  meeting  was  not  significant.  In 
1 88 1  it  met  at  St.  Louis  simultaneously  with  the  National 
Eclectic  Association,  and  elected  Dr.  Orin  Davis  of  New 
York,  president.  This  meeting  was  well  attended,  but  after 
this  the  Association  speedily  fell  to  pieces.  The  Board  of 
Health  of  Missouri  rejected  the  physicians  graduating  from 
the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  and  the  futility  of  the  attempt 
to  maintain  a  rival  society  was  manifest. 

Survey  of  the  Field. 
The  rehabilitating  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Asso- 
ciation at  Chicago,  seemed  to  impart  new  energy  to 
physicians  of  the  American  School  of  Practice,  both  in 
regard  to  local  organization,  and  in  the  extending  of  facilities 
for  medical  instruction.  At  that  time  there  were  but  five 
medical  colleges  professing  to  teach  the  Eclectic  Practice  of 
Medicine.  Of  these,  only  two  participated  in  the  new  organ- 
zation,  while  a  third,  as  has  been  noticed,  being  in  unpleas- 


726  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ant  circumstances,  was  intimately  connected  with  a  project 
to  found  a  rival  society  under  the  same  name,  in  or  der  tc 
anticipate  and  circumvent  the  action  at  Chicago. 

There  were  also  Eclectic  Societies  in  fourteen  states*  most 
of  them  in  active  sympathy  with  the  National  Associati£)n. 
The  number  has  since  increased  till  there  are  now  thirty-two 
Societies  and  Associations  representing  the  Eclectic  physi- 
cians in  the  several  states, t  with  local  and  district 
organizations  in  twelve,  and  seven  medical  colleges  that  are 
admitted  to  representation  at  the  meetings  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association.  There  is  also  the  New  Eng- 
land Eclectic  Medical  Association,  comprising  the  six  North- 
eastern States ;  and  it  has  been  proposed  at  different  times 
to  form  another  society  of  States  on  the  Pacific  Slope,  a 
Southern  Eclectic  Medical  Association  and  another  for 
Northern  States.  This  increase  is  largely  due  to  professional 
enthusiasm,  the  esprit  de  corps  of  individual  practitioners, 
incited  by  the  influence  of  a  central  organization,  and 
further  stimulated,  when  not  checked  and  neutralized  by 
partisan  legislation. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Colleges. 
There  has  always  been  an  earnest  purpose  among  Eclectic 
physicians  to  provide  for  thorough  instruction  in  the 
principles  and  procedures  of  the  new  Practice.  Personal 
ambition  may  have  been  an  incitement  on  the  part  of  those 
participating  in  these  enterprises,  but  it  has  been  allied  to 
conviction  of  the  necessity  of  medical  institutions  to   enable 

*These  were  in  Connecticut,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Massachusetts,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  Missouri,  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  Ohio,  Vermont  and  Wisconsin. 
The  officers  of  the  Bennett  College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  and  the  Eclectic  Medical 
College  of  the  City  of  New  York  were  also  active  in  the  undertaking  and  probably 
deserve  the  highest  meed  of  credit  for  its  success. 

t  The  Medical  and  Surgical  Register  from  the  edition  of  i8q6  omits  mention  of 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Associations  of  Alabama,  the  District  of  Columbia,  Minnesota, 
New  Hampshire  and  South  Dakota. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   727 

the  holding  of  the  ground,  and  to  make  further  advance- 
ment. In  face  of  the  fact  that  they  have  all  been  under- 
taken and  carried  on  without  aid  from  the  public  Treasury, 
endowment  from  private  munificence,  or  any  sources  of 
income  other  than  those  incident  to  an  academy  or  private 
school,  they  have  succeeded  in  equipping  a  body  of  prac- 
titioners not  surpassed  in  skill,  professional  merit  and 
success  by  those  who  have  graduated  from  more  popular  and 
favored  institutions.* 

The  American  Medical  College  of  St.  Louis  was  the  first 
of  the  number  coming  into  existence  after  the  Eclectic  re- 
organization at  Chicago.  It  was  incorporated  in  1873,  and 
included  in  its  Faculty,  Doctors  George  C.  Pitzer,  Edwin 
Younkin,  Albert  Merrell,  John  W.  Thrailkill,  W.  V.  Rutledge 
and  George  H.  Field.  Dissension  unfortunately  arising,  a 
division  ensued  and  Dr.  Field  procured  a  charter  next  year 
for  "  The  American  Medical  University."  This  name  was 
soon  changed  to  the  less  equivocal  title  of  the  "  St.  Louis 
Medical  College,"  and  sessions  were  begun  in  1875.  The 
two  institutions  continued  to  exist  in  an  unfriendly  rivalship 
for  several  years.  The  matter  was  presented  before  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  at  its  meeting  in 
Detroit  in  1878,  and  its  decision  was  made  in  behalf  of  the 
American  Medical  College.  The  other  enterprise  continued 
in  operation  till  1883,  when  it  was  rejected  by  the  Board  of 
Health  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  The  American  Medical 
College  has  since  maintained  its  place  in  public  confidence, 
and  it  is  in  a  thriving  condition. 

The  United  States  Medical  College  was  incorporated  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  First  District  of  the  State  of  New 

*  The  late  Professor  Joseph  R.  Buchanan  proposed  as  a  test  of  this  question,  the 
enacting  of  a  law  which  should  require  every  physician  signing  a  death-certificate,  to  add 
the  designation  of  the  School  of  Medical  Practice  to  which  he  belonged.  This,  he 
insisted,  would  be  more  effective  than  all  the  medical  legislation  to  weed  out  quacks 
and  incompetent  practitioners,  and  would  afford  to  the  people  the  means  of  intelligent 
judgment  in  selecting  their  physicians. 


728  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

York  in  1878.  Dr.  Benjamin  J.  Stow  was  president,  and 
Doctors  Robert  A.  Gunn,  Paul  W.  Allen,  Alexander  Wilder, 
A.  B.  Woodward,  P.  H.  Van  der  Weyde,  David  Wark  and 
Mark  Nivison,  constituted  the  Faculty.  The  College  was 
recognized  by  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  in 
1879,  on  motion  of  Dr.  John  M.  Scudder,  and  held  six 
terms  of  lectures.  It  was  the  first  Eclectic  institution  that 
attempted  the  holding  of  a  graded  course  of  instruction,  and 
it  received  its  students  by  a  preliminary  examination.  This 
college  was  incorporated  under  the  same  General  Statute  as 
the  Central  New  York  College  at  McGrawville,  the  Syracuse 
University,  the  Central  and  Syracuse  Medical  Colleges. 
The  statute  having  been  amended  by  the  Legislature  in 
1870  on  purpose  to  include  colleges  and  universities  of 
whatever  character,  and  to  be  unequivocal,  it  named  such  in- 
stitutions. At  the  instance,  however,  of  the  Medical  Society 
of  the  County  of  New  York,  a  writ  of  quo  warranto  was 
obtained  to  test  the  validity  of  the  charter.  The  Superior 
Court  of  the  County  hesitatingly  decided  the  general  statute 
with  its  amendments  insufficient,  the  Judge  intimating  his 
expectation  that  the  decision  would  be  overruled.  The 
Supreme  Court,  however,  at  the  General  term,  made  the  new 
point  that  the  law  did  not  contemplate  the  incorporation  of 
medical  colleges,  and  the  Court  of  Appeals  finally  declared 
that  "a  medical  college  is  neither  a  scientific  nor  a  literary 
but  simply  an  eleemosynary  institution"  and  therefore  not 
entitled  to  the  powers  conferred  by  the  general  act  for  the 
incorporation  of  benevolent,  charitable,  religious,  scientific, 
etc.,  societies,  the  statute  under  which  it  had  been  incorpor- 
ated. 

The  degrees  which  had  been  conferred  were  legalized, 
however,  by  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature.  A  bill  was 
also    passed    to    incorporate    the    college,  but  the  Governor 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   729 

David  B.  Hill,  withheld  his  signature,  and  the  institution 
passed  from  existence. 

The  California  Eclectic  Medical  College  was  organized  at 
Oakland  in  1879,  and  was  admitted  in  1880  by  special  reso- 
lution to  representation  in  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association.  The  Faculty  included  the  late  Dr.  Joseph  H. 
Bundy,  the  chief  pioneer  Eclectic  physician  of  California,* 
Dr.  J.  W.  Webb,  Dr.  A.  McRae,  Dr.  John  Fearn,  Dr.  George 
G.  Gere,  Dr.  Herbert  T.  Webster  and  Dr.  Daniel  Maclean. 
Several  of  these  are  still  in  active  service.  The  college 
encountered  a  severe  shock  in  the  death  of  Dr.  Bundy,  but 
recovered  and  began  a  prosperous  career.  In  1888  it  was 
removed  to  San  Francisco.  It  has  the  distinction  of  being 
the  only  Eclectic  Medical  College  on  the  "  Pacific  Slope." 

The  Georgia  Eclectic  Medical  College  at  Atlanta  was  in- 
corporated in  1866.  The  devastation  of  the  war  between 
the  States  had  fallen  with  the  severest  weight  upon  Georgia 
and  particularly  upon  the  capital  city.  In  this  period  of 
general  impoverishment  the  college  began  its  existence.  Its 
projectors  had  energy  and  enthusiasm  to  sustain  them  rather 
than  financial  resources.  The  attempt  was  made  to  begin  a 
course  of  medical  instruction  in  the  autumn  of  1866,  but 
Professor  I.  J.  M.  Goss  f  demurred  on  account  of  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  the  provision  for  its  support.       The    organization. 


*  Josepli  Horatio  Bundy  was  born  in  Hardwick,  Vermont  in  1839.  After  receiving  a 
literary  Education  in  Wisconsin,  he  graduated  in  Medicine  in  Philadelphia  in  1861. 
He  removed  to  Colusa  in  California  in  itiyo,  where  he  soon  became  conspicuous  for  his 
advanced  studies  in  Herbalism  and  his  vigorous  efforts  to  disseminate  the  knowledge  of 
Eclectic  Medicine.  In  1878  he  transferred  his  residence  at  Oakland  in  order  to  take 
part  in  the  organization  of  tlie  Eclectic  Medical  College.  He  was  for  ten  years  a  Pro- 
lessor  of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine,  and  likewise  of  Medical  Botany,  a 
department  sadly  neglected  in  medical  colleges.  He  was  elected  First  Vice-President 
of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  at  its  meeting  in  Detroit  in  1879.  His 
health  began  to  fail  and  he  was  compelled  to  give  up  active  effort.  He  died  at  Seattle, 
Washington,  on  the  6th  of  October,    1881. 

t  Dr.  Isham  J.  M.  Goss  died  at  Marietta,  Georgia,  his  place  of  residence,  February 
25,  iSq6.  He  was  born  in  1819  and  graduated  in  Medicine,  first  at  Augusta  in  184.1,  and 
afterward  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  ("ollege  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute.  He  was  the  author  of  a  treatise  on  Materia  Medica  and  contributor  to 
medical  journals. 


730  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

however,  was  maintained,  and  finally  in  1877  a  Faculty 
was  duly  formed  and  stated  courses  of  lectures  were  begun.* 
The  indications  were  more  encouraging.  In  1881,  a  formal 
application  was  presented  by  Dr.  Borland  in  behalf  of  the 
Faculty  and  Trustees,  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association  at  St.  Louis,  to  be  recognized 
among  the  colleges  in  good  standing.  It  was  referred  to  a 
Special  Committee,!  and  a  recommendation  reported  to  defer 
the  matter.  The  Association,  however,  adopted  a  resolution 
offered  by  Dr.  R.  A.  Gunn  of  New  York,  to  give  the  college 
together  with  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Indiana,  a 
recognition  for  one  year,  as  in  good  standing,  and  to  leave 
the  ultimate  decision  till  the  next  annual  meeting.  The 
application  was  renewed  by  Dr.  William  M.  Durham  of  Atlanta, 
in  1882  at  the  annual  meeting  in  New  Haven,  and  met  the 
desired  approval.  Dr.  Durham  remained  in  the  Faculty  as 
Professor  of  Surgery,  and  the  College  became  steadily  more 
prosperous. 

In  1874,  the  "  Reform  College  "  at  Macon  which  had  been 
suspended  during  the  war,  was  revived  with  the  new  title 
of  "  The  College  of  American  Medicine  and  Surgery."  It 
was  removed  to  Atlanta  in  1881,  and  merged  in  i884  into 
the  other  institution,  which  in  1886  adopted  its  present 
name  of  "  The  Georgia  College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  and 
Surgery. $  It  is  the  only  medical  college  of  the  Eclectic 
School  in  the  Southern  States. 

The  Indiana  Eclectic  Medical  College  was  established  at 
Indianapolis   in    1880,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Eclectic 

*  Among  the  Professors  were  Doctors  W.  H.  P.  Fishburn,  the  Dean;  John  R. 
Borland  of  Pennsylvania,  Joseph  Adolphus,the  former  president  in  turn  of  Indiana  and 
Iowa  Eclectic  Medical  Associations,   John  F.  Hammond,  I.  J.  M.  Goss,  H.  R.  Jewett. 

t  Doctors  John  M.  Scudder,  H.  Wohlgemuth,  George  C.  Pitzer,  J.  Beswick  Schultz 
and  L.  E.  Russell  composed  the    Committee. 

J  Several  of  the  Annual  Amendments  of  this  institution  adopted  accordingly  the 
date  of  the  original  incorporation  of  the  Botanico  Medical  College  at  Forsyth  in  1830, 
and  claim  the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest  Eclectic  Medical  College.  To  Dr.  W.  M. 
Durham  must  be  accorded  great  credit  for  the  success  enjoyed. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES   AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.  73 1 

Medical  Association  of  the  State.*  It  sustained  a  course 
of  lectures  the  same  year.  Its  application  for  recognition 
among  the  Eclectic  medical  colleges  as  being  in  good  stand- 
ing was  presented  to  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tion, at  its  session  in  St.  Louis  in  1881,  and  strenuously 
opposed.  It  was,  however,  before  mentioned,  accepted  con- 
ditionally for  one  year,  together  with  the  Eclectic  Medical 
College  of  Georgia.  This  precedent  which  was  devised  in 
order  to  evade  a  difficulty,  was  afterward  regarded  by  several 
as  a  rule  and  practice  ;  but  there  never  had  been  a  regula- 
tion of  the  sort,  even  by  implication.  The  resolution  adopted 
in  1879,  relating  to  medical  colleges,  had  a  far  different  end 
in  contemplation,  which  many  did  not  contemplate. 

There  was,  however,  much  dissension  among  the  Eclectic 
physicians  of  Indiana  and  rival  institutions  came  into  exist- 
ence. The  Beach  Medical  College  was  organized  in  1883, 
taking  the  name  of  "  The  Beach  Medical  University  "  the 
following  year,  but  soon  afterward  merged  into  the  older 
institution.  The  Indiana  College  of  Medicine  and  Midwifery 
united  with  the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  retaining  its  own 
distinct  corporate  existence,  but  becoming  the  department 
of  midwifery  in  that  institution.!  The  management  of  the 
College,  however,  became  unsatisfactory  to  the  Indiana 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  and  it  finally  adopted  resolu- 
tions disowning  the  whole  concern.  At  its  instance,  like- 
wise, the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  took  similar 
action   at  the   annual  meeting  at    Niagara    Falls    in    1890. 


*  The  officers  of  the  College  were  selected  from  the  oldest  and  staunchest  Eclectic 
physicians  of  Indiana.  The  late  Dr. William  H.  Kendrick,  a  former  Baptist  clergyman, 
and  a  man  of  experience  and  scholarly  attainments,  was  president;  Dr.  Samuel  S. 
Boots,  Recording  Secretary,  and  Doctors  Elias  Hubbard,  Lyman  Frazee  and  Daniel 
Lesh,  Trustees.  Among  the  members  of  the  Faculty  were  Doctors  John  A.  Henning, 
S.  S.  Boots  and  William  F.  Curryer. 

tDiplomas  purporting  to  be  from  the  Medical  College  of  Midwifery  were  issued  as 
genuine,  on  which  the  most  of  the  official  signatures  were  engrossed  together  with 
the  text  of  the  documents. 


732  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

There  was,  however,  another  course  of  lectures  held,  after 
which  the  managers  suspended  further  operations. 

It  was  revived  again  in  1895  under  the  name  of  "The 
American  Medical  College  of  Indianapolis,"  with  a  full  staff 
of  professors  belonging  to  the  different  schools  of  medicine. 
It  represented  the  "  American  Association  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons,"  a  non-partisan  medical  organization,  which 
had  been  formed  about  this  time,  and  has  held  annual 
meetings  since  in  different  states  of  the  Union. 

Meanwhile  a  committee  of  members  of  the  Indiana 
Eclectic  Medical  Association  called  a  meeting  of  physicians  in 
September,  1890,  and  took  measures  to  procure  a  charter 
and  begin  a  course  of  instruction  under  the  title  of  "  The 
Indiana  College  of  Eclectic  Physicians  and  Surgeons." 
The  Association  promptly  approved  the  action  and  accepted 
the  proposition  to  name  three  of  the  trustees  each  year.  Its 
faculty  was  constituted  from  the  leading  Eclectic  practition- 
ers of  the  States*  and  the  College  received  due  recognition 
this  time  without  question  at  the  meeting  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  at  Hot  Springs,  in  1891. 

The  lines  of  the  new  College,  however,  fell  by  no  means 
in  pleasant  places.  Dissensions  broke  out,  and  after  fruitless 
attempts  to  compose  them,  the  sessions  were  suspended  in 
1895. 

In  Iowa,  likewise,  the  attempts  to  establish  a  medical 
college  have  been  numerous  and  the  results  by  no  means 
encouraging.  In  1881  the  executive  officers  of  the  Drake 
University  authorized  the  establishing  of  a  medical  depart- 
ment in  that  Institution.  Doctors  Hiram  A,  Reid,  H.  Oliver 
Conway  and  other  members  of  the  Iowa  State  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  accordingly  organized   such  a  depart- 

*Among  the  number   were    Doctors  William    F.   Curryer,    Henry   Long,   Augustus 
P.  Hauss  and  Philander  B.  Wright. 


ECLECTIC  MEDICAL  COLLEGES  AND  MEDICAL  SOCIETIES.    733 

ment  under  the  covenant  and  title  of  "The  Iowa  Eclectic 
Medical  College,"  and  began  a  course  of  instruction.* 
The  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  at  its  annual 
meeting  at  Topeka,  Kansas,  in  1883,  adopting  the  policy 
followed  with  the  colleges  in  1881,  gave  a  conditional 
approval  for  a  year. 

A  rival  institution,  the  "King  Medical  College,"  was  then 
incorporated,  and  its  president,  Dr.  Oliver  H.  P.  Shoemaker, 
made  application  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association  at  Cincinnati,  in  1884,  for  a 
similar  recognition.  Both  colleges  were  finally  accepted  for 
a  year  in  the  same  relation,  but  their  petitions  for  full 
recognition  at  the  meeting  in  Altoona  the  next  year  were 
refused,  and  they  were  left  in  their  former  attitude.  The 
matter  was  taken  up  again  at  the  annual  meeting  in  Atlanta, 
in  1886,  and  resulted  in  the  accepting  of  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  Drake  University,  which  then  bore  the  title  of  the 
"Iowa  Medical  College." 

This  discrimination,  however,  had  no  effect  towards  a 
termination  of  the  controversy;  new  complications  now 
arose.  At  the  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  at  Waukesha,  in  1887.  Dr.  Shoemaker 
renewed  his  application  without  success.  Meanwhile,  a 
communication  was  received  from  Dr.  John  Cooper  of  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  stating  that  the  Drake  University  had  for  just 
reasons,  severed  all  connection  with  the  Iowa  Medical 
College,  and  that  the  State  Board  of  Health  had  rejected 
its  graduates.  The  Association  adopted  a  resolution  with- 
drawing its  official  recognition,  and  declaring  further  that 
no  medical  college  in  Iowa  shall  be  recognized  except  one 


•The  next  year  the  "Iowa  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons"  was  established 
on  a  similar  footing,  and  the  Eclectic  School  having  been  brought  to  a  hasty  termination, 
it  has  continued  to  retain  the  relation  solely. 


734  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

that  shall  be  fully  sanctioned  by  the  Iowa  State  Eclectic 
Medical  Association. 

The  same  year  the  "  Iowa  Eclectic  Medical  College  "  was 
organized,  and  its  president,  Dr.  John  Cooper  presented  an 
application  for  recognition,  with  the  certificate  of  approval 
as  required.  It  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Affairs  of 
Medical  Colleges.*  A  favorable  report  was  made  and  the 
new  corporation  accepted.  It  was  no  more  fortunate  than 
its  predecessors.  It  soon  incurred  the  hostility  of  the 
unfriendly  Eclectic  practitioners,  and  a  vote  was  obtained,  it 
was  affirmed,  by  a  snap  judgment,  to  reject  its  diplomas. 
The  College  was  compelled,  accordingly,  to  close  its  doors, 
after  having  held  six  terms  of  instruction.  A  resolution  was 
adopted  at  the  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  at  Niagara  Falls  in  1894,  withdrawing  its 
recognition  from  the  College  till  such  time  as  the  State 
Board  of  Health  of  Iowa  shall  accept  its  degrees. 

In  1883  the  Legislature  of  Nebraska  authorized  the 
establishment  of  three  medical  departments  in  the  University 
at  Lincoln  for  instruction  in  the  doctrines  and  procedures  of 
the  leading  Schools  of  Medicine.  Three  professorships  were 
alloted  to  the  Eclectic  Department,  to  which  Doctors  William 
S.  Latta,  Ira  Van  Camp  and  Richard  S.  Grimes  were  appointed. 
The  arrangement  continued  till  1887,  when  the  departments 
were  all  closed.  Dr.  Latta  and  his  colleagues  immediately 
negotiated  with  the  Nebraska  Christian  University,  since 
changed  in  name  to  "  Cotner  University,"  for  the  organization 
of  a  medical  department  in  that  institution,  and  the  sessions 
began  in  1889  with  a  stafl^  of  fourteen  professors.  It  bears 
the  title  of  "Lincoln  Medical  College  of  Cotner  University." 

*This  Committee  consisted  of  Doctors  B.  L.  Yeagley,  W.  T.  Gemmill,  S.  B.  Munn, 
J.  W.  Migrath  and  Henry  Wohlgemuth.  Thus  far  it  was  the  policy  and  purpose  that 
this  committee  should  represent  the  Association,  and  accordingly  include  no  person 
as  member  who  was  connected  with  a  medical  college. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   735 

The  Michigan  Eclectic  Medical  College  was  incorporated 
in  1880,  but  was  never  acknowledged  by  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  nor  by  the  Eclectic  Medical 
and  Surgical  Society  of  the  State.  It  did  not  go  into 
operation. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Maine  was  incorporated 
by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  on  the  28th  day  of  February, 
1 88 1.  The  enterprise  had  been  contemplated  by  the  principal 
members  of  the  State  Eclectic  organization  for  many  years. 
After  the  later  years  of  the  war  between  the  Northern  and 
Southern  States,  there  was  a  new  impulse  in  the  ranks  of 
Eclectic  physicians,  to  form  societies  for  the  advancing  of 
their  views,  and  protection  against  encroachments  upon 
their  professional  rights.  Accordingly  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Society  of  Maine  was  formed  in  June,  1865,  and  incorporated 
three  years  afterward.  There  was  at  the  time  no  medical 
college,  nearer  than  Philadelphia,  the  exponent  of  their  prin- 
ciples. The  institutions  in  New  York  and  Massachusetts 
had  closed  their  doors,  and  the  Philadelphia  University  had 
repudiated  all  connection  with  the  Eclectic  school.  The  new 
Society  was  active  and  took  effective  means  to  oppose  the 
attempts  in  Legislature  to  foist  restrictive  legislation  anew 
upon  the  State. 

The  want  of  a  medical  college  to  teach  Eclectic  practice 
was  vividly  experienced  and  anxiously  discussed  at  the 
meetings  of  the  Society,  but  its  energies  were  employed  in 
the  efforts  to  prevent  unfriendly  legislation.  Finally  in  the 
winter  of  1880-81  Dr.  James  M.  Buzzell,  of  Portland,  took 
the  laboring  oar  to  bring  the  result.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
Dartmouth,  and  was  a  surgeon  of  superior  skill.  He  had 
been  professor  of  surgery  in  the  Worcester  Medical  Institu- 
tion, the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
Medical  University.     A  petition  was  prepared  and  signed  by 


736  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  leading  citizens  of  the  State*  asking  for  the  incorporation 
of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Maine,  at  Lewiston.  The 
charter  was  granted  and  an  organization  effected  immediately. 
The  faculty  consisted  of  Dr.  James  M.  Buzzell,  Professor  of 
Surgery;  Dr.  Wilbur  F.  Wadworth,  Professor  of  Principles 
and  Practice  of  Medicine ;  Dr.  John  Swan,  Professor  of 
Obstetrics;  Dr.  John  J.  Siggins,  Professor  of  Materia 
Medica  and  Gynecology ;  Dr.  Albert  J.  Marston,  Professor 
of  Anatomy ;  also,  a  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  a  Lecturer 
on  Medical  Jurisprudence. 

The  first  session  began  in  October,  1881,  with  twenty- 
three  students.  The  second  term  was  marked  by  changes 
of  instructors.  Dr.  Seth  B.  Sprague  succeeding  to  the  chair 
of  practice,  Dr.  Benjamin  H.  Burrill,  to  the  chair  of  Materia 
Medica,  Dr.  Stephen  E.  Root,  to  the  chair  of  Physiology. 
While  the  Medical  School  of  Maine  was  fostered  by  the 
Legislature,  receiving  an  annual  stipend  from  the  treasury  for 
its  support,  the  modest  institution  at  Lewiston  depended, 
like  other  schools  of  the  Reformed  Practice,  entirely  upon 
its  income  and  the  aid  of  its  friends.  The  attempt  was 
made  that  year  to  procure  a  medical  statute  and  swoop  the 
College  into  the  hands  of  the  dominant  school.  It  was 
happily  foiled  and  the  College  came  out  of  the  conflict  with 
more  friends  than  before.  The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  at  its 
next  meeting  declared  its  warm  approval  of  the  institution  and 
asked  support  from  every  loyal  friend  of  the  Eclectic  cause. 

The  College  now  enlarged  its  operations,  engaging  a 
better  building,  and  adding  to  its  faculty  Dr.  James  Davies, 
A.  M.,  to  the  chair  of  Chemistry  and  Urinology,  Dr.  James 
A.  Tabor,  General  and  Microscopic  Anatomy,   Dr.   Francis 


*The  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine  was  a  friend  and  sympathizer  with  the  Eclectic 
movement,  as  were  other  citizens  of  note.  Perhaps  in  no  other  state,  except  Georgia, 
were  so  many  leading  public  men  in  rapport  with  the  Eclectic  School  of  Practice. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   737 

W.  Lockwood,  Operative  Dentistry,  and  Dr.  Darius  L.  Powe, 
Demonstrator  of  Anatomy.  The  institution  now  exhibited 
gratifying  indications  of  greater  prosperity  than  ever.* 

The  scientific  character  of  the  instruction  at  the  College 
is  best  illustrated  by  an  address  of  Dr.  John  M.  Boothby,  a 
graduate  and  afterward  a  member  of  the  Faculty :  "  This 
College  has  sent  out  graduates,"  said  he,  "  who  have  defeated 
graduates  from  Harvard,  Yale  and  the  University  of  the 
City  of  New  York  in  rigid  examinations  for  prominent 
positions ;  and  we  are  recognized  by  the  physicians  of  New 
York,  as  all  physicians  should  be,  not  for  our  'pathy,  but  for 
our  medical  knowledge." 

The  number  of  annual  sessions  held  by  the  College  was 
six.  Its  curriculum  was  as  extensive  as  other  medical 
schools,  and  the  graduates  were  held  rigidly  to  the  line. 
Nominal  attendance  and  superficial  attainments  were  not 
accepted.  But  the  changes  in  the  faculty  were  unfortunately 
numerous.  The  College  being  without  endowment,  few 
teachers  could  long  afford  to  render  their  services.  Doctors 
Lindsey,  A.  K.  P.  Harvey,  A,  D.  Muchmore,  John  M. 
Boothby  and  Messrs.  Atwood  and  A.  S.  Lambert  succeeded 
to  places  in  the  Faculty  at  the  fifth  term,  and  Doctors  A.  L. 
French  and  A.  G.  French  to  the  sixth.  Dr.  Henry  Reny 
was  Demonstrator  of  Anatomy. 

All  was  going  on  as  usual,  when  an  article  appeared  in 
the  Boston  Herald  in  January,  1887,  which  was  based  upon 
false  representations,  insinuating  that  the  College  was  in 
close  relations   with  the  "  Druidic  University  "  at  Lewiston. 


*It  was  at  this  period  that  Dr.  Samuel  York,  ne  Carhon,  was  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  He  was  not  an  educated  man,  but  adventurous,  and  after  several 
voyages,  had  finally  established  himself  as  head  of  an  "Electric  Infirmary"  at 
Lewiston.  He  now  offered  himself  as  a  candidate  for  graduation.  The  result  was  a 
difference  of  sentiment  in  the  faculty  and  several  professors  vacated  their  chairs. 
Dr.  York  himself  afterward  resigned  the  office  of  Trustee.  He  became  afterward 
hostile  and  his  influence  and  reputation  were  factors  in  wrecking  the  College. 


738  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  Legislature  appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  the 
matter,  and  the  Faculty  and  Trustees  were  summoned  to  the 
sessions.  They  neglected  to  attend,  and  the  Legislature 
naturally  supposing  the  imputations  correct,  repealed  the  act 
of  incorporation. 

In  1883  the  University  of  Florida  was  established  at 
Tallahassee.  Dr.  John  Kost,  a  veteran  of  the  Botanic 
School  and  former  professor  in  the  Reform  Medical  College 
at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  as  well  as  editor  of  a  medical  journal, 
was  active  in  this  matter.  At  his  instance  a  medical  depart- 
ment was  connected  with  a  full  staff  of  instructors.  Dr. 
Kost  himself  and  Dr.  Vincent  A.  Baker,  both  experienced 
teachers  of  the  earlier  time,  were  prominent  members  of  the 
Faculty.  The  encouragement  to  the  enterprise  was  in- 
sufficient and  the  institution  was  removed  to  Jacksonville 
two  years  later  to  no  advantage,  and  was  closed  the  next 
season. 

The  project  of  an  Eclectic  medical  college  at  Topeka  was 
confidently  entertained  in  1883  by  the  leading  members  of 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Kansas.  At  that  time 
the  organization  was  very  prosperous,  sustaining  a  medical 
journal  and  rapidly  growing  in  numbers.  A  cloud,  how- 
ever, fell  on  the  movement  and  it  was  abandoned. 

The  proposition  to  revive  the  Worcester  Medical  Institu- 
tion has  been  several  times  discussed  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  Massachusetts.  The  charter 
has  been  carefully  maintained  in  full  force,  but  the  Trustees 
have  never  been  confident  of  the  expediency  of  the  measure. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  New  Jersey  was  incor- 
porated by  the  Legislature  in  187 1.  The  late  Dr.  Luke  D. 
Broughton  was  principal  mover  in  the  undertaking.  A 
Faculty  was  created  in  1888,  and  several  terms  of  instruc- 
tions  were    held   with   success.      Misunderstandings   arose 


ECLECTIC  MEDICAL  COLLEGES  AND  MEDICAL  SOCIETIES.  739 

t)etween  the  Trustees  and  Professors,  and  the  Institution 
being  established  in  the  midst  of  an  unfriendly  community, 
the  Legislature  repealed  the  act  of  incorporation. 

There  have  been  several  medical  colleges  set  in  operation 
at  Cincinnati,  that  had  more  or  less  claim  upon  attention. 
Such  has  been  the  case  since  1849.  The  merging  of  the 
College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  into  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute, at  the  outbreak  of  war  between  the  States,  resulted  for 
a  time  in  the  cessation  of  such  movements.  The  maintaining 
of  a  college  and  medical  journal  had  become  too  hard  to  sus- 
tain, and  most  of  the  colleges  of  the  several  Reform  Schools 
were  closed.  In  1875,  however,  the  Physio-Eclectic  Medi- 
cal College  was  organized.  It  held  terms  of  instruction  for 
three  years  and  was  then  united  with  the  "American  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Cincinnati."  The  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  at  this  time  revised  its  Constitution,  and 
required  certain  conditions  of  study  and  qualifications  from 
the  colleges  within  its  premises.*  The  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  obtained  recognition  from  that  body.  A  suit  was 
instituted  against  the  new  college  upon  the  ground  that  it 
had  no  legal  existence,  and  the  charge  was  made  against  it 
of  selling  medical  degrees.  The  case,  however,  was  dis- 
missed. The  institution  was  again  set  in  operation  a  few 
years  afterward  at  half  the  regular  terms  of  instruction,  but 
encountered  new  embarrassments,  and  was  again  suspended. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  remained 
in  operation  till  1880.  Such  of  the  medical  societies  as  had 
affiliated  with  it  quietly  severed  the  alliance  or  silently  went 
out  of  existence.     The  Iowa  Eclectic  Medical  Association 

*This  action  contemplating  longer  terms,  more  thorougli  study,  and  a  higlier  standard 
of  attainments,  as  a  condition  of  securing  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  was  taken 
at  the  annual  meeting  in  1S77  at  the  instance  and  insistence  of  the  author,  then  the  Sec- 
retary. It  was  evaded  at  first  in  several  of  the  colleges,  and  even  defied,  but  finally 
carried.  A  resolution  of  amnesty  was  adopted  in  1879,  under  which  five  colleges  were 
formally  recognized. 


740  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

openly  denounced  its  course.  The  Eclectic  Medical  Society 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  at  the  annual  meeting  in  1869, 
renewed  the  prior  action,  and  voted  to  refuse  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  validity  of  its  degrees.  A  committee  was  also 
appointed  to  enquire  into  the  facts,  and  the  Legislature 
of  Pennsylvania  passed  a  bill  to  repeal  the  charter,  but  this 
was  found  to  be  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State, 
and  therefore  of  no  effect. 

Dr.  John  Buchanan  had  procured  an  Act  from  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  in  1867,  incorporating  "  The  American 
University  of  Medicine  and  Surgery  at  Philadelphia."  A 
diploma  of  graduation  was  prepared  for  it,  closely  resem- 
bling in  form  and  general  appearance  that  of  the  Philadel- 
phia University  of  Medicine,  of  which  Dr.  William  Paine 
was  dean.  The  story  was  then  put  into  circulation  that 
both  institutions  were  engaged  alike  in  the  practice  of 
hawking  their  diplomas. 

About  this  time  Doctor  Paine  was  involved  in  some  polit- 
ical complications,  and  his  enemies,  in  order  to  bring  him 
into  disrepute,  had  procured  the  appointment  of  a  Committee 
of  the  General  Assembly,  to  investigate  allegations  against 
the  Philadelphia  University  in  regard  to  the  corrupt  dispos- 
ing of  medical  degrees.*  It  had  been  affirmed  that  individ- 
uals in  the  confidence  of  officials  of  the  said  medical  colleges, 
aided  the  Committee  in  these  endeavors.  They  failed  utterly 
however,  in  obtaining  evidence  of  any  irregular  procedure  of 
the  kind.  In  spite  of  this,  nevertheless,  an  Act  was  passed 
to  annul  the  charter  of  the  institution,  but  it  was  set  aside  by 
Justice  Agnew  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  as 
being  without  legislative  force  and  void. 

*Several  official  personages  had  engaged  in  a  scandalous  transaction  in  regard  to  a  sum 
of  money,  which  had  been  paid  by  the  Federal  Government  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  adjusting  of  claims  pertaining  to  the  war  between  the  States.  Doctor  Paine  had 
possession  of  documentary  evidence  in  regard  to  the  matter,  and  having  refused  to  give 
tt  up,  this  measure  was  employed  on  purpose  to  embarrass  and  discredit  him. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.  74I 

In  1879  the  Hon,  Andrew  D.  White,  the  Ameriean  Am- 
bassador to  Germany,  addressed  a  communication  to  the 
Hon.  William  M.  Evarts,  Secretary  of  State,  directing  his 
attention  to  the  fact  that  diplomas  of  spurious  character,  pur- 
porting to  confer  degrees  from  certain  medical  colleges  of 
the  United  States,  were  in  possession  of  individuals  in  that 
country,  who  had  not  been  pupils.  The  letter  was  referred 
to  General  Carl  Schurz,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and 
by  him  placed  in  the  hands  of  General  John  Eaton,  the 
Commissioner  of  Education.  General  Eaton  immediately 
addressed  a  circular  letter  to  educators  and  others,  asking 
their  aid  to  expose  and  correct  the  evil.  The  result  was,  that 
the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  and  its  associ- 
ate, "American  University,"  were  shown  to  have  been  en- 
gaged in  the  issuing  of  the  spurious  degrees.  The  attempt 
was  made  by  several  public  journals  and  others,  to  implicate 
the  Pennsylvania  Medical  University,  and  the  Philadelphia 
University  of  Medicine,  but  nothing  of  the  kind  was  brought 
to  light  against  either. 

Nevertheless,  here  the  investigation  came  to  an  end. 
Other  medical  colleges  had  been  engaged  in  the  traffic,  but 
they  found  means  to  turn  attention  in  other  directions.  Yet 
the  fact  is  notorious,  that  degrees  have  been  granted  in 
Europe  in  such  a  way  for  centuries,  ever  since  the  first 
Doctor  of  Medicine  was  made,  eight  hundred  years  ago ;  and 
likewise,  that  colleges  in  the  United  States  had  disposed  of 
their  degrees  for  many  years  before  the  Eclectic  Medical 
College  of  Pennsylvania  had  even  an  existence.* 

*The  author  was  at  the  time  Secretary  of  theJCational  Eclectic  Medical  Association. 
He  had  been  the  President  of  the  State  Society  of  New  York  in  i86g,  when  tliat  body 
took  action  against  the  diploma  traffic.  On  rtceivine:  tlie  circular  from  General  Eaton, 
he  at  once  offered  his  assistance,  only  stipulating  that  the  investigation  should  be  thorough 
and  impartial,  and  in  no  sense  a  simple  attack  upon  a  particular  School  of  Medicine. 
This,  General  Eaton  distinctly  assured  him  would  be  the  case.  He  tlien  suggested  as  a 
means  of  putting  an  end  to  the  traffic,  that  the  practice  of  granting  degrees  in  absence 
should  be  terminated.    The  Commission  replied  that  this  was  impossible,  as  it  liad  been 


742  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

The  adversaries  of  the  several  liberal  colleges  in  Philadel- 
phia, conceived  this  to  be  their  opportunity,  and  the  purpose 
was  formed  to  force  them  out  of  existence.  A  writ  of  quo 
warranto  was  issued  against  the  Philadelphia  University. 
The  Board  of  Trustees  received  the  information  that  the 
charges  which  had  been  made  against  the  institution  could 
not  be  sustained,  and  that  the  sole  desire  of  the  Common- 
wealth in  this  proceeding  was  that  the  charter  should  be 
surrendered  without  prejudice  or  the  imputation  of  any 
blamable  act.  The  Trustees,  naturally  desirous  to  escape 
a  costly  and  profitless  lawsuit,  assented  to  this  proposition 
and  gave  up  the  charter  accordingly.  The  Hon.  F.  Carroll 
Brewster  described  this  event  as  not  a  victory  upon  the  merits 
of  the  case,  and  declared  further  that  the  corporation  "  Sur- 
rendered nothing  but  the  vain  and  empty  right  to  manage  a 
literary  institution."*  Mr.  Brewster  meant  by  this  term  a 
medical  college,  an  institution  such  as  the  Court  of  Appeals  of 
New  York  afterward  affirmed  to  be  neither  literary  or  scien- 
tific, but  eleemosynary. 

A  prosecution  was  also  begun  against  the  corporations,  the 
Eclectic  Medical  College  and  the  American  University.  It 
has  been  affirmed  and  with  apparent  truth,  that  these 
two  enterprises  had  been  kept  in  operation  by  counsel  and 
contribution  from  members  of  the  other  School  of  Practice. 


a  practice  of  long  standing  in  European  institutions.  In  fact,  the  actual  grievance  was 
simply  that  American  institutions  were  participating  in  the  profits  of  a  time-honored 
Old-School  practice.  Hence,  as  soon  as  the  slight  had  been  fixed  upon  the  Eclectic 
colleges  in  Philadelphia,  which  had  been  discredited  over  ten  years  by  tlie  Eclectic  Med- 
ical Societies  themselves,  and  the  implication  of  their  misdoing  could  be  imputed  to 
other  Eclectic  medical  colleges  the  investigation  ceased  altogether.  The  medical  colleges 
of  the  other  schools  were  passed  over,  althougli  common  report  had  indicated  several, 
as  thus  culpable;  some  of  them  of  acknowledged  superior  standing.  In  one  instance. 
Dr.  St.  John  B.  Roosa  of  New  York,  was  said  to  have  declared  that  a  certain  medical 
college,  which  he  specified,  had  sold  more  diplomas  than  the  managers  of  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania.  Statements  like  this  have  been  repeatedly  made  and 
never  disputed. 

*Dr.  Paine,  the  chief  founder  of  the  University,  -Iways  insisted  till  the  day  of  his 
death  that  this  surrender  had  no  validity,  and  that  the  University  with  all  its  powers  had 
still  a  legal  existence. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   743 

If  such  was  the  case,  the  ends  were  never  accomplished. 
The  two  institutions  passed  out  of  existence,  Thus  ended 
the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  after  a  career 
of  thirty  years. 

The  Pennsylvania  Medical  University  survived  a  year 
longer,  but  finally  closed  its  doors  in  1881. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Pennsylvania,  at  its 
annual  meeting  in  Philadelphia  in  1886,  took  the  prelimin- 
ary measures  toward  the  establishing  of  a  new  college,  and  a 
charter  was  accordingly  procured  for  the  "  Burton  Medical 
College."  The  endeavor  to  obtain  subscriptions  to  guar- 
antee the  success  of  the  enterprise,  did  not  meet  sufficient 
encouragement ;  and  the  death  of  several  of  the  most  active 
and  prominent  of  the  Eclectic  physicians  of  the  State,  and 
likewise  the  stress  of  the  times,  resulted  in  the  abandoning 
of  the  project. 

The  Connecticut  Eclectic  Medical  Association  also  re- 
solved, at  its  annual  meeting  in  1892,  to  take  the  necessary 
action  for  the  establishing  of  a  college.  The  causes,  how- 
ever, which  have  impeded  activity  elsewhere,  have  also  been 
operative  there,  and  the  matter  is  still  in  abeyance. 

The  Medical  and  Surgical  Register,  published  in  1896, 
gives  the  name  of  the  "  Wisconsin  Eclectic  Medical  College  " 
at  Milwaukee.  It  was  organized  in  1894  with  a  full  staff  of 
professors,  and  graduated  a  class  in  1896.  It  is  not  recog- 
nized, however,  by  the  Wisconsin  Eclectic  Medical  Society, 
and  appears  to  be  in  affiliation  with  the  Health  College  of 
Chicago. 

The  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  at  the  annual 
meeting  at  Niagara  Falls  in  1894,  adopted  resolutions  for 
the  forming  of  an  "  Eclectic  Medical  College  Association," 
and  empowering  the  Standing  Committee  on  Affairs  of 
Medical  Colleges  to  ratify  any  action  that  should  be  taken 


744  HISTORY   OF    MEDICINE. 

by  the  proposed  organization.  This  will  operate  very 
effectively  in  future  to  determine  the  prospects  and  oppor- 
tunities of  future  projects  for  the  founding  of  institutions  for 
instruction  of  students  in  the  Eclectic  School  of  Medicine. 

NEW     AUXILIARY     SOCIETIES. 

The  stimulus  which  was  imparted  by  the  success  of  the 
movement  for  the  reviving  of  the  National  Eclectic  Associa- 
tion at  Chicago  in  1870  soon  led  those  who  had  before  held 
aloof  and  been  indifferent,  to  perceive  the  importance  of 
allying  themselves  with  the  movement.  The  more  im- 
mediate result,  accordingly,  was  the  forming  of  new  auxiliary 
organizations,  and  greater  zeal  in  promoting  the  further 
advancement  of  the  American  School  of  Medical  Practice. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Kansas  was  organized 
in  February  1 8 7 1 .  Doctors  Ansel  M .  Eidson,  George  H .  Field, 
Noah  Simmons  and  Daniel  Surber  were  among  the  active 
organizers.  The  Society  was  steadily  moving  forward,  and 
gaining  in  membership,  when,  in  1879,  ^  statute  was  enacted 
by  the  Legislature  authorizing  the  creation  of  a  Board  of 
Medical  Examiners,  the  members  of  which  were  to  be  named 
by  an  incorporated  medical  society.  It  had  been  contem- 
plated by  the  framers  and  advocates  of  the  measure  to  place 
the  whole  power  of  licensing  physicians  in  the  hands  of  the 
practitioners  who  had  been  efficient  and  active  in  procuring 
such  legislation.  But  it  was  decided  by  the  Attorney- 
General  of  the  State  that  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
was  the  only  society  that  met  the  conditions  of  the  enact- 
ment, and  possessed  the  required  authority.  The  Associa- 
tion proceeded,  accordingly,  to  put  the  powers  into  exercise, 
and  gained  thereby  a  large  increase  in  the  number  of  its 
members.  A  decision,  however,  was  procured  from  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  State  declaring  the  enactment  uncon- 
stitutional.    Since  that  time  endeavors  have  been  repeatedly 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL   SOCIETIES.  745 

made  to  procure  legislation  which  shall  provide  for  a  com- 
posite Board  of  Medical  Examiners,  arranged  to  give 
numerical  preponderance  to  the  School  of  Physicians  asking 
for  this  enactment.     So  far,  however,  they  have  failed. 

The  late  Dr.  J.  H.  Bandy  is  entitled  to  the  chief  credit 
for  bringing  the  Eclectic  School  of  Medicine  into  notice  in 
California.  Emigrating  thither  from  Wisconsin  in  1870, 
he  speedily  became  interested  in  the  indigenous  Flora, 
their  scientific  character  and  classification,  and  their  medic- 
inal uses.  Like  Rafinesque  and  other  true  lovers  of  know- 
ledge, he  sought  information  everywhere,  of  the  Spanish 
population,  and  any  who  could  tell  anything  worth  the  learn- 
ing. He  began  at  once  to  contribute  papers  to  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Journals,  and  soon  attracted  wide  attention  to  the 
new  remedies  which  he  described.  Among  them  were  the 
Yerba  Santa,  Grindelia,  Berberis,  the  Rhamnus  or  Cascara 
Sagrada  and  Yerba  Reuma.  Of  course,  they  were  imme- 
diately decried  for  having  been  introduced  by  a  physician 
who  was  not  of  the  "  regular  "  profession.  This  common, 
but  whimsical,  objection  was  soon  overborne  by  their  mani- 
fest utility,  and  they  became  "  official." 

Other  Eclectic  physicians  came  into  the  State  and  the 
importance  of  organization  was  soon  perceived.  Accord- 
ingly, the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  California  was  formed 
in  December,  1874,  by  Doctors  M.  F.  Clayton,  O.  P.  Warren, 
F.  C.  Cook,  J.  P.  Backesto,  M.  R.  Tewksbury,  L.  B.  Hoag 
and  Samuel  Clark.  It  soon  gained  a  large  membership,  and 
constituted  the  bone  and  sinew  of  Eclectic  Medicine  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  The  attempt  was  made  at  the  next  session 
of  the  Legislature  to  procure  an  enactment  for  the  avowed 
purpose  that  every  trace  of  "  irregular  medicine  "  might  be 
swept  from  the  State.  The  members  of  the  new  organiza- 
tion were  awake  to  the  inevitable  complaint,  and  took  ener- 


746  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

getic  action.  As  the  result  of  their  effort  the  statute,  when 
it  came  from  the  hands  of  the  Governor,  provided  for  a 
Board  of  Examiners  for  each  State  Medical  Society  that  had 
a  legal  organization,  to  investigate  and  certify  to  the  quali- 
fications of  the  practitioners  identified  with  its  School  of 
Practice.  During  the  many  years  that  have  elapsed  since 
this  measure  has  been  in  operation  there  has  been  an 
attempt  at  every  session  of  the  Legislature  to  procure  the 
abolition  of  the  several  Boards  and  the  substitution  of  a 
single  Board  in  which  the  Eclectic  and  Homoeopathic 
physicians  would  have  only  a  minority  of  the  members. 
This  result  was  to  be  averted  because  it  could  not  be  de- 
pended upon  for  impartial  action.  But  the  Eclectic  physi- 
cians have  been  on  the  alert  to  check  the  endeavor. 

In  Michigan  the  easy-going  ways  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Society  were  unsatisfactory  to  many  of  the  leading 
physicians.  They  desired  more  careful  attention  to  the 
character  and  qualifications  of  members.  A  new  organiza- 
tion was  formed  accordingly  in  1876,  which  was  incor- 
porated by  the  Legislature  by  the  name  and  title  of  "  The 
Michigan  State  Eclectic  Medical  and  Surgical  Society."  It 
was  recognized  the  same  year  by  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  at  its  annual  meeting  at  Washington, 
and  has  been  ever  since  the  representative  body ;  the  other 
ceasing  to  maintain  an  organization.  It  has  been  aggressive, 
and  made  repeated,  though  unsuccessful,  efforts  to  obtain 
from  the  Legislature  a  department  of  Eclectic  Medicine  in 
the  University  at  Ann  Arbor  on  equal  terms  with  the 
department  for  the  teaching  of  Homoeopathy.  These  have 
been,  however,  of  later  years,  greatly  relaxed,  if  not  aban- 
doned outright. 

The  history  of  the  Eclectic  movement  in  Missouri  presents 
some   analysis  to   submit   on    occurrences   in   other   States. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.  747 

The  pioneer  Eclectic  physician  of  the  State  was  Dr.  William 
M.  Gates,  a  self-taught  man  who  graduated  in  medicine  and 
began  practice  in  Adair  County  in  1854.  When  the 
Missouri  Eclectic  Medical  Association  was  formed  in  1870, 
he  became  its  Secretary.  The  bitter  professional  jealousy 
that  characterized  the  relations  of  the  several  Schools  of 
Medicine  in  the  different  States,  as  for  example  in  Ohio, 
Michigan,  Pennsylvania  and  other  Commonwealths,  was  less 
virulent  in  Missouri,  making  it  easier  to  obtain  a  permanent 
foothold.  The  establishment  of  two  rival  medical  colleges 
at  St.  Louis,  which  has  already  been  described,  had  the 
effect,  however,  to  divide  the  Eclectic  practitioners  into  two 
parties,  and  "  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  Missouri  "  was 
formed  and  incorporated  under  the  influence  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  College.  An  application  to  be  accepted  as  the 
true  auxiliary  organization  representing  the  Eclectic  physi- 
cians of  Missouri,  was  presented  to  the  National  Eclectia 
Medical  Association  at  its  meeting  in  Detroit  in  1878^ 
and  it  was  duly  received  the  ensuing  year  at  the  meeting  in 
Cleveland.  It  is  still  in  vigorous  operation,  and  has  been 
one  of  the  most  efficient  of  the  State  societies  in  the  work  of 
establishing  district  organizations  in  the  State  and  otherwise 
promoting  the  cause  of  Eclectic  Medicine.  Both  the  Society 
and  the  American  College  adhere  closely  to  the  views  and 
doctrines  promulgated  by  the  founders  and  earlier  exponents 
of  the  American  School  of  Practice. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Nebraska  sent  its 
first  delegation  to  the  National  Association  at  its  annual 
meeting  in  Detroit  in  1878.  Its  representatives  on  that 
occasion  were  Doctors  William  S.  Latta,  James  H.  Wood- 
ward and  Charles  Band.*     It  had  been  several  years  in  ex- 

*Dr.  Latta  was  elected  president  of  the  Association  at  its  annual  meeting  in  St.  Louis 
in  1S81.     Doctor  Band  was   for  many  years  a   generous  contributor,  giving  a  hundred 


748  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

istence,  and  demonstrated  its  effectiveness  by  defeating  the 
endeavors  to  procure  a  partisan  medical  statute  from  the 
Legislature,  and  likewise  by  securing  a  department  of 
Eclectic  Medicine,  first  in  the  Nebraska  University,  and 
afterward  in  the  Christian  University  of  New  Bethany. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey  was  organ- 
ized in  Newark  in  1873.  ^^  began  with  about  thirty-five 
members,  and  has  held  semi-annual  meetings  regularly  since 
that  time.  The  geographic  situation  of  the  State,  and  the 
jealousies  remaining  from  the  former  relationship  of  medical 
colleges,  operated  prejudicially  toward  the  organization.  The 
physicians  favoring  the  institutions  at  Philadelphia  and 
those  having  preferences  for  the  institutions  in  New  York, 
were  distrustful  of  one  another,  and  soon  abandoned  the 
Society  to  the  members  who  held  no  exclusive  allegiance  in 
either  direction.  The  meetings  have  been  characterized  by 
the  reading  of  instructive  papers  and  discussions  of  pro- 
fessional topics.  This  Society  took  measures  at  an  early 
day  for  the  exposing  of  the  traffic  in  medical  degrees,  both 
in  the  Old  and  New  Schools,  and  its  committee  on  Legis- 
lation for  many  years  opposed  successfully  the  concerted 
efforts  to  foist  a  medical  enactment  upon  the  statutes, 
till  at  length  political  and  sinister  influences  united  and  be- 
came too  powerful. 

The  history  of  Eclectic  Medicine  in  Pennsylvania  has 
been  greatly  diversified.  The  introduction  of  the  Botanic 
m  idical  practice  from  England,  the  early  organizations 
centering  at  Philadelphia,  and  the  story  of  the  medical 
colleges  with  their  various  vicissitudes  have  been  already 
noticed.     They  seem,   however,  to  have  had  comparatively 


dollars  yearly  to  the  National  Association,  besides  generous  donations  to  the  American, 
United  States  and  other  Eclectic  Medical  colleges.  He  was  a  resident  of  Crete,  but 
removed  afterward  to  Eugene,  in  Oregon.    His  address,  however,  is  still  given  as  Crete. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.  749 

little  influence  upon  the  Reformed  physicians  of  the  counties 
of  the  State.  Many  of  these,  indeed,  were  graduates  of  the 
Colleges  in  Philadelphia,  and  loyally  took  warm  interest  in 
their  prosperity  while  they  continued  in  operation.  But 
they  exemplified  the  fact,  which  many  are  slow  to  learn,  that 
the  general  public  will  seldom  be  partisan,  or  care  much 
even  as  spectators,  in  the  quarrels  of  individuals.  They 
preserved  a  reasonable  affection  for  the  places  and 
teachers,  but  they  were  diligent  in  local  organization  and 
activities. 

The  Eclectic  medical  practice  was  introduced  into  West- 
ern Pennsylvania  by  Doctors  Oldshue  and  Henry  Yeagley, 
and  in  the  Valley  of  the  Susquehanna  by  Dr.  A.  B.  Wood- 
ward. Local  societies  were  organized  at  Pittsburg  and  in 
the  Susquehanna  district  as  early  as  1845,  ^^^  continued  in 
full  vigor  for  many  years.  After  the  revival  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association  at  Chicago  the  movement  to 
form  an  Auxiliary  Society  for  the  State  was  begun  at  Oil 
City.  Among  those  active  in  the  matter  were  Doctors  Alex- 
ander Thompson,  John  R.  Borland,  of  Franklin,  and  James 
L.  Proper,  of  Titusville.  The  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
of  Pennsylvania  was  duly  organized,  and  afterward  incor- 
porated at  Franklin  in  1875.  ^^  ^^*^  ^o^  auxiliaries  the 
Central,  North  Western,  Susquehanna  district  and  Phila- 
delphia. It  had  the  influence  for  years  to  defeat  the  efforts 
which  the  Pennsylvania  Medical  Association  and  the  Faculty 
of  the  University  employed,  under  the  trite  pretext  of  pro- 
tecting the  people,  with  the  aid  of  political  chicane  to  procure 
an  enactment  by  which  to  control  absolutely  the  Practice  of 
Medicine    in    the    State.*     A    statute    was    finally  obtained 


•Among  the  active  members  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  at  this  time  were 
the  Thompsons,  the  IJeanis,  the  Yeagley  brothers,  G.  D.  Kughler,  Henry  B.  Piper, 
C.  M.  Ewing  and  the  veteran  A.  B.  Woodward. 


75° 


HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 


which  gave  the  several  medical  colleges  the  exclusive  right 
to  determine  the  validity  of  degrees  conferred  by  institutions 
outside  of  Pennsylvania.  This  power  was  exercised  to  the 
extreme  of  professional  partisanship,  and  even  to  the  re- 
jection of  diplomas  of  institutions  of  the  same  medical  faith. 
This  peculiar  form  of  State  Rights  was  maintained  till  1892, 
when  the  Legislature  enacted  a  new  statute  authorizing  the 
appointment  of  three  Boards  of  Medical  Examiners,  to  be 
nominated  by  the  respective  State  Medical  Societies. 

The  Georgia  Eclectic  Medical  Association  was  organized 
in  March  I874,  and  incorporated  by  a  special  act  of  the 
Legislature  the  same  year.* 

At  that  period  the  principal  Reformed  physicians  of 
Georgia  were  graduates  from  the  medical  college  at  Macon, 
and  supporters  of  the  Botanic  School  of  Medicine.  Never- 
theless, they  generally  affiliated  with  the  new  organization  ; 
Dr.  Lanier  Bankston,  the  pioneer  in  Reform  and  college 
enterprise  in  the  State,  himself,  exemplifying  his  approval. 
The  two  medical  colleges  also  united,  and  so  became  a 
powerful  auxiliary  to  aid  the  Eclectic  School  of  Practice  in 
securing  and  maintaining  a  firmer  foothold  in  Georgia  and 
the  neighboring  States.  It  now  enjoys  a  large  share  of  the 
favor  of  the  public  men  of  the  State,  and  in  some  respects 
there  appears  to  be  less  animosity  between  the  different 
parties  in  medicine.  The  influence  of  the  Eclectic  physicians 
has  been  effectual  in  the  way  of  checking  effort  for  partisan 
legislation  ;  and  at  the  same  time  they  have  been  far  in 
advance  of  the  other  medical  organizations  in  demanding 
longer  terms  of  study  and  thorough  instruction  at  the  medi- 
cal colleges. 

*The  first  officers  were  representative  men  of  the  Eclectic  School.  Dr.  Isham  J. 
M.  Goss  was  president,  S.  T.  Biggers,  vice-president,  and  Hiram  J.  Hampton,  secre- 
tary. The  later  officers  have  been  men  of  equal  note  ;  the  Hon.  Fielding  T.  Powell 
having  been  president  for  several  terms,  and  William  M.  Durham,  secretary. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   75 1 

In  Alabama  the  history  of  Eclectic  Medicine  has  been 
marked  by  conflict  and  other  incidents  full  of  signifi- 
cance. The  war  between  the  States  and  the  unfortunate 
conditions  which  ensued,  had  gone  far  toward  annihilating 
the  animosities  between  physicians  of  the  different  Schools 
of  Practice.  Indeed,  in  several  of  the  counties  all  the 
practitioners  had  declared  themselves  Eclectics,  and  modi- 
fied their  treatment  accordingly.  As,  however,  there  was  no 
medical  college  convenient  of  access  that  gave  instructions 
in  the  doctrines  and  procedures  of  Reformed  Medicine, 
students  continued  to  attend  the  institutions  of  the  other 
School.  Besides  these,  there  were  many  physicians  who 
had  graduated  before  the  war  from  the  Botanic  Medical 
and  Reform  colleges,  who,  nevertheless,  were  affiliated  with 
the  dominant  party.  One  of  this  number  was  Dr.  Jerome 
Cochrane,  who  had  been  active  at  that  period  in  the  con- 
ventions and  controversies  of  the  Thomsonians.  He  had 
now  become  Health  Officer  of  the  State.  A  medical  enact- 
ment was  procured  from  the  General  Assembly  in  1877 
which  classified  physicians  as  Regular  and  Irregular,  and 
gave  the  entire  power  of  licensing  practitioners  to  the 
Board  of  Censors  of  the  County  Medical  Societies.  At  that 
time  there  were  no  societies  of  this  character  in  many  of  the 
counties,  but  the  effect  of  the  enactment  led  to  their  forma- 
tion, and  the  income  derived  from  the  fees  exacted  for 
examination  of  candidates  supported  them  in  existence.  It 
was  soon  found,  however,  that  many  of  these  examiners 
were  grossly  illiterate  and  unable  to  examine  a  candidate 
intelligently,  or  even  to  prepare  his  certificate.  In  order  to 
obviate  this  difficulty  changes  were  artfully  made  in  the 
statute  by  which  supreme  and  almost  absolute  power  was 
given  to  a  State  Board,  and  of  this  the  Health  Officer  was 
virtually  the  umpire.     It  issued  its  regulations  to  the  local 


752  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Boards  and  set  up  an  assumption  of  authority  which  was 
esteemed  as  arrogant  and  imperious.* 

The  first  resistance  was  encountered  from  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  of  Alabama.  This  Society  had  been 
formed  in  1884  by  the  late  Doctor  J.  W.  Raleigh  Williams, 
of  Opelika;  R.  J.  Thornton,  William  H.  Lamar  and  others 
of  like  sentiment.  It  at  once  proclaimed  its  hostility  to 
"  State  Religion,  State  Medicine  and  a  State  Medical 
Priestcraft."  A  Central  Protective  Committee  was  ap- 
pointed which  proceeded  to  test  the  validity  of  the  obnoxious 
provisions  of  the  medical  enactment.  As  an  immediate 
result  two  indictments  were  quashed  which  had  been  found 
against  members  of  the  Committee  in  order  to  be  made 
a  judicial  decision  including  the  constitutionality  of  the 
measure.  Afterward,  however,  in  1889,  a  suit  was  brought 
against  a  Homoeopathic  physician  who  had  refused  to 
undergo  an  examination,  and  the  Supreme  Court  at  Mobile 
ruled  unequivocally  that  he  had  violated  no  statute  that  would 
subject  him  to  criminal  prosecution.  This  decision  put  an 
end  to  further  prosecutions  of  recusant  physicians,  and  to  the 
enforcing  of  examinations  by  Boards  of  Censors  in  Alabama. 

The  statute  as  modified  prescribes  that  "  no  person  shall 
be  permitted  to  practice  any  irregular  system  of  medicine 
without  a  certificate  of  qualification  in  Anatomy,  Physiology, 
Chemistry  and  the  Mechanics  of  Labor,  from  some  one  of 
the  Boards  of  Censors  "  of  the  medical  societies  of  the 
dominant  School.  It  has  not  been  undertaken,  unless  the 
Courts  have  ventured  upon  it,  to  define  what  may  constitute 
an  "  irregular  system  of  Medicine." 

The  endeavor  was  made  in  1892  by  the  Eclectic  and 
Homoeopathic  physicians  acting  in  concert,  to  procure  from 


*It  was  said  that  Dr.  Cochrane  declared  the  diplomas  of  medical  colleges  to  be  merely 
"  door-mats." 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   753 

the  General  Assembly  a  radical  change  in  the  statute  itself. 
Their  purpose  was  to  secure  protection  from  invidious  perse- 
cution. It  failed,  however,  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
lacking  two  votes  of  the  necessary  majority.* 

The  Medical  Association  of  Alabama  proceeded  in  haste 
to  modify  its  position.  A  resolution  was  adopted  at  its 
next  session  to  hold  the  inhibitions  of  the  Code  of  Ethics 
as  set  forth  by  the  American  Medical  Association  to  be  no 
longer  obligatory,  and  the  offer  was  made  to  accept  as  regu- 
lar physicians  all  who  were  legal  practitioners  of  medicine. 
This  is  the  condition  of  membership  in  the  various  Inter- 
national Medical  Congresses  which  have  been  held  in 
Europe,  for  many  years  past. 

To  these  propositions  the  Secretary  of  the  Eclectic  Medi- 
cal Association  of  Alabama  made  the  following  reply  : 

"  Eclecticism  demands  to  be  her  own  umpire,  to  con- 
stitute the  sufficient  authority  for  her  own  licentiates,  to 
exercise  unquestioned  the  right  to  pursue  her  own  path, 
equal  before  the  law.  She  places  her  claims  by  the  side  of 
all  other  scientific  pursuits  ;  and  every  blow  that  she  strikes 
for  herself,  every  demand  that  she  makes,  is  a  blow  for  the 

FREEDOM  OF  EVERY  CITIZEN,  AND  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  SISTER- 
HOOD OF    LABOR." 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Arkansas  was  organ- 
ized in  1879.  ^^'  John  W.  Pruitt  of  Russellville  took  the 
lead  in  the  undertaking,  f  Another  organization  of  similar 
character  was  also  formed  through  the  efforts  of  the  late  Dr. 


*Dr.  Williams  declared  to  the  author  that  it  was  a  mistake  to  apply  for  any  enact- 
ment. If  they  had  made  the  effort  for  the  unconditional  repeal  of  the  medical  statute 
he  was  certain  that  it  would  have  been  accomplished.  "There  will  be  no  backward 
»tep,"  he  added.  But  the  brave  man's  career  was  arrested  at  the  opportune  moment. 
Dr.  Williams  died  on  the  third  day  of  January,  1874. 

tDoctor  Pruitt  was  a  graduate  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  in  1858,  and  be- 
came afterward  a  surgeon  in  the  Confederate  Army.  He  was  a  man  of  superior  energy, 
and  with  the  stalwart  character  of  the  pioneer  to  do  and  to  endure. 


754  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

M.  F.  Dumas.  The  two  united  and  soon  acquired  the 
dimensions  of  a  strong  and  effective  society.  The  medical 
conflict  in  the  State  had  been  a  severe  one,  and  it  was  in- 
trepidly fought.  The  advocates  of  medical  legislation  dis- 
tinctly avowed  their  purpose,  that  their  "  chief  aim  was  to 
organize  so  as  to  successfully  control  Eclectics  and  Homceo- 
pathics."  The  active  members  of  the  Eclectic  organization, 
Doctors  E.  H.  Stevenson,  A.  J.  Widener  and  others  were  on 
the  alert  to  meet  every  attempt.  The  bill  providing  for  a 
Board  of  Medical  Examiners,  exclusively  of  the  favored 
School,  was  repeatedly  introduced  and  defeated.  Senator 
Fishback,  afterward  Governor,  opposed  it  with  all  his 
energy.  It  was  the  purpose,  without  concealment,  to  drive 
the  Eclectic  physicians  from  the  State.  Finally,  in  1881,  an 
enactment  was  procured  creating  a  State  Board  of  Medical 
Examiners,  but  it  was  expressly  forbidden  to  discriminate 
between  the  Schools  of  Medicine.  This  deprived  them  of 
the  power  for  which  they  had  looked.  In  1895  the  Legis- 
lature passed  another  act,  placing  the  whole  business  of 
examining  physicians  in  the  hands  of  the  County  Courts. 
Governor  Fishback  refused  his  approval,  but  it  was  again 
passed  by  the  Legislature.  The  Courts  of  each  county 
were  authorized  to  appoint  a  Board  of  three  Examiners, 
two  of  whom  must  be  graduates  in  medicine.  No  School 
of  Practice  is  indicated  in  the  statute. 

In  other  respects  the  Eclectic  physicians  of  Arkansas 
have  been  very  fortunate.  They  maintain  their  numbers, 
and  many  of  them  possess  superior  literary  merit.  They 
publish  the  Transactions  of  their  Society  in  pamphlet,  and 
sustain  the  Southwestern  Medical  Jourjial. 

In  Texas  it  has  required  persistent  effort  to  establish  and 
maintain  an  organization  of  the  new  School.  The  dimen- 
sions of  the  State  are  too  large,  the  population  too  diversified, 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   755 

and  other  conditions  are  so  complicated  as  to  be  deterrent 
to  the  undertaking.  Hence,  with  veterans  like  Meredith  W. 
Henry,  David  Bath's  and  E.  W.  Aldrich,  years  passed  with- 
out an  attempt  at  organizing.  The  Constitution  of  the 
State  had  been  framed  with  a  provision  to  assure  equality 
of  rights  to  physicians,  declaring  in  express  terms,  that 
"  no  laws  shall  be  made  giving  any  School  of  Medicine  the 
advantage  over  another."  A  bill  was  enacted  by  the 
Legislature  in  1879  authorizing  the  appointment  in  every 
judicial  district  of  a  Board  of  Medical  Examiners,  who 
should  be  graduates  of  a  college  approved  by  the  American 
Medical  Association,  but  they  were  prohibited  from  any 
partisan  discrimination.  The  feeling  among  the  physicians 
desiring  legislation  is  very  warm  against  those  of  the 
Eclectic  and  Homoeopathic  Schools,  and  this  enactment 
was  not  sufficient  for  their  purpose.  An  attempt  was  made 
in  1884  to  procure  a  statute  for  the  creation  of  a  State 
Board  of  Censors,  composed  of  members  of  the  Texas 
Medical  Association.  It  was  proposed  to  invest  this  Board 
with  full  powers  to  decide  upon  the  qualifications  of  candi- 
dates, and  to  license  practitioners  of  Medicine.  It  did  not 
pass,  but  it  served  to  warn  physicians  of  the  weaker  Schools 
that  they  must  act  together  to  enable  eflectual  resistance  to 
encroachments  upon  their  professional  rights.  A  meeting 
was  held  at  Dallas  the  ensuing  winter,  at  which  was  formed 
"  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Texas."  For  several 
years  it  did  not  seem  to  prosper,  and  barely  maintained  its 
existence.  Presently,  however,  a  new  impulse  was  im- 
parted, and  it  began  to  exhibit  abundant  evidence  of  vital 
energy.  The  attendance  at  the  meetings,  the  papers  there 
read  and  discussed,  and  afterward  published,  afford  gratify- 
ing testimony  of  steady  advancement  in  professional  skill 
and  scholarship. 


756  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

The  professional  animosities,  however,  still  exist  in  all 
acerbity.  The  members  of  the  Texas  Medical  Association, 
unable  to  disfranchise  and  drive  away  the  Eclectic  physi- 
cians, but  compelled  by  law  to  regard  them  as  equals,  have 
concerted  together  to  withhold  those  courtesies  which 
characterize  the  manners  and  relations  of  good  breeding. 
Such  things,  however,  are  only  for  a  season,  and  will  ulti- 
mately be  superseded  by  good  sense. 

In  Tennessee,  as  in  many  other  States,  the  cause  of 
Reformed  Medicine  has  displayed  the  kaleidoscopic  phases 
incident  to  an  organization  that  has  been  subject  at  different 
periods  to  varying  influences.  The  Botanico-Medical 
College  and  the  Memphis  Medical  Institute  had  already, 
before  the  breaking  out  of  war  in  1861,  supplied  physicians 
to  every  part  of  the  State,  whose  skill  and  success  as 
practitioners  won  favor  and  popularity  for  the  New  School. 
The  tendencies  of  military  conditions,  however,  made  it 
possible  in  Tennessee,  as  in  the  other  States,  to  procure 
aggressive  legislation,  that  was  before  impractable  where 
the  instinct  of  liberty  was  keener  and  predominant.  The 
feeling  became  active  in  various  quarters  "  that  the  Eclectics 
and  Homoeopathists  ought  to  be  suppressed  by  law." 
Accordingly,  the  attempt  was  made  year  by  year  in  the 
General  Assembly  to  procure  the  enactment  of  a  bill  to 
regulate  the  practice  of  medicine  by  placing  it  under  the 
control  of  the  Tennessee  Medical  Association.  Then  the 
pretext,  so  frivolous  and  substantially  untrue,  was  put  in 
circulation  that  the  medical  enactments  of  other  States  were 
inducing  unqualified  practitioners  to  migrate  into  Tennessee. 
The  Eclectic  physicians  were  long  able  to  exercise  influence 
to  defeat  the  various  attempts.*     They  were  slow,  however, 

*  "  A  few  of  us,"  says  Dr.  W.  H.  Halbert  in  1885,  "  a  few  made  a  fight  against  medi- 
cal  legislation  in   this  State,  and  will  continue  to  do  so.     I  had  a  copy  of  Professor 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.  757 

to  perceive  the  importance  of  organization.  The  Tennessee 
Eclectic  Medical  Society  was  formed  in  1877,  but  for 
several  years  sustained  only  a  precarious  existence.  It 
seems  to  have  imposed  as  a  test  the  acceptance  of  the 
doctrine  of  Specific  Medication,  and  many  Reformed 
physicians  held  aloof.  The  c.ifficulties  were  finally  obviated, 
and  the  necessity  for  organized  action  was  more  generally 
recognized.  The  Society  was  incorporated  in  1887,  and 
afterward  exhibited  greater  activity. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Kentucky  was 
organized  in  1882,  and  for  several  years  displayed  much 
energy.  There  was  also  a  City  Society  at  Louisville,  but  't 
has  long  since  ceased  to  hold  meetings.  In  1890  action 
was  begun  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  West 
Kentucky  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  and  since  that  time  a 
State  organization  has  been  brought  into  existence.  It  was 
formed  at  Paducah  in  1897,  and  has  an  increasing  member- 
ship, chiefly  in  the  western  counties  of  the  State. 

There  have  been  several  organizations  in  West  Virginia, 
which  existed  for  a  time,  and  then  disappeared.  A  Society 
was  formed  at  Brownstown  in  October,  1870,  of  which  Dr. 
Daniel  Mayer  of  Charlestown  was  president.  It  promptly 
affiliated  with  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
which  had  been  set  on  foot  at  Philadelphia  by  Dr.  John 
Buchanan,  and  shared  its  fate.  In  1893  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Association  of  West  Virginia  was  organized,  and  immediate- 
ly began  to  rally  to  action  the  practitioners  of  the  State.  It 
bids  fair  to  become  an  important  factor  in  future  years. 

The  Oregon  Eclectic  Medical  Society  was  organized  at 
Salem  on  the  fourth  day  of  September,  1890.  It  has  not  a 
numerous  membership,  but  the  physicians  are  in  the  prime 

King's  address  (of  1884)  placed  in  the  hands  of  every  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
also  sent  a  copy  to  each  of  our  Supreme  Judges." 


758  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

of  life,  active  and  resolute.  It  is  growing  steadily  in  numbers 
and  influence,  and  the  future  prospects  are  encouraging. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  the  State  of  Wash- 
ington was  also  formed  in  1890.  Its  efforts  were  greatly 
impeded  by  the  financial  depression  of  subsequent  years, 
which  fell  with  special  severity  upon  the  inhabitants  of  that 
State,  and  led  many  physicians  to  remove  elsewhere.  The 
distance,  likewise,  between  their  residences  operated  to  deter 
from  attendance  at  the  meetings,  and  the  Association 
languished.  A  new  impulse,  however,  has  arisen,  and  there 
is  now  abundant  evidence  of  renewed  activity. 

The  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Colorado  was  also 
organized  in  1890,  and  duly  represented  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  at 
Hot  Springs  in  Arkansas.  For  two  years  it  appeared  to  be 
in  a  flourishing  condition,  but  it  succumbed  to  the  financial 
depression  of  1893.  A  flourishing  City  Society  of  Denver 
yielded  likewise  before  the  same  storm. 

The  Eclectic  physicians  of  Utah  organized  in  1892,  be- 
fore Utah  had  become  a  member  of  the  American  Union. 
The  Eclectic  Medical  Society  was  duly  incorporated  on  the 
fourteenth  day  of  March,  and  immediately  encountered  the 
hostility  of  the  other  School.  A  statute  was  enacted  by  the 
Legislature  creating  a  Board  of  Examiners.  Prosecutions 
were  immediately  begun  against  the  Eclectic  physicians, 
while  others  were  passed  over  unnoticed.  The  diplomas  of 
the  Eclectic  .Medical  Institute  and  other  Eclectic  Medical 
Colleges  were  rejected  by  the  Board  as  fraudulent  and  of  no 
value.  The  conflict  was  carried  on  in  the  Courts  for  some 
time,  and  finally  the  Society  closed  its  career. 

A  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society  was  also  organized 
in  South  Dakota,  and  incorporated,  in  June,  1891,  It 
continued  in  active  operation  several  years,  but  under 
adverse  conditions,    and    finally   ceased  to    hold    meetings. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.   759 

There  has  also  been  an  Eclectic  Medical  Society  for 
several  years  at  the  National  capitol.  Doctors  Thomas  A. 
Bland  and  Magnus  L.  Julihn  were  its  first  officers.  When 
the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  met  at  Washing- 
ton in  1876,  there  was  but  a  single  physician  in  affiliation 
with  it  in  the  city  ;  but  a  change  was  effected,  and  through 
the  great  energy  of  Dr.  Bland,  an  effective  organization  was 
brought  about.  It  made  full  sway  of  its  influence  by  an 
effectual  resistance  to  proposed  Congressional  legislation  to 
regulate  the  practice  of  medicine  by  placing  the  Eclectic 
and  Homobopathic  practitioners  under  the  supervision  of 
their  adversaries.  The  present  statute  gives  an  equal 
opportunity  to  all  Schools.  The  partisan  lines  are  closely 
drawn  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  as  was  shown  at  the 
International  Medical  Congress  in  1887,  and  it  will  require 
fortitude,  persistence  and  profound  conviction  to  sustain 
a  movement  beside  an  establishment  rooted  in  political  as 
well  as  social  conditions.  What  has  been  done  was  bravely 
done. 

There  are  as  yet  no  organization  of  Eclectic  physicians  in 
the  other  States  and  Territories,  of  the  American  Republic, 
namely :  Al  iska,  Arizona,  Delaware,  Florida,  Hawaii, 
Idaho,  Louisiana,  Maryland,  Mississippi,  Montana,  Nevada, 
New  Mexico,  North  Carolina,  North  Dakota,  Oklahoma, 
Rhode  Island,  South  Carolina,  Virginia,  Wyoming.  In 
several  of  these,  the  organizing  of  Societies  may  be  a  matter 
of  time  only,  but  in  others  it  is  very  improbable. 

The  project  of  forming  Medical  Societies  for  districts 
including  several  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  has  been 
several  times  entertained.  The  early  Botanic  physicians 
had  a  New  England  Association,  in  which  the  late  Calvin 
Newton  and  others  in  affiliation  with  him,  were  active 
members.     There  was  also  a  Southern  Association,  embrac- 


760  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

ing  the  States  south  of  Pennsylvania.  There  are  now  a 
Mississippi  Valley  Medical  Association,  and  also  several 
Homoeopathic  Medical  Societies  of  this  character.  It  has 
been  proposed  several  times  to  form  Eclectic  Medical  Or- 
ganizations in  the  same  style,  for  the  States  of  the  Pacific 
Slope,  those  of  the  Southwest,  and  in  the  North. 

The  New  England  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  how- 
ever, is  the  only  project  of  the  kind  that  has  come  into 
actual  operation.  It  was  formed  at  the  State  House  in 
Montpelier  on  the  sixth  day  of  June,  1895.  Dr.  Wilbur  F. 
Templeton  of  New  Hampshire,  was  elected  president,  and 
H.N.  Waite,  secretary.  The  Association  was  incorporated 
by  the  Legislature  of  Vermont  in  November,  1896,  naming 
as  charter  members.  Doctors  Herschel  N.  Waite  of  John- 
son, and  Henry  J.  Potter  of  Bennington,  Vermont;  William 
E.  Fleet  of  Cambridge  and  Frederick  Wallace  Abbott  of 
Taunton,  Massachusetts  ;  Darius  L.  Powe  of  Providence, 
Rhode  Island  ;  Stephen  B.  Munn  of  Waterbury  and  Jona- 
than D.  S.  Smith  of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut ;  William  C. 
Hatch  and  Theophilus  J.  Batchelder  of  Machias,  Maine. 
The  Association  has  met  regularly  in  the  different  States, 
and  is  an  important  factor  in  Eclectic  Medicine  in  the  East. 
It  has  now  under  consideration  the  establishing  of  a  Medical 
College. 

The  number  of  Eclectic  physicians  in  the  United  States 
can  hardly  be  estimated  with  more  than  proximate  accu- 
racy. Many  who  profess  to  belong  to  the  Eclectic  School 
make  use  of  the  medicines  and  procedures  employed  by 
practitioners  of  other  Schools,  ignoring  more  or  less  those 
which  are  set  forth  in  Eclectic  publications ;  and  many  who 
are  identified  with  the  rival  Schools  have  adopted  more 
or  less  the  Eclectic  procedures  and  medicines,  often  after 
classing  these  as  having  been  originally  introduced  by  their 


ECLECTIC    MEDICAL    COLLEGES    AND    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.  76 1 

own  associates.  These  facts  make  it  less  easy  to  distinguish. 
Many,  besides,  who  have  been  instructed  in  Eclectic  medical 
colleges  are  reckoned  and  recorded  as  belonging  to  other 
Schools  of  Practice ;  some  from  having  changed  their  senti- 
ments, and  others  for  reasons  of  a  different  character,  It 
has  been  quite  common  to  enumerate  Eclectic  physicians  at 
as  high  a  rate  as  fourteen  thousand ;  but  a  critical  compu- 
tation by  Dr.  John  K.  Scudder  gives  the  following  numbers 
of  the  respective  Schools,  namely:  Old-School,  73,028; 
Eclectic,  9,703;  Homoeopathic,  8,640;  Physio-Medical, 
1,553.  O^  course,  as  few  comparatively  have  the  esprit  de 
corps,  or  professional  enthusiasm  requisite  for  the  purpose, 
only  a  limited  number  is  enrolled  in  the  various  organiza- 
tions, or  taking  interest  in  any  form  of  associate  action. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


BOTANIC   AND    ECLECTIC    MEDICINE    IN    ENGLAND. 

To  Nicholas  Culpepper  must  be  accorded  the  distinction 
of  having  been  among  the  first  to  propound  a  system  of 
Herbal  Medication  in  England.  His  treatise,  "  The  Eriglish 
Physician,^''  contained  a  full  description  of  the  medicinal 
plants  common  and  indigenous  in  the  British  Islands,  with 
their  specific  virtues.  It  is  really  a  treatise  upon  "  Simples" 
or  domestic  remedies,  as  it  has  been  common  to  designate 
vegetable  medicines.  Many  of  these  are  well  known  also  in 
the  United  States,  having  been  brought  over  by  emigrants 
and  traders. 

One  feature  in  this  book  presents  a  curious  appearance  in 
these  our  later  days.  The  planet  and  the  astral  "  house  " 
to  which  the  plant  belonged  were  given  as  an  essential 
fact.  This  was  an  important  matter  at  that  time.  It  should 
be  remembered  that  from  the  earliest  ages  of  which  we  have 
any  trace  or  record,  astrology  had  been  considered  as  an 
indispensable  adjunct  to  medical  learning,  and  that  it  was 
taught  accordingly  to  students  of  Medicine  at  all  the  univer- 
sities of  Europe.  "  Medicine  is  in  t!ie  power  of  the  stars, 
and  is  ruled  and  protected  by  them,"  says  Hohenheim. 
From  Hippokrates  to  Kircher,  Huyghens,  Bacon,  Tycho 
Brahe  and  Keppler,  this  belief  was  entertained.  The 
prevalence  of  such  notions  is  exhibited  in  many  of  our  com- 
mon words,  like  aspect,  ascendent,  consider,  conteynplate,  dis- 
aster, jovial,    venereal,    mercurial,    martial,  saturnine.     Cul- 


BOTANIC    AND    ECLECTIC    MEDICINE    IN    ENGLAND.       763 

pepper  was  skilled  in  Alchemy,  and  in  occult  as  well  as  medi- 
cal learning. 

The  first  edition  of  his  work  was  published  in  London  in 
1650,  and  it  has  been  several  times  reprinted.  It  met  with 
very  general  favor  among  all  classes,  and  had  a  great  in- 
fluence not  only  in  enabling  the  "  plain  people  "  to  care  for 
those  about  them  with  remedies  that  were  both  safe  and 
effective,  but  also  toward  the  forming  of  a  School  of  Practi- 
tioners who  employed  Herbal  remedies  exclusively. 

Culpepper  by  no  means  confined  his  labor  to  the  exposition 
of  a  vegetable  Materia  Medica.  He  likewise  published 
books  on  the  Anatomy  of  the  Body  of  Man,  with  illustrations, 
a  translation  of  The  Netv  Dispensatory*  a  Directory  for  Medi- 
cines, and  Galen's  Art  of  Physic,  with  comments.  He  was, 
as  will  be  perceived,  a  liberal  scholar  as  well  as  a  broad 
thinker. 

Doctor  Woodward,  a  physician  of  London,  also  published 
a  treatise  in  1718,  entitled;  The  State  of  Physic  and  of 
Diseases,  which  embraced  a  field  similar  to  that  of  Samuel 
Thomson's  Guide  of  a  century  later.  It  was  widely  circu- 
lated, and  was  highly  esteemed.  Botanic  Gardens  came 
into  favor,  and  we  find  one  mentioned  in  the  ninth  edition 
of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  which  was  maintained  and 
cultivated  by  a  lady  named  Elizabeth  Blackwell. 

Indeed,  Botanic  physicians  were  sufficiently  numerous  in 
England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  to  attract  respectful  at- 
tention. Doctor  Thornton  gained  a  wide  popularity  in  and 
around  London.  A  student  of  his.  Dr.  John  B.  Howell, 
emigrated  to  America  in    1793   and  introduced  the  Botanic 

*iMedical  books,  as  well  as  the  lectures  in  the  universities,  were  in  Latin.  One  of 
the  leading  accusations  against  Paracelsus  was,  that  he,  by  teaching  medicine  iii  the 
common  speech  of  the  people,  profaned  its  mysteries.  At  this  period  messes  were 
administered  containing  as  many  as  four  hundred  ingredients;  remedies  that  only  the 
imagination  would  suggest,  things  odious,  abominable,  unmentionable,  flesh  of  vipers, 
powder  of  dead  men's  bones,  excrement  of  men  and  animals, and  other  abhorrent  things 
that  we  cannot  easily  believe. 


764  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

practice  at  Philadelphia.  He  was  active  in  the  dissemina- 
ting of  his  views,  and  under  his  influence  the  "  Pennsyl- 
vania Society  of  Botanic  Physicians  "  was  organized.  He 
was  several  times  its  president,  and  Doctor  Thomas  Cooke, 
the  founder  of  the  Eclectic  Botanic  Society  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
his  student. 

The  foothold  which  had  been  thus  gained  in  England 
was  never  lost,  and  the  medical  conflict  was  "  bequeathed 
from  sire  to  son,"  and  never  abandoned.  Early  in  the 
Nineteenth  Century  the  "  Medico-Botanical  Society "  was 
formed  in  London,  of  which  Earl  Stanhope  and  other 
noblemen  and  men  of  rank  were  ofhcers  and  patrons. 
Members  of  the  Royal  Family  shared  in  the  partiality  for 
innocuous  medication.  Queen  Victoria,  herself,  made  Sir 
James  Clark,  a  medical  recusant,  her  chief  physician,  per- 
sistently resisting  the  endeavors  of  the  others  to  relegate 
him  to  a  subordinate  place ;  and  Sir  John  Forbes,  likewise  a 
professed  disbeliever  in  the  Old  Practice,  was  appointed 
physician  to  the  Royal  Household.  The  dominant  Medical 
School,  however,  was  too  strongly  united  to  prevent  any 
radical  reform  in  dogma  or  procedures,  as  later  parliament- 
ary legislation  has  shown  ;  but  the  more  thoughtful  and 
intelligent  among  all  classes  of  the  population  are  strongly 
prepossessed  in  favor  of  the  simpler  and  safer  methods.  A 
policy  of  prosecutions  and  persecutions  had  been  adopted, 
together  with  the  medical  boycott,  in  order  to  crush  the 
Reform  practitioners  by  penalties  and  spoliation  of  goods ; 
but  such  measures  savor  too  strongly  of  the  old  barbarism 
to  be  long  tolerable  in  any  civilized  community. 

The  late  Dr.  A.  J.  Coffin  has  the  credit  of  having  first 
introduced  the  American  Botanic  Practice  of  Medicine  into 
England.     He  graduated  as  a    physician    in    London,   and 


BOTANIC    AND    ECLECTIC    MEDICINE    IN    ENGLAND.         7^5 

emigrated  to  the  United  States  about  the  year  1830.  He 
made  his  residence  at  Troy,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  for 
seven  years.  During  this  period  he  made  hims3lf  famiUar 
with  the  doctrines  and  procedures  of  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson, 
and  was  on  cordial  terms  with  his  son.  Dr.  John  Thomson, 
and  with  the  late  Amos  Dean  and  Dr.  James  Hall,  the  dis- 
tinguished naturalist  of  Albany. 

Returning  to  England  he  began  to  promulgate  the 
Botanic  Medical  Practice,  as  though  it  had  been  discovered 
and  originated  by  himself.  He  published  several  books  to 
sustain  his  views,  assuming  for  himself  the  title  and  dis- 
tinction of  "  Founder  of  Medical  Botany  in  England."  His 
works  passed  through  many  editions,  some  of  them  as  many 
as  twenty,  and  were  translated  into  other  languages  for 
general  circulation  in  Europe.  He  made  use  of  the  Thom- 
sonian  medicines,  and  explained  their  virtues,  but  refrained 
from  giving  the  name  of  any  physician  or  writer  belonging 
to  the  Botanic  School.*  He  cited  the  affirmation  of 
Hippokrates,  that  the  primitive  type  of  all  diseases  is  one 
and  the  same ;  and  reiterated  the  sharp  utterance  of  William 
Cobbett  respecting  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  that  he  "  by  bleed- 
ing, cured  his  patients  for  there  were  none  left  to  tell." 
He  likewise  affirmed  his  own  conviction  that  contagion  is 
entirely  innocuous.  Dr.  Coffin  was  very  successful  in  the 
disseminating  of  his  views,  in  the  raising  of  public  attention 
to  them  and  in  gaining  numerous  disciples  in  all  the  prin- 
cipal towns. 

Dr.  John  Skelton  was  another  champion  of  Botanic 
Practice.  He  was  a  man  of  greater  scholarship,  energetic, 
outspoken  and  resolute.     After  some  years  of  contention,  he 

•Dr  Coffin  denounced  the  drugs  calomel  and  antimony  with  a  warmth  characteristic 
of  the  American  Botanic  practitioners,  and  enumerated  as  proper  remedies  Cayenne 
pepper,  ginger,  yarrow,  vervain,  pennyroyal,  Lobelia,  "  composition  powder," 
agrimony,  ground  ivy,  red  raspberry,  bog  b^an,  horehound,  centaury,  barberry,  etc. 


766  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

graduated  at  the  age  of  forty  from  the  College  of  Sur- 
geons, retaining  at  the  same  time  inflexibly  his  devotion 
to  the  new  doctrines.  He  inculcated  them  by  voice  and 
pen,  publishing  them  in  book  form  in  a  treatise  upon  "  The 
Science  and  Art  of  Medicine.''''  His  contributions  to  medi- 
cal literature,  his  superior  learning  and  professional  skill, 
served  a  valuable  purpose  in  exalting  the  New  School  to 
higher  favor  and  social  position.  Dr.  Coffin,  however,  re- 
garded him  as  a  rival  and  competitor  ;  and  their  contribu- 
tions led,  unfortunately,  to  the  dividing  of  their  adherents 
into  two  antagonistic  parties. 

The  American  Reformed  Practice  of  Medicine  was  intro- 
duced into  England  by  Dr.  Wooster  Beach  himself  in  1848. 
Dr.  Beach  paid  several  visits  to  that  country,  journeying  to 
the  principal  towns  and  delivering  public  lectures.  His 
works  were  extensively  sold  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

At  Litchfield,  in  Staffordshire,  he  met  with  an  enthusi- 
astic admirer,  Thomas  Simmons,  the  son  of  a  Scotch  sur- 
geon, a  young  man  of  rare  courage  and  ardent  zeal.  Young 
Simmons  immediately  devoted  his  money  to  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  new  doctrines,  actually  compiling  and  publishing 
at  his  own  expense  a  compend  of  Dr.  Beach's  works  which 
should  be  acceptable  to  English  readers.* 

From  this  time  the  sale  of  American  Eclectic  publications 
became  more  extensive,  and  the  works  of  Dr.  Beach,  John 
Buchanan,  William  Paine,  John  M.  Scudder,  John  King  and 

*  The  British  and  Atnerica?!  Reformed  Practice  of  Afedicine ,  embracing  a  treatise 
on  the  Causes,  Symptoms  and  Treatment  of  Diseases  Generally,  on  Eclectic  Principles, 
and  including  a  Synopsis  of  Physiolog\'  and  Midwifery.  Illustrated  with  Colored 
Plates.     By  W.  Beach,  M.  D.,  Birmingham,  iSsg. 

Dr.  Simmons  came  to  America  in  i^/i\,  and  received  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine from  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania.  He  enlisted  in  the  U. 
S.  Navy,  and  afterward  made  his  home  in  Canada,  finally  removing  to  Hartford,  in 
Connecticut,  in  1S76..  He  was  a  zealous  Radical,  and  was  personally  familiar  with 
John  Stuart  ?>[ill,  Harriet  Martineau,  Eliza  Cook,  William  Cobbett  and  others  in 
England, and  with  the  late  Dr.  Edward  McGlynn  in  America.  He  opposed  privilege 
in  politics,  and  restrictive   legislation   in  Medicine.     Dr.  Simmons  died  at  Hartford  in 


BOTANIC    AND    ECLECTIC    MEDICINE    IN    ENGLAND.       767 

the  Physio-Medical  authors  were  supplied  to  Eclectic  and 
Reform  practitioners  of  every  shade  of  sentiment.  The 
seed  bore  fruit,  and  in  1862  the  British  Medical  Reform 
Association  was  organized.  Its  presidents,  Doctors  Skel- 
ton,  Trumbull,  Hitchman,*  Blunt  and  others  were  dis- 
tinguished by  their  literary  and  scientific  attainments.  The 
meetings  w^re  held  annually  at  the  principal  towns  of  Eng- 
land. 

The  endeavor  was  made,  likewise,  to  diffuse  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  New  School  among  the  people  of  the  United 
Kingdom  by  means  of  tracts,  monographs  and  other  pub- 
lications. T\\&  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  vi^L^  begun  in  1864 
by  Dr.  F.  White,  and  after  its  discontinuance  The  New  Era 
of  Eclecticism  was  issued  in  1869,  Doctor  Trumbull  and 
Dr.  George  Sexton  serving  in  turn  as  editors.  The  views 
of  this  Association  were  radical  ;  mineral  remedies  being 
generally  eschewed,  the  use  of  anaesthetics  deprecated  as 
destructive  to  life,  and  vaccination  denounced  as  not  only 
itself  useless  to  prevent  disease,  but  as  being  itself  a  dis- 
seminating of  morbid  conditions. 

The  endeavor  was  made  in  1873  ^^  establish  an  Eclectic 
Medical  College  in    London,  including  both    Homoeopathy 

*  Dr.  William  Hitchman  was  a  graduate  of  Erlangen  University  in  Bavaria,  the 
alma  mater  of  Samuel  Hahnemann.  He  was  a  native  of  North  Leach,  in  Gloucester- 
shire, and  received  the  usual  instruction,  beginning  as  an  apprentice  to  a  physician, 
then  becoming  a  student  at  the  Fairfield  Asylum  for  the  Insane,  a  pupil  at  Guy's 
Hospital,  and  licentiate  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons.  He  then  became  i^clectic, 
advocating  Homoeopathy,  Water  Cure  and  Botanic  remedies.  Finally  going  to  the 
Continent,  and  visiting  several  universities,  he  graduated  in  1851.  He  was  a  member 
of  several  learned  bodies  in  England,  and  on  the  Continent,  and  also  an  incessant 
writer  for  the  Radical  press.  In  his  Address  in  1873,  when  president  of  the  British 
Medical  Reform  Association,  he  declared  his  views  as  follows  : 

"  Tlie  cultured  society  of  an  intelligent  nation  shall  yet  seek  and  find  the  Faculty  of 
Universal  Medicine  by  and  through  a  wise  legislature,  equal  laws,  equal  rights,  equal 
privileges,  equal  liberties,  and  last  but  not  least,  equal  duties.  Great  men  have  been 
glorious  exceptions  to  the  rules  of  bigotry,  custom  and  prejudice,  even  in  orthodox 
Physic.  Robert  Lister,  the  greatest  surgeon  of  modern  times,  told  me  himself  that  he 
was  an  Homoeopathist  ;  Sir  John  Forbes,  I  can  personally  testify,  was  an  Eclectic  ;  Sir 
James  Clark,  like  Herbert  Mayo,  was  an  Hydropathist,  and  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  advo- 
cated Medical  Freedom." 

Dr.  Hitchman  died  in  1883.  He  and  the  author  were  regular  correspondents  on 
ethical  and  philosophic  subjects. 


768  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

and  Hydropathy  in  its  curriculum,  as  well  as  Eclectic 
Medicine.  A  staff  of  instructors  was  appointed,  but  for 
want  of  support  the  enterprise  went  no  further. 

A  few  years  later  the  Herbalists  gained  control  of  the 
Association.  Many  of  them  were  holders  of  purchased 
degrees.*  Dr.  Hitchman  and  others  withdrew  from  further 
participation.  The  name  of  the  organization  was  changed, 
and  it  became  "  The  National  Assocaition  of  Medical 
Herbalists,"  a  name  which  it  has  retained. 

Later,  however,  the  Eclectic  practitioners  renewed  their 
endeavors,  and  formed  a  new  association  by  the  name  of 
"  The  Eclectic  School  of  Medicine."  Mr.  John  Simmons,  of 
Hyde,  the  general  secretary  of  the  organization,  began  the 
publication  of  a  monthly  periodical,  "  The  Eclectic  Practi- 
tioner." The  Association  sent  one  of  its  founders.  Dr. 
Joseph  R.  Hughes,  of  Oakham,  as  its  representative  to  the 
World's  Congress  Auxiliary  of  Eclectic  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  at  Chicago  in  1893.  He  received  a  fraternal 
welcome  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings. 

ECLECTIC    MEDICINE    IN    THE    BRITISH    POSSESSIONS. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  the  Eclectic  propaganda  there 
was  an  Eclectic  Medical  organization  in  Canada,  and  it 
gave  gratifying  evidence  of  a  prosperous  career.  The 
Dominion  had  not  then  been  established.  There  was  a 
Medical  Board  in  the  upper  province,  now  Ontario,  and  a 
Medical  Society  respectable  both  in  numbers  and  in- 
fluence. The  practitioners  were  chiefly  graduates  from 
the    colleges  in  Philadelphia   and    New  York,   and  several 

*  Dr.  Prince  A.  Morrow,  while  a  trustee  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  in  New 
York,  visited  England  and  the  Continent.  He  told  the  author  that  a  prominent 
Herbalist  proposed  a  negotiation  with  him  for  the  degrees  of  that  institution.  The  same 
year,  1872,  the  British  Medical  Journal gavt  an  account  of  some  diploma-selling  other 
than  the  usual  traffic  in  degrees  in  absence.  A  diploma  from  a  New  York  College, 
duly  attested  by  the  examiners  and  official  seal,  was  exhibited  in  the  College  of  Surgeons 
in  Loadon.  On  careful  examination  it  was  found  that  the  names  were  all  forgeries  and 
lithographic  fac-similes. 


ECLECTIC    MEDICINE    IN    THE    BRITISH    POSSESSIONS.      769 

of  them  were  men  of  superior  worth.  Matters  went  on  well 
with  them  till  after  the  close  of  the  war  in  the  United 
States.  Then,  as  if  by  concert,  legislation  became  more 
stringent  and  the  administration  oppressive,  finally  result- 
ing in  the  entire  suppression  of  the  Eclectic  School  of 
Practice  in  the  Dominion. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  the  Reform 
Practice  in  several  of  the  British  Colonies  in  the  East.  Dr. 
John  Broadbent  of  Melbourne,  in  Australia,  carried  on  the 
work  for  years,  encountering  hostility,  and  even  persecution. 
He  published  a  monthly  periodical.  The  Botanic  Practitiojier, 
to  defend  and  disseminate  his  views.  It  was  a  publication 
of  merit  and  ability. 

In  1868  a  medical  class  of  women  was  established  at 
Nynce  Tal,  in  India,  by  the  Rev.  Doctor  Humphrey  of 
the  American  Mission.  The  Pundit  Nanda  Kiswara  de- 
frayed the  expenses  for  two  years.  The  Government  also 
extended  its  favor  to  the  enterprise,  placing  the  female  ward 
of  the  hospital  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Humphrey 

PROSCRIPTION. 

It  cannot  be  truthfully  affirmed  that  American  Reform  or 
Eclectic  Medicine,  or  even  the  British  auxiliary  movements, 
find  hospitality,  fair  opportunity,  or  even  common  toleration 
in  the  British  Empire.  Numerous  have  been  the  bills  for 
medical  legislation  which  have  been  pressed  upon  the  at- 
tention of  the  Imperial  Parliament,  having  sections  in  them 
and  clauses  proscribing  Herbal  and  Eclectic  practitioners. 
Again  and  again  have  delegations  from  the  practitioners  who 
were  thus  assailed,  waited  upon  the  presidents  of  the  Privy 
Council,  from  the  days  of  Lord  Palmerston  till  the  present 
time,  to  secure  the  rejection  of  the  proposed  measures. 

The  leading  publicists    and  the  foremost  men  of  science 


49 


770  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

have,  as  with  one  voice,  added  their  testimony  in  behalf  of 
Freedom  in  Medicine.  The  late  Professor  Thomas  H. 
Haxley  wrote  as  follows  :  "  A  large  number  of  people  seem 
to  be  of  the  opinion  that  the  State  is  bound  to  take  care  of 
the  general  public  and  see  that  it  is  protected  against  in- 
competent persons  and  quacks.  I  do  not  take  this  view.  I 
think  it  is  much  more  wholesome  for  the  public  to  take  care 
of  itself  in  this,  as  in  other  matters." 

Professor  Francis  W,  Newman,  of  Oxford,  standing  at  the 
head  of  English  scholarship,  made  this  declaration,  which 
involves  the  whole  morality  of  the  question :  "  To  enact  a 
Medical  Creed  or  commend  a  medical  process  is  usurpation 
—  not  legitimate  legislation." 

Mr.  Gladstone  also  expressed  himself  with  equal  dis- 
tinctness :  "  A  man  ought  to  be  as  free  to  select  his 
physician  as  his  blacksmith,  for  he  alone  is  to  profit  or  suffer 
by  his  choice.     The  responsibility  is  his." 

Nevertheless  Parliamentary  legislation  has  become  more 
arbitrary  and  inquisitiorial,  and  the  power  to  harry  and 
prosecute  has  been  granted  and  exercised,  as  in  the  old 
days  of  religious  bigotry,  to  the  sharp  point  of  persecution. 
Statutes  frequently  create  offenses,  as  well  as  restrain  from 
actual  wrong  doing,  and  it  is  often  apparent  that  only 
lawyers  and  privileged  individuals  derive  much  advantage 
from  legislation.  In  England,  where  there  had  been  no 
complaint  of  gross  ignorance  or  malpractice,  there  have 
been  numerous  arrests  and  imprisonments,  for  the  evident 
purpose  of  gratifying  spite  and  rivalry. 

The  medical  authorities  appear  to  excel  the  political  in 
their  intolerance  and  professional  malignity.  The  Golden 
Rule,  the  law  of  charity,  which  is  often  cited  as  the  essential 
of    Christian    civilization,    seems  to    have    been   absolutely 


MEDICAL    LEGISLATION    IN    ENGLAND    AND    AMERICA.      771 

abrogated.*  It  is  not  easy  for  men  of  limited  pecuniary 
resources  to  support  medical  schools  while  they  are  thus 
constantly  exposed  to  legal  persecution  and  spoliation. 

All  the  while  the  New  Remedies,  the  product  of  discovery 
by  Eclectic  and  Reform  physicians,  and  of  manufactories  of 
Eclectic  medicines,  are  imported  and  extensively  used  in 
medical  practice,  while  the  persons  who  discovered  and  first 
introduced  them  are  superciliously  ignored  by  British  pub- 
lications, and  honorable  mention  of  them  carefully  withheld.! 

MEDICAL    LEGISLATION    IJST    ENGLAND    AND    AMERICA, 

In  1 41 6  the  physicians  of  London  petitioned  King  Henry 
V.  to  this  effect :  "  That  no  man  of  no  maner,  estate,  de- 
gree, or  condicion,  practyse  in  Fisik,  from  this  time  forward, 
bot  he  have  long  time  yused  the  Scoles  of  Fisyk  withynne 
som  Universitee,  and  be  graduated  in  the  same ;  that  is  to 
say,  bot  he  be  Bacheler  or  Doctour  of  Fisyk,  having  Letters 
testimonialx  suffientz  of  on  of  those  degrees  of  the 
Universite  in  the  whiche  he  take  his  degree  yn ;  under 
payne  of  long  imprisonment  and  paynge  xi.  //.  to  the 
Kynge ;  and  that  no  Woman  use  the  practyse  of  Fisyk 
undre  the  same  payne." 

At  the  time  when  this  petition  was  made  to  the  King,  the 
learned  class  of  England  was  entirely,  or  almost  entirely, 
composed  of  priests.  Lawyers  were  chiefly  robed  priests, 
and  medical  men  were  monks  or  in  orders.  King  Henry 
himself,  had  a  doubtful  title  to  the  throne  of  England,  and 
he   belonged    to    a   branch   of  the  Royal  Family  of   Plan- 

*  An  English  practitioner,  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  as  well  as  an 
alumnus  of  several  universities  of  the  United  Kingdom,  was  once  asked  by  the  author 
for  an  account  of  the  condition  of  medical  affairs.  He  declined,  making  this  explana- 
tion: "  Were  I  to  write  a  paper  on  the  medical  status  of  England,  I  should  be  sum- 
moned before  the  Medical  Council  and  my  diploma  taken  from  me,  and  1  should  be 
quite  ruined.     In  matters  medical  England  is  much  worse  than  your  country." 

tWhile  the  ninth  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica  was  in  preparation  a 
description  of  the  American  Eclectic  School  of  Practice  was  offered  to  the  publishers 
and  refused. 


772  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

tagenets  who  had  been  noted  for  the  favor  which  they  had 
shown  to  John  Wicklifife  and  the  Lollards.  He,  like  his 
father  before  him,  sought  to  obtain  the  support  of  the 
governing  classes  of  England  for  the  usurpation,  and  ac- 
cordingly endeavored  to  propitiate  the  clergy  and  univer- 
sities by  declaring  himself  the  champion  of  religious 
orthodoxy.  He  permitted  the  Parliament  to  supervise  the 
expenditures  of  the  Government,  and  introduced  the 
atrocious  practice  of  burning  heretics  alive.*  Such  a  prince 
was  a  man  who  would  be  ready  to  confirm  privileges  and 
perogatives  to  churchmen  and  religious  corporations.  He 
was  at  war  with  France  and  required  money,  which  could  be 
procured  in  large  amounts  from  churches  and  monasteries. 

The  peasantry  of  England  at  this  period  were  beggared 
by  the  rapacious  exactions  of  the  nobility  and  the  devasta- 
tions incident  to  the  strifes  of  rival  candidates  for  the 
Crown,  now  become  a  shuttlecock  between  the  Houses  of 
York  and  Lancaster.  They  were  barely  able  to  subsist  in 
hovels  that  were  not  fit  to  Iiarbor  beasts.  They  could  con- 
tribute nothing  to  the  exigencies  of  the  King,  and  were 
held  by  him  in  little  account. 

The  expedient  of  a  permanent  National  Debt  had  not 
been  devised,  and  money  for  wars  was  obtained  by  "  benevo- 
lences "  or  contributions  from  the  wealthy  and  commercial 
classes.  It  was  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  this  time  and 
occasion  were  employed  to  wrest  from  Henry  this  enactment 
granting  a  privileged  monopoly. 

Accordingly,  during  the  reigns  of  the  Kings  of  the  House 
of  Lancaster!  the  legal  physicians  were  monks  and  priests, 
and  the  authority  to  license  them  was  exercised  by  the 
bishops.     When,  however,  Henry  VHL  assumed  the  Chief 

•  The  penalty  of  burning  alive  was  statute  law  in    England  for  years  after  the  Ameii- 
can  Revolution. 


MEDICAL    LEGISLATION    IN    ENGLAND    AND    AMERICA.     773 

Office  in  the  Church  of  England,  an  act  of  Parliament 
inhibited  the  clergy  thenceforth  from  engaging  in  secular 
pursuits.  The  medical  art  was  included  in  this  classifica- 
tion. Lynaker  himself,  after  a  brief  term  as  a  practitioner 
and  physician  to  the  King,  finished  his  career  as  a  priest. 
The  right  to  was  now  vested  in  the  College  of  Physicians, 
and  the  exclusion  of  other  persons  from  the  calling  was 
rigidly  maintained. 

At  this  period  there  were  but  thirteen  legal  practitioners 
of  medicine  in  London,  and  Surgery  was  a  department  of 
the  barber's  craft.  The  men  who  shaved  and  cut  hair  also 
dressed  wounds  and  extracted  teeth. 

There  does  not  seem,  however,  to  have  been  much  active 
persecution  of  unlicensed  practitioners  for  many  years. 
Many  persons  usually  included  among  the  laity  prescribed 
and  ministered  to  the  poor,  and  women  of  superior  kindness 
and  ability  rendered  offices  of  mercy  to  those  within  the 
circle  of  their  activity.  But  after  the  introduction  of  the 
American  Botanic  and  Eclectic  systems,  there  has  been  a 
new  departure.  More  stringent  regulations  have  been  en- 
acted, and  prosecutions  are  ever  common.  The  boycott 
had  been  already  appUed  to  Sir  John  Forbes,  Dickson  and 
other  men  of  originality,  but  now  the  humble  dispensers  of 
Herbal  remedies,  experience  the  harsh  rigor  of  professional 
proscription. 

In  several  of  the  American  colonies  this  kind  of  legisla- 
tion  was  adopted  ;  the  principal  ones  being  Massachusetts, 
New  Jersey  and  New  York.  After  the  Revolution  it  was 
extended  to  other  States.  The  penalties,  however,  were  not 
enforced  with  extraordinary  severity  till  Samuel  Thomson 
began  his  innovations.  At  this  period  heterodox  practi- 
tioners became  numerous,  and  were  in  greater  favor  with 
the  people.     Directly  the  prohibiting   statutes   were  made 


774  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

more  arbitrary  and  prosecutions  were  characterized  by 
greater  virulence.  Oppression  engendered  dissatisfaction, 
and  the  sons  of  the  men  who  had  acliieved  independence  for 
their  country  were  unwilling  to  brook  the  domination  of  a 
privileged  class,  whatever  might  be  the  pretensions.  The 
matter  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  "  plain  people  " 
in  different  States,  with  the  likelihood  of  becoming  a  political 
issue,  and  as  a  result  the  objectionable  statutes  were 
abrogated.  "  Let  us  hope  forever,"  said  Professor  Morrow 
at  Worthington. 

Nevertheless,  this  had  hardly  been  accomplished  when  a 
movement  was  devised  for  the  restoration  of  the  former 
order  of  things.  The  American  Medical  Association  was 
organized  with  that  avowed  end  in  view.  For  a  quarter  of 
a  century  little  progress,  apparently,  was  made.  But  the 
war  between  the  States  produced  an  indifference  to  matters 
about  which  there  had  before  been  great  sensitiveness. 
There  was  a  cessation  of  the  jealousy  which  had  existed  in 
regard  to  encroachment  upon  civil  and  personal  rights. 
This  was  observed  by  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer  at  his  last  visit 
to  this  country,  and  it  was  described  by  him  as  a  losing  of 
the  instinct  of  liberty.  In  fact,  mankind  never  progress  in 
straight  lines  of  advancement.  Like  the  starry  worlds, 
they  move  in  circles,  spiral  or  vortical,  retrograding  as  well 
as  moving  forward.  The  principles  avowed  in  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  are  hardly  recognized.  For  example, 
the  complaint  was  made  in  that  instrument  of  the  creation 
of  unnecessary  offices  and  the  multiplying  of  swarms  of 
officers  to  devour  the  substance  of  the  people.  But  now  the 
disposition  is  predominant  in  the  Halls  of  Legislation  to 
multiply  offices  and  officers  beyond  utility  or  reason.  They 
are  manifest  in  medical  matters  like  a  shower  of  meteors  or 
as  the  frogs  of  Egypt  in  the  Book  of  Exodus. 


MEDICAL    LEGISLATION    IN    ENGLAND    AND    AMERICA.     775 

In  1873  the  proposition  was  advanced  that  no  more 
medical  colleges  should  be  organized  except  by  the  approval 
of  the  American  Medical  Association.  Bills  were  introduced 
in  concert  in  the  Legislatures  of  the  States,  alike  in  their 
language,  to  restrict  the  practice  of  medicine  to  physicians 
holding  licenses  from  Examiners  appointed  from  the  School 
of  Medicine  represented  by  that  body.  A  medical 
bureaucracy  was  evidently  the  purpose,  and  medical  lobbies 
beleagured  the  Legislatures  to  procure  such  enactments. 
There  was,  however,  sufficient  resistance  to  make  the  pro- 
posed measures  more  modest  and  moderate  than  had  been 
contemplated.  Accordingly,  in  many  of  the  States  enact- 
ments have  been  accepted  with  broader  conditions,  as  hav- 
ing the  tendency  to  educate  the  community  to  submit  at  a 
future  time  to  measures  more  exclusive  and  severe. 

In  the  Homoeopathic  School  there  is  evidence  that  such  a 
process  is  taking  place.  Yet  there  are  significant  utterances 
from  representative  men,  reiterating  the  declarations  of 
eminent  jurists  that  the  enactments  are  unconstitutional, 
and  likely  to  be  set  aside  when  a  judicial  decision  is  made 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  But  the  great 
number  find  it  easier  to  acquiesce  when  a  matter  can  be  en- 
dured than  to  suffer  inconvenience,  even  in  contending  for 
actual  rights. 

In  the  Eclectic  School  a  "  new  departure  "  is  apparent. 
As  the  men  who  suffered  persecution  and  resisted  it  man- 
fully, pass  from  the  sphere  of  action,  the  sentiment  seems  lo 
have  become  diffused  that  such  legislation,  provided  that  it 
is  not  directed  against  members  of  the  New  School,  but  only 
against  practitioners  who  follow  methods  and  procedures 
that  are  not  embraced  in  their  catagory,  is  not  objectionable. 


776  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES. 

The  medical  enactments  have  not  been  uniform,  and  the 
conditions  in  the  different  States  are  often  unlike.  Few  if 
any  of  them  are  yet  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  contemplated 
that  they  shall  remain,  and  they  are  liable  to  change  at 
every   legislative    session. 

A  synopsis  of  the  medical  enactments  in  the  several 
States  and  Territories  of  the  Union  is  here  given,  with  the 
date  when  they  were  made.  Some  of  the  changes  may  have 
been  omitted,  but  diligence  has  been  employed  to  assure 
accuracy. 

A/aba?na,  1891.  The  Board  of  Censors  of  the  Medical 
Association  of  the  State  (Old  School),  and  the  Boards  of 
Censors  of  the  County  Medical  Societies  which  are  in 
affiliation  with  the  State  Association,  constitute  the  Boards 
of  Medical  Examiners  of  the  State.  "  No  person  shall  be 
permitted  to  practice  any  irregular  system  of  Medicine* 
without  a  certificate  of  qualification  in  Anatomy,  Physiology, 
Chemistry  and  the  Mechanism  of  Labor,  from  one  of  the 
Boards."  The  penalty  for  violation  is  a  fine  of  $25  to  $ioc. 
No  provision  is  made  for  the  revoking  of  a  certificate,  or  for 
appeal  from  the  action  of  a  Board. 

Arizona.  The  Territorial  Act,  Chapters  617-621,  declares 
that  the  diplomas  of  physicians  miKt  be  regularly  issued 
from  medical  colleges  lawfully  organized,  and  recorded  with 
the  Recorder  of  the  county  where  they  are  practicing.  But 
diplomas  which  have  been  purchased,  or  revoked  by  the 
colleges  issuing  them,  or  by  act  of  Legislature,  constitute  no 
authority  to  practice.  These  conditions  do  not  apply  to 
persons  who   were   commissioned  in  the  medical  service  of 

*  By  this  description  the  Eclectic  and  Homoeopathic  modes  of  practice  are  probably 
meant,  but  the  propriety  of  using  an  opprobrious  designation  in  a  statute  is  question- 
able. 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  777 

the  "  Great  Rebellion  "  or  to  persons  living  fifteen  miles  or 
more  from  the  residence  or  office  of  any  regular  physician.* 
But  any  person  may  practice  medicine  or  surgery  gratuit- 
ously. The  violation  of  the  statute  is  declared  to  be  a  mis- 
demeanor. 

Arka?isas,  1895.  The  Courts  of  each  county  are  author- 
ized to  appoint  three  Medical  Examiners,  two  of  w'lom 
must  be  graduates  in  Medicine.  No  reference  may  be  had 
to  the  School  of  Practice.  There  exists  no  provision  for  the 
revoking  of  a  certificate,  or  for  an  appeal.  The  penalty  is  a 
fine  of  $25  to  ^100,  Each  day  of  practice  constitutes  a 
separate  offense.  This  statute  was  enacted  by  the  Legisla- 
ture after  its  disapproval  by  Governor  Fishback. 

California,  1875  and  1878.  This  State  has  three  separate 
Boards  of  Examiners,  which  are  appointed  annually  by  the 
three  State  Medical  Societies,  and  consist  of  seven  members 
respectively.  Their  duties  are  to  verify  diplomas  of  gradu- 
ation, and  to  issue  certificates  to  persons  whose  diplomas 
are  found  to  be  genuine  and  from  institutions  in  good 
standing.  These  certificates  maybe  revoked  for  ••unpro- 
fessional conduct."  The  statute  defines  that  "  any  person 
shall  be  regarded  as  practicing  medicine  within  the  meaning 
of  this  act,  who  shall  profess  publicly  to  be  a  physician, 
and  shall  habitually  prescribe  for  the  sick,  or  shall  append 
to  his  name  the  letters  '  M.  D.'  "  The  act  does  not  apply 
to  students  in  medicine  under  a  preceptor,  nor  to  those  who 
render  gratuitous  service  in  an  emergency.  Itinerant  venders 
of  drugs,  and  those  who  profess  to  cure  disease,  injury  or 
deformity  by  drug,  nostrum,  manipulation  or  other  expedi- 
ent, are  required  to  pay  a  license  of  $100   a  month.     The 


*  The  term  "  regular  physician  "  is  evidently  used  here  in  its  legitimate  sens*,  as  de- 
noting a  physician  as  described  in  the  statute,  without  any  invidious  reference  to  a 
School  of  Medical  Practice. 


778  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

penalty  for  violation  is  a  fine  of  $50  to  $100,  or  imprison- 
ment from  thirty  to  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days. 

Colorado^  1881.  A  State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  is 
authorized,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  and  consisting 
of  "  six  physicians  of  the  regular,  two  of  the  Homoeopathic 
and  one  of  the  Eclectic  School  or  System  of  Medicine." 
Certificates  are  issued  without  examination  to  persons  hold- 
ing diplomas  from  medical  colleges.  Graduates  of  the 
Electropathic  School  are  included  in  this  provision,  and  the 
certificates  must  be  given  "  without  prejudice,  partiality  or 
discrimination  as  to  Schools  or  Systems  of  Medicine."  All 
other  candidates  must  be  examined  by  the  Board.  The 
examination  includes  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Chemistry, 
Pathology,  Surgery,  Obstetrics  and  the  Practice  of  Medicine 
(exclusive  of  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics.)  Certifi- 
cates may  be  refused  to  persons  convicted  of  conduct  of  a 
"  criminal  nature,"  and  revoked  for  the  same.  The  penalty 
consists  of  a  fine  not  less  than  $50  or  more  than  $300,  or 
imprisonment  from  ten  to  thirty  days  for  each  and  every 
offense.  False  evidence  of  any  kind  in  reference  to  a 
diploma  subjects  the  offender  to  the  punishment  decreed 
for  forgery.  The  Courts  of  Record  only  have  power  to  en- 
force the  provisions  of  this  statute.* 

Co?tfiecticut,  1893.  Three  separate  Examining  Commit- 
tees, five  in  number,  are  nominated  by  the  three  medical 
organizations,  the  Connecticut  Medical  Society,  the  Con- 
necticut Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  and  the  Connecticut 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,!  and  appointed  by  the  State 

*A  bill  more  stringent  in  its  terms,  which  was  said  to  have  been  prepared  with  the 
concurrence  of  these  three  principal  Schools  of  Practice,  was  introduced  into  the  Legis- 
lature in  1899  and  passed  both  Houses.  It  was,  however,  returned  by  Governor 
Thomas  without  his  approval,  accompanied  by  a  forceful  message  setting  forth  the 
objectionable  character  of  its  provisions. 

t  The  statute  contains  the  provision  that  "  nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  to  repeal 
or  affect  any  private  charter."     This  exception   was  introduced  with   the  intention  to 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  779 

Board  of  Health.  The  examinations  embrace  Anatomy, 
Physiology,  Medical  Chemistry,  Obstetrics,  Hygiene,  Sur- 
gery, Pathology,  Diagnosis,  Therapeutics,  Practice  and 
Materia  Medica.  The  provisions  of  the  act  do  not  apply  to 
licensed  pharmacists,  nor  to  dentists,  nor  to  any  person  in 
the  employ  of  the  United  States  while  acdng  in  the  scope  of 
his  employment ;  nor  to  any  person  furnishing  medical  or 
surgical  assistance  in  cases  of  sudden  emergency ;  nor  to 
any  person  residing  out  of  the  State  coming  to  assist  or  con- 
sult with  some  practitioner  in  the  State  ;  nor  to  any  physi- 
cian or  surgeon  then  actually  non-resident  who  shall  be  em- 
ployed to  come  into  the  State  to  treat,  operate  or  prescribe 
for  any  injury,  deformity  or  ailment ;  nor  to  any  actual  resi- 
dent recommending  the  use  of  proprietary  remedies  sold 
under  trade-marks  issued  by  the  United  States  Government ; 
nor  to  any  chiropodist  or  clairvoyant  who  uses  no  drugs  in 
practice ;  nor  to  any  person  practicing  massage,  the  Swedish 
movement  cure,  sun  cure,  mind  cure,  magnetic  healing,  or 
Christian  Science  ;  nor  to  any  other  person  who  does  not 
prescribe  medicines  of  any  kind,  poisons  or  nostrums  in 
treatment.  No  provision  is  made  for  revoking  of  license  ; 
and  the  penalty  for  violation  of  the  statute  is  a  fine  of  ^loo 
to  $500,  or  imprisonment  from  thirty  to  ninety  days,  or  both 
fine  and  imprisonment. 

Delaware,  i^QS-  This  State  has  two  Boards  of  Medical 
Examiners,  appointed  by  the  Governor,  one  composed  of 
five  members  representing  "  The  President  and  Fellows  of 
the    Medical    Society   of   Delaware,"  and   the  other   "  The 


except  the  Connecticut  Eclectic  Medical  Association  from  the  requirements  of  the 
enactment  ;  as  that  Society  has  a  special  act  of  incorporation  empowering  it  to  license 
physicians  and  provide  medical  instruction  for  students.  Nevertheless,  the  Board  of 
Censors  has  been  recognized  by  the  State  Board  of  Health  as  the  Examining  Com- 
mittee, and  has  acted  as  such  ;  but  some  of  the  members  of  the  Association  have  re- 
garded this  as  contravening  the  purpose  of  the  clause  exempting  the  Association  from 
the  operation  of  the  enactment. 


780  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  of  Delaware  State  and 
Peninsula."  The  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  and  the  Presi- 
dents of  the  two  Boards,  constitute  the  Medical  Council  of 
Delaware.  Each  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  is  required 
to  submit  to  the  Council  a  week  prior  to  its  meetings  for 
examination  of  candidates,  questions  for  thorough  examina- 
tions in  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene,  Chemistry,  Surgery, 
Obstetrics,  Pathology,  Diagnosis,  Therapeutics,  Practice  of 
Medicine  and  Materia  Medica,  The  Council  shall  select 
from  the  list  thus  furnished,  the  questions  for  the  examina- 
tions. These  are  conducted  in  writing,  the  candidates 
selecting  the  Boards  by  which  they  shall  be  examined.  If 
there  are  candidates  belonging  to  some  other  School  of 
Practice,  they  are  examined  by  the  Council  and  some  repu- 
table practitioner  of  that  School  from  standard  text-books. 
All  certificates  are  issued  by  the  Medical  Council.  Diplomas 
from  medical  colleges  confer  no  right  to  practice  medicine, 
but  are  required  in  order  to  entitle  the  applicant  to  an  ex- 
amination. There  is  no  clause  in  the  statute  for  revocation 
of  the  certificate  or  for  appeal.  The  penalty  is  a  fine  of  $100 
to  $500,  or  imprisonment  for  not  more  than  one  year. 
Physicians  coming  into  the  State  for  consultations  are  ex- 
empt from  the  conditions  of  this  statute. 

District  of  Columbia,  1896.  Three  Boards  of  Medical 
Examiners  are  authorized  by  Act  of  Congress,  one  to  be 
known  as  the  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  to  be  composed  of  five  physicians,  "  adherents  of 
the  regular  School  of  Practice  ;  one  to  be  known  as  the 
Board  of  Homoeopathic  Medical  Examiners,  and  one  to  be 
known  as  the  Board  of  Eclectic  Medical  Examiners.  The 
latter  Boards  are  made  up  of  five  physicians  each  selected 
from  lists  proposed  by  the  respective  Societies.  The  ap- 
pointments are  made  by  the  District  Commissioners.     The 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  78 1 

presidents  of  the  three  Boards,  and  two  others  who  are  not 
physicians,  but  one  of  them  a  lawyer,  constitute  a  Board  of 
Medical  Supervisors.  Applicants  for  examination  must  be 
graduates  in  Medicine,  and  must  apply  to  the  Board  of 
Supervisors  for  a  license.  The  Supervisors  may  refuse  or 
revoke  a  license,  and  an  appeal  may  be  taken  from  their 
decision  to  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  the  District.  Midwives 
are  examined  by  the  Board  of  Supervisors. 

Florida^  1890.  The  Governor  is  authorized  to  appoint  a 
Board  of  Medical  Examiners,  graduated  physicians  three  in 
number,  for  each  Judicial  District  of  the  State ;  also  one 
Board  of  Homceopathic  Medical  Examiners,  consisting  of 
three  graduated  Homceopathic  physicians,  for  the  State  at 
large.  Each  Board  meets  semi-annually  at  some  central 
point  in  the  district,  the  Homoeopathic  Board  holding  its 
meetings  in  the  city  of  Jacksonville.  Applicants  must  pro- 
duce a  diploma  from  a  recognized  college,  after  whicii  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  Board  to  whom  they  have  applied  to  examine 
them  thoroughly  upon  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Surgery, 
Gynsecology,  Therapeutics,  Obstetrics  and  Chemistry,  to 
which  Materia  Medica  is  added  in  the  Homoeopathic  Board. 
"  But,"  the  statute  prescribes  positively,  "  no  preference 
shall  be  given  to  any  School  of  Medicine."  "  Females  " 
also,  "  v.'ho  follow  the  practice  of  Midwifery  strictly  as  such," 
are  exempted  from  examination.  A  Board  of  Eclectic  Ex- 
aminers has  since  been  authorized  with  powers  and  require- 
ments similar  to  those  possessed  by  the  Homoeopathic  Board. 

The  statute  contains  no  provision  for  the  revoking  of  a 
certificate  or  for  appeal. 

Georgia^  1894.  This  State  has  three  separate  Boards  of 
Medical  Examiners,  of  five  members  each,  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  belonging  respectively  to  the  Old  School,  the 
Eclectic    and    the     Homoeopathic     Schools    of    Medicine. 


782  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Diplomas  from  medical  colleges  confer  no  right  to  practice 
medicine,  but  each  applicant  for  a  certificate  must  be  the 
graduate  of  an  incorporated  medical  college,  school  or 
university  that  requires  not  less  than  three  full  courses  of 
study  of  six  months  each.  If  the  applicant  desires  to 
practice  a  different  system  from  that  recognized  in  his 
diploma,  he  must  appear  before  the  Board  which  represents 
that  system.  If;  however,  he  desires  to  practice  a  system 
not  represented  by  any  of  the  Boards,  he  may  choose  the 
Board  for  himself  by  which  to  be  examined.  Certificates 
entitling  the  holder  to  the  right  to  practice  medicine  are 
granted  only  after  passing  a  satisfactory  examination,  and 
no  applicant  who  has  been  rejected  may  be  licensed  by 
either  of  the  other  Boards.  Th^re  is  no  provision  requiring 
the  examinations  of  midwives,  or  for  the  revoking  of  a 
certificate,  or  for  appeal.  The  penalties  are  fixed  by  Sec- 
tion 4,310  of  the  Code  of  the  State,  and  a  practitioner  who 
has  not  been  licensed  has  no  power  to  recover  compensa- 
tion for  services. 

Idaho,  1889.  The  State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  con- 
sists of  six  members,  three  of  the  Old  School,  two  Eclectics  and 
one  Homoeopathist,  appointed  by  the  Governor.  A  diploma 
from  a  respectable  and  reputable  medical  college  or  univer- 
sity in  good  standing,  admits  the  holder  to  examination.  An 
appeal  in  case  of  rejection,  or  an  application  for  revocation, 
may  be  made  to  the  Courts  of  the  State.  The  grounds  for 
rejection  or  revocation  are  unprofessional,  dishonorable, 
immoral  or  criminal  conduct.  Applicants  who  have  passed 
examinations  in  other  State  Boards  having  substantially  the 
same  requirements  in  regard  to  proficiency,  may  be  licensed 
without  examination.  The  penalty  is  a  fine  of  $50  to  $100, 
and  imprisonment  from  ten  days  to  six  months. 

Illinois,  1899.     There    have    been    many  changes  in  the 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  783 

medical  enactments  of  this  State  since  the  General  Assem- 
bly began  the  work  of  legislating  to  regulate  the  Practice  of 
Medicine.  The  last  statute  upon  the  subject  was  enacted 
in  1899.  The  State  Board  of  Health  is  vested  with  the 
authority  to  examine  and  license  candidates  for  medical 
practice.  It  consists  of  seven  members,  five  from  the  Old 
School,  one  Homoeopathist  and  one  Eclectic.  No  person 
may  begin  the  practice  of  medicine,  or  any  department  of 
medicine,  or  midwifery,  except  after  having  procured  a 
license  from  this  Board.  Candidates  must  be  graduates 
from  a  medical  college  or  institution  in  good  standing,  as 
may  be  determined  by  the  Board,  and  undergo  an  examina- 
tion which  shall  be  of  a  character  sufficiently  strict  to  test 
their  qualifications.  Those  who  desire  to  practice  any  other 
system  or  science  of  treating  human  ailments,  who  do  not 
use  medicines  internally  or  externally,  and  who  do  not 
practice  operative  surgery,  shall  be  examined  sufficiently  to 
test  their  qualifications  as  practitioners.  Those  who  pass 
examinations  successfully  shall  be  licensed  accordingly  ;  but 
only  those  who  are  licensed  to  practice  medicine  and  sur- 
gery in  all  their  branches  may  use  any  drug  or  medicine  or 
perform  surgical  operations,  or  announce  themselves  as 
physicians  or  doctors.  The  certificate  must  be  recorded 
within  three  months  after  its  date  in  the  office  of  the  clerk 
of  the  county  in  which  the  holder  resides  or  practices.  It 
is  also  provided  that  "  Graduates  of  legally  chartered  medi- 
cal colleges  in  Illinois  in  good  standing,  as  may  be  deter- 
mined by  the  Board,  may  be  granted  certificates  without 
examination." 

Certificates  may  be  refused  or  revoked  in  the  case  of 
individuals  who  have  been  convicted  of  the  practice  of 
criminal  abortion,  or  have  by  false  or  fraudulent  represen- 
tation  obtained  or  sought  to  obtain    practice  in  their  pro- 


784  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

fession,  or  have  thus  obtained  or  sought  to  obtain  money  or 
anything  of  value,  or  who  advertise  under  names  other  than 
their  own,  or  for  any  other  unprofessional  or  dishonorable 
conduct.  But  this  shall  not  be  done  until  the  person  is  per- 
mitted to  have  a  hearing  before  the  Board.  Itinerant 
venders  of  any  drug,  nostrum,  ointment  or  appliance  of  any 
kmd  for  the  treatment  of  diseases  or  injury,  or  who  adver- 
tise treatment,  are  required  to  pay  a  license  of  $100  a  month 
to  be  collected  by  the  Board  in  the  name  of  the  People. 
The  penalty  for  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  enactment 
is  a  fine  of  $100  for  the  first  offense  and  ^200  for  each  sub- 
sequent offense.  Fraud  in  filing  a  diploma  or  certificate,  or 
a  forged  affidavit  of  identification,  is  subject  to  the  punish- 
ment imposed  for  forgery.  In  case  of  conviction  of  any  of 
the  offenses  mentioned,  the  Court  shall  order  the  person 
convicted  to  be  committed  to  the  common  jail  of  the  county 
till  the  fine  and  costs  are  paid,  and  in  case  of  failure  to  pay 
them  immediately  he  shall  be  imprisoned  for  the  first 
offense  not  more  than  thirty  days,  and  for  each  subsequent 
offense  not  more  than  ninety  days. 

Indiana^  1895.  A  Board  of  Registration  and  Examina- 
tion is  appointed  by  the  Governor,  consisting  of  physicians 
in  good  repute,  who  are  not  teachers  or  professors  in  any 
medical  college.  Each  of  the  four  Schools  having  the 
largest  numerical  representation  is  entitled  to  have  at  least 
one  representative  on  the  Board,*  but  no  School  of  Practice 
may  have  a  majority  of  the  members.  Certificates  are 
issued  upon  diplomas  from  medical  colleges  in  good  stand- 
ing, as  determined  by  the  Board.  When  the  colleges  are 
below  the  required  standard,  a    supplemental   examination 


*  These  are  the  Old  School,  the  Eclectic,  Homoeopathic  and  Physio-Medical  Schools. 
Dr.  William  F.  Curryer,  former  President  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 
is  the  Eclectic  member. 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  785 

may  be  made  in  order  to  determine  the  fitness  of  the  candi- 
date. Midwives  are  likewise  required  to  undergo  an  ex- 
amination. The  Board  has  a  schedule  of  requirements  for 
applicants,  and  for  the  medical  colleges  of  the  State.  Cer- 
tificates may  be  refused  or  revoked  for  inebriety  from  liquor 
or  drugs.  An  appeal  can  be  taken  from  the  action  of  the 
Board  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  county  in  which  the 
applicant  or  licensed  person  lives.  The  penalty  for  viola- 
tion of  the  statute  is  a  fine  not  less  than  $25,  nor  more  than 
$200. 

Indian  Territory,  Cherokee  Nation,  1878.  The  Principal 
Chief  is  authorized  and  required  to  appoint  a  Board  of 
Physicians,  three  in  number,  residents  of  the  Nation  and 
graduates  of  some  well-authenticated  medical  school.  Their 
duty  is  to  examine  all  who  desire  to  live  in  the  Territory 
and  to  practice  medicine.  If  the  examination  is  satisfactory, 
they  give  the  candidate  a  certificate  to  that  effect.  Upon 
the  presentation  of  this  certificate  to  the  United  States 
Indian  Agent,  he  is  requested  to  grant  the  holder  a  permit 
to  reside  in  the  Cherokee  Nation  one  year  for  the  purpose 
only  of  practicing  medicine,  and  to  renew  the  permit 
annually  during  good  behavior.  The  Principal  Chief  is 
likewise  authorized  to  grant  the  holders  of  such  a  certificate 
a  permit  to  remain  in  the  Cherokee  Nation,  under  the  same 
terms  and  conditions.  Any  person  not  a  citizen,  but  claim- 
ing to  be  a  physician,  and  failing  to  comply  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  statute,  is  to  be  deemed  an  intruder  and  dealt 
with  accordingly. 

Indian  lerritory,  Choctaw  Nation.  The  Principal  Chief 
is  authorized  and  required  to  appoint  a  Board  of  Physicians, 
to  consist  of  three  persons,  citizens  of  the  Choctaw  Nation, 
who  are  regular  graduates  of  some  well-known  medical 
college  and  residents  of  the   Nation.     Their  duty  is  to  ex- 


60 


786  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

amine  all  persons  who  are  not  residents  who  have  come  or 
may  come  into  the  territory  of  the  Nation  for  the  purpose 
of  practicing  medicine.  If  the  candidate  stands  a  satisfac- 
tory examination,  or  has  a  diploma  which  is  satisfactory  to 
the  Board,  they  grant  him  a  certificate,  upon  which  the 
Principal  Chief  authorizes  the  Judges  of  the  County  Courts 
to  give  him  a  permit  to  practice  medicine.  But  without 
this  action  of  the  Chief,  the  Court  is  prohibited  from  grant- 
ing the  permit.  Any  person  who  is  not  a  citizen  who 
practices  medicine  in  the  Nation  in  violation  of  the  statute 
is  to  be  held  as  an  intruder  and  dealt  with  accordingly. 

Iowa,  1886.  The  State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners 
consists  of  seven  members  appointed  by  the  Governor  — 
four  of  the  Old  School,  two  Homoeopathists  and  one  Eclectic 
physician.  No  member  may  be  in  any  way  connected  with 
a  medical  college.  There  are  two  forms  of  certificate,  and 
also  one  of  a  license  issued,  namely  : 

1.  A  certificate  upon  a  diploma  from  a  medical  college  in 
good  standing. 

2.  A  certificate  upon  a  successful  examination  before  the 
Board. 

3.  A  license  for  itinerant  practitioners. 

Applicants  holding  diplomas  are  licensed  after  a  scrutiny 
into  the  genuiness  of  the  instrument.  Candidates  who  are 
not  graduates  are  examined  as  to  their  knowledge  of 
Anatomy,  Chemistry,  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics, 
Obstetrics,  Pathology,  Physiology,  Practice,  Surgery, 
Bacteriology  and  Medical  Jurisprudence.  Itinerant  physi- 
cians, whether  living  in  the  State  or  not,  are  required,  in 
addition  to  either  of  these  certificates,  to  procure  a  license 
annually  from  the  Board,  paying  for  it  $250.  The  fee  for  a 
certificate  on  the  diploma  is  $5;  for  examination,  $10. 
None  are  exempt ;   all  who  "  publicly   profess  to  cure  or 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  787 

heal  "  must  comply  with  the  requirements.  All  who  hence- 
forth begin  to  practice  medicine  in  Iowa  must  be  examined, 
and  must  present  evidence  of  having  graduated  from  a 
medical  college  in  good  standing  after  having  attended  four 
courses  of  lectures  in  four  separate  years.  The  penalty  for 
violations,  is  a  fine  not  less  than  $50  nor  more  than  $100,  or 
imprisonment  from  ten  to  thirty  days.  This  act  went  into 
eifect  without  the  approval  of  the  Governor,  who  had  not 
been  cognizant  of  it  till  the  time  had  passed  for  his  consid- 
eration. 

Kansas,  1879.  There  is  no  Board  of  Medical  Examiners 
in  Kansas,  nor  requirement  for  the  registration  of  physi- 
cians. It  is  unlawful,  however,  for  any  person  to  engage  in 
the  practice  of  medicine,  or  in  any  of  its  departments  within 
the  State,  for  reward  or  compensation,  who  has  not  at- 
tended two  full  courses  of  instruction  and  graduated  in 
some  respectable  school  of  medicine,  or  who  can  not  pro- 
duce a  certificate  of  qualification  from  some  State  or  county 
medical  society,  and  is  not  of  good  moral  character.  The 
penalty  for  violation  is  a  fine  of  not  less  than  $50  nor  more 
than  $100,  and  in  addition  for  each  subsequent  offense, 
thirty  days  of  imprisonment,  and  there  can  be  no  compen- 
sation recovered  for  services  performed. 

Kentucky,  1893.  The  State  Board  of  Health  is  directed 
to  issue  a  certificate  to  any  physician  who  desires  to  begin 
the  practice  of  medicine  in  the  State,  who  possesses  any  of 
these  qualifications,  namely  :  i.  A  diploma  from  a  repu- 
table medical  college  legally  chartered  under  the  laws  of  the 
State.  2.  A  diploma  from  a  reputable  and  legally  chart- 
ered medical  college  of  some  other  State  or  country  en- 
dorsed as  such  by  the  State  Board  of  Health.  3.  Satis- 
factory evidence  from  the  person  claiming  the  same  that 
such  person  was  reputably  and  honorably  engaged  in  the 


788  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

practice  of  medicine  in  Kentucky  prior  to  February  23d, 
1864.  It  is  unlawful  for  any  person  to  practice  medicine 
in  any  of  its  branches,  unless  he  has  registered  in  the  office 
of  the  County  Clerk  of  the  county  in  which  he  resides,  his 
authority  for  so  practicing  medicine,  together  with  his  age, 
address,  place  of  birth,  and  the  School  or  system  of  medi- 
cine to  which  he  proposes  to  belong.  No  itinerant  physi- 
cian, however,  is  allowed  to  register.  The  State  Board  of 
Health  may  refuse  to  issue  a  certificate  to  a  person  guilty  of 
grossly  unprofessional  conduct  likely  to  deceive  or  defraud 
the  public,  and  may  revoke  a  certificate  for  a  like  cause. 
The  applicant  in  such  case  may  appeal  to  the  Governor, 
who  may  affirm  or  overrule  the  decision  of  the  Board,  and 
this  decision  is  final.  Nothing  in  the  statute  may  be  so 
construed  as  to  discriminate  against  any  particular  School 
or  System  of  Medicine,  or  to  prohibit  women  from  practicing 
midwifery,  or  to  prohibit  gratuitous  services  in  case  of 
emergency.  Surgeons  in  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
and  legally  qualified  physicians  from  other  States  called  to 
see  a  particular  case  or  family,  are  also  exempt  from  the 
conditions  of  the  statute.  The  penalty  for  violation  is  a 
fine  of  $50;  and  for  each  subsequent  offense  a  fine  of  5 100 
and  imprisonment  for  thirty  days,  either  or  both,  in  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  jury ;  and  the  person  offending  is  not  entitled 
to  compensation  for  services  performed.  The  opening  of 
an  office,  or  announcing  in  any  other  way  of  a  readiness  to 
practice  medicine  in  any  county  brings  the  individual  within 
the  scope  of  the  enactment. 

Louisiana,  1894.  This  State  has  two  Boards  of  Medical 
Examiners  appointed  by  the  Governor  —  one  of  five  physi- 
cians recommended  by  the  Louisiana  State  Medical  Society, 
and  one  of  five  physicians  recommended  by  the  Hahnemann 
State  Medical  Society.     They  must  be  graduates  in  medi- 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  789 

cine,  and  three  of  them  are  sufficient  to  conduct  an  exam- 
ination. Only  holders  of  a  diploma  from  a  medical  college 
in  good  standing  as  determined  by  the  Board,  are  entitled 
to  be  examined.  They  must  also  possess  a  good  primary 
education,  and  be  of  good  moral  character.  The  examina- 
tions include  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Chemistry,  Principles  of 
Medicine,  Obstetrics,  Physical  Diagnosis,  Surgery,  Materia 
Medica  and  Hygiene.  Midwives  are  required  to  undergo  a 
special  examination.  Itinerant  venders  of  drugs,  remedies 
or  applications  of  any  kind  intended  for  the  treatment  of 
disease  or  injury,  or  who  by  advertising  or  other  method 
profess  to  cure  or  treat  disease  or  deformity,  by  any  drug, 
nostrum,  manipulation  or  other  expedient  in  the  State,  are 
punished  by  a  fine  of  $20  to  ^100  for  each  offense,  or  by 
imprisonment  from  ten  to  thirty  days,  or  by  both  fine  and 
imprisonment.  The  Boards  may  revoke  any  permit  or  cer- 
tificate issued  by  them,  when  the  holder  has  been  convicted 
of  immoral  conduct  before  a  competent  Court.  The  penalty 
for  practicing  medicine  without  a  certificate  is  a  fine  of  $50 
to  $100,  or  imprisonment  for  ten  to  ninety  days,  or  both  fine 
and  imprisonment.  Any^practitioner  of  medicine  in  any  of 
its  departments,  failing  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of 
the  statute  has  no  exemption  from  jury  or  military  duty,  and 
is  not  permitted  to  collect  compensation  for  services,  nor  to 
testify  as  an  expert,  nor  to  execute  any  certificate  as  a 
physician  or  surgeon,  nor  to  hold  any  medical  office,  nor  to 
be  recognized  by  the  State  or  parish  or  municipal  corpora- 
tion as  a  physician  or  surgeon,  nor  entitled  to  enjoy  any  of 
the  privileges,  rights  or  exemptions  granted  to  physicians  and 
surgeons  by  the  laws  of  the  State.  But  it  is  not  lawful  for 
the  State  Boards  of  Medical  Examiners,  or  for  any  member 
of  them,  to  charge  or  obligate  the  State  except  in  relation  to 
the  publication  of  registered  physicians,  etc.,  but  the  Boards 


79©  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

must  look  alone  for  compensation  to  the  revenue  derived 
from  the  operation  of  the  medical  statute, 

Maine,  1895.  The  enactment  of  1895  provides  for  the 
appointment  by  the  Governor  and  Council  of  a  Board  of 
Registration  of  Medicine,  six  in  number.  The  members 
must  be  graduates  of  a  legally-chartered  medical  college  or 
university  having  the  power  to  confer  degrees  in  Medicine, 
and  have  been  engaged  in  practice  five  years  ;  but  none  of 
them  may  belong  to  the  Faculty  of  any  medical  college  or 
university.  The  compensation  and  expenses  of  the  Board 
are  paid  from  the  Treasury  of  the  State.  All  physicians  in 
practice  on  payment  of  %2  are  entitled  to  registration,  and 
to  receive  a  certificate  accordingly,  which  must  be  publicly 
displayed  in  their  office  while  they  are  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  medicine.  Any  person  not  entitled  to  registra- 
tion, may  be  examined,  upon  the  payment  of  %\o,  and  if 
found  qualified,  will  also  receive  a  certificate.  The  Board 
has  power,  after  a  physician  has  been  convicted  of  crime  in 
the  course  of  professional  business,  to  revoke  his  certificate 
and  to  cancel  his  registration.  All  applicants  for  registra- 
tion must  be  of  good  moral  character  and  possessed  of  a 
reasonable  amount  of  knowledge  in  the  "  branches  of 
science  "  in  which  he  desires  to  practice.  No  official  atten- 
tion is  given  to  the  possession  of  a  medical  degree.  The 
examinations  must  be,  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  writing,  and 
'•  of  an  elementary  and  practical  character."  They  embrace 
"  the  general  subjects  of  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Pathology, 
Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics,  Surgery,  the  Principles  and 
Practice  of  Medicine,  Obstetrics,  or  such  branches  thereof 
as  the  Board  may  deem  necessary  for  the  applicant  to 
possess."  The  penalty  for  practicing  medicine  for  gain  or 
hire  without  being  registered,  or  holding  out  as  physician  or 
surgeon,  or  using  the  title  of  "  M.  D.,"  or  using  the  title  of 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES  79 1 

"  doctor  "  or  "  physician  "  meaning  by  it  a  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine, is  a  fine  of  $ioo  to  $500,  or  imprisonment  for  three 
months,  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment. 

Commissioned  officers  of  the  United  States,  physicians  or 
surgeons  called  from  other  States  to  treat  a  particular  case, 
persons  rendering  gratuitous  service  or  assistance  in 
emergency,  medical  students  prescribing  or  operating  under 
the  direction  of  a  registered  physician,  and  midwives  who 
lay  no  claim  to  the  title  of  physician  or  doctor,  are  exempt 
from  the  requirements  of  the  enactment.  "  Neither  shall 
th's  act  apply  to  clairvoyants  or  to  persons  practicing  hyp- 
notism, magnetic  healing,  mind-cure,  massage,  Christian 
science,  so  called,  or  any  other  method  of  healing,  if  no 
poisonous  or  dangerous  drugs  are  employed  nor  surgical 
operations  performed  ;  provided,  such  persons  do  not  violate 
any  of  the  provisions  of  Section  Nine  of  this  act  in  relation 
to  the  use  of  '  M.  D.'  or  the  title  of  doctor  or  physician." 

Maryland,  1892,  1894.  The  act  of  1892  provides  for  two 
separate  Boards  of  Medical  Examiners,  of  seven  members 
each,  one  to  represent  the  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Society 
of  the  State,  and  the  other  the  Maryland  State  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  Society.  They  examine  all  applicants  who 
desire  to  engage  in  the  practice  of  Medicine.  These  must 
be  of  good  moral  character,  and  possess  a  competent  com- 
mon school  education,  as  well  as  the  degree  of  Doctor  or 
Medicine,  or  a  diploma  or  license  conferring  the  full  right  to 
practice  all  the  branches  of  medicine  in  some  foreign 
country.  But  they  must  have  studied  medicine  three  years, 
and  attended  three  courses  of  medicine  in  different  years,  in 
some  legally  incorporated  medical  college  or  colleges.  If 
fraud  has  been  used  in  procuring  a  license,  it  may  be  re- 
voked. The  penalty  for  practicing  medicine  in  violation  of 
the  statutes  is  a  fine  of  $50  to  $200  for  each  offense,  or  im- 


792  HISTORY   OF    MEDICINE. 

prisonment  till  the  fines  and  costs  are  paid,  and  also  to  be 
debarred  from  recovering  compensation  for  services.  The 
attempt  to  practice  medicine  or  surgery  without  having  been 
registered  is  punishable  by  a  fine  of  $io  to  $200  for  each 
offense.  Any  person  who  sliall  unlawfully  procure  registra- 
tion as  a  physician  or  surgeon,  whether  by  false  statement 
or  the  presentation  of  a  spurious  license,  or  a  license 
obtained  by  false  statements,  from  the  Medical  Examiners, 
is  liible  to  a  fine  of  $50  to  ^500,  and  forfeits  all  rights  and 
immunities  conferred  from  such  registration. 

Afassaciiusetis,  1894.  The  statute  provides  for  a  Board  of 
Registration  in  Medicine,  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council.  The  Board 
consists  of  seven  persons,  residents  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  graduates  of  a  legally-chartered  medical  college  or 
university  having  the  power  to  confer  degrees  in  Medicine, 
who  have  been  actively  employed  in  the  practice  of  their 
profession  for  ten  years.  No  more  than  three  of  them  may 
be  at  the  same  time  members  of  any  one  chartered  State 
Medical  Society,  and  none  of  them  may  belong  to  the 
Faculty  of  any  medical  college  or  university.  Their  com- 
pensation and  expenses  are  paid  from  the  Treasury  of  the 
State.  They  issue  certificates  to  graduates,  also  to  non- 
graduates  after  examination,  and  to  physicians  who  are  over 
sixty  years  of  age  and  who  have  been  in  practice  for  ten 
years  prior  to  1894.  Applicants  must  give  satisfactory 
proof  of  being  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  of  good  moral 
character  ;  and  every  one  who  is  a  graduate  and  has  re- 
ceived a  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from  a  college  or 
university  having  power  to  confer  degrees  in  the  Common- 
wealth is  entitled  to  be  registered  at  once.  Examinations 
must  be,  in  whole  or  in  part,  in  writing,  and  "  of  an  element- 
ary and   practical   character."     They  embrace   the  general 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  793 

subjects  of  Surgery,  Physiology,  Pathology,  Obstetrics  and 
Practice  of  Medicine,  and  must  be  sufficiently  strict  to  test 
the  qualifications  of  the  candidate.  The  penalty  is  a  fine  of 
;^ioo  to  5500,  or  imprisonment  for  three  months,  Oi  both. 
The  statute  does  not  apply  to  commissioned  officers  of  the 
United  States,  or  to  physicians  or  surgeons  called  from 
another  State  to  treat  a  particular  case,  or  to  prohibit 
gratuitous  servicas ;  nor  to  clairvoyants,  or  to  persons 
practicing  hypnotism,  Christian  science,  cosmopathic  or  any 
other  method  of  Jiealing ;  provided,  such  persons  do  not 
violate  any  of  the  provisions  of  Section  ten  of  this  act."* 

M/c/iigan,  1899.  The  "  Chandler  Medical  Act  "  author- 
izes the  Governor  to  appoint  ten  resident  electors  a  Board 
of  Registration  in  Medicine.  Not  more  than  five  shall  be 
from  the  School  known  as  Regular,  two  from  the  School 
known  as  Homoeopathic,  two  from  the  School  known  as 
Eclectic,  and  one  from  the  School  known  as  Physio-Medical. 
The  selection  must  be  made  from  lists  submitted  by  the 
respective  legally  incorporated  state  medical  societies, 
which  lists  must  contain  at  least  three  times  as  many  names 
as  the  Society  has  representatives  on  the  Board.  If  a 
Society  fails  to  make  out  a  list,  the  Governor  must  fill  the 
vacancy  from  members  of  the  School.  All  must  be  learned 
in  the  profession,  graduates,  and  of  six  years'  practice.  All 
men  and  women  engaged  in  practice  must  apply  for  regis- 
tration, and  have  complied  with  one  of  the  following  con- 
ditions :  I.  That  he  or  she  has  been  already  registered 
with  a  County  Clerk  under  the  law  of  1883.  2.  That  he 
or  she  shall  present  a  certificate  of  registration,  or  a  copy  of 
such   certificate   which   has   been    issued   in   some   foreign 

♦This  section  imposes  the  penalties  as  already  stated,  specifying  the  offender  as 
"  whoever  not  being  registered  as  aforesaid,  shall  advertise  or  hold  himself  out  to  the 
public  as  a  yhysician  or  surgeon  in  this  Commonwealtli,  or  appends  to  his  name  the 
letters  '  M.  D.'  or  uses  the  title  of  Doctor,  meaning  thereby  a  Doctor  of  Medicine." 


794  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

country  where  the  requirements  are  the  same  as  in  Michi- 
gan. 3.  Or  that  he  or  she  shall  satisfactorily  pass  an 
examination  in  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Chemistry,  Pathology, 
Therapeutics,  Toxicology,  Histology,  Hygiene,  Public 
Health  Laws  of  Michigan,  Practice  of  Medicine,  Surgery, 
Obstetrics,  Gynaecology,  Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  Ear, 
Bacteriology  and  Medical  Jurisprudence.  The  examination 
must  be  in  writing  and  preceded  by  a  fee  of  ten  dollars. 
The  questions,  except  in  therapeutics  and  practice  of 
medicine,  shall  be  such  as  all  may  answer  alike,  and  there 
must  be  an  average  of  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  correct 
answers.  4.  A  license  from  another  State  of  this  Union 
where  the  requirements  are  similar,  and  where  reciprocal 
favors  are  shown,  shall  be  equivalent  to  a  license  from  the 
Board.  5,  If  an  applicant  helds  a  diploma  from  a  reputa- 
ble college  having  a  three  years'  course  of  eight  months,  or 
a  four  years'  course  of  six  months  in  each  year,  in  Michigan 
or  any  of  the  United  States,  he  is  entitled  to  registration. 
But  a  diploma  from  a  diploma-selling  college,  or  other  than 
a  regularly-established  and  reputable  college,  may  not  be 
registered.  The  certificate  must  be  dulv  filed  with  the 
County  Clerk  of  the  county  where  the  candidate  resides. 
All  moneys  received  must  be  paid  to  the  State  Treasurer, 
and  the  expenses  of  the  Board  are  paid  only  from  the  fund 
so  provided.  The  Secretary  only  receives  a  salary.  The 
other  members  receive  only  traveling  and  hotel  expenses  — 
and  no  more  than  has  been  actually  expended.  The  penalty 
for  practicing  medicine  or  surgery  without  having  complied 
with  this  act  is  a  fine  of  $100,  or  imprisonment  for  ninety 
days,  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment.  The  appending  o^ 
the  letters  "  M.  B."  or  •'  M.  D."  to  the  name,  or  prefixing 
the  title  "  Dr."  or  any  sign  or  appellation  in  a  medical  sense 
is  prima  facie  evidence   of  practicing  medicine  within  the 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  795 

meaning  of  the  acts.  Exemptions  as  usual  are  made  for 
surgeons  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  for  dentists,  temporary 
assistance,  and  the  domestic  administration  of  family  medi- 
cines,—  also  for  "  any  legally-qualified  osteopath  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  osteopathy  "  under  the  permission  of  the  law 
of  1897  regulating  that  practice. 

Minnesota,  1895.  This  State  has  a  State  Board  of  Medi- 
cal Examiners,  nine  in  number,  appointed  by  the  Governor. 
No  member  of  this  Board  may  serve  for  more  than  two 
terms  in  succession,  nor  be  a  member  of  any  college  or 
university  having  a  medical  department,  and  three  of  the 
members  must  be  Homoeopathic  physicians.  Applicants  for 
a  license  to  practice  medicine  and  surgery  in  any  of  the 
branches  must  submit  to  an  examination  at  a  regular  meet- 
ing of  the  Board,  in  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Chemistry, 
Histology,  Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics,  Preventive 
Medicine,  Practice  of  Medicine,  Surgery,  Obstetrics, 
Diseases  of  Women  and  Children,  Diseases  of  the  Nervous 
System,  Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  Ear,  Medical  Juris- 
prudence, and  such  other  branches  as  the  Board  shall  deem 
advisable.  They  must  also  present  evidence  of  having 
attended  three  full  courses  of  lectures  at  a  medical  college 
recognized  by  the  State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners,  of  at 
least  twenty-six  weeks,  no  two  courses  being  within  the 
same  year.  The  examinations  are  required  by  the  Board  to 
be  in  writing,  and  in  the  English  language.  They  last  two 
and  a  half  days,  two  hours  being  given  to  each  subject. 
The  Board  may  refuse  or  revoke  a  license  "  for  unprofes- 
sional, dishonorable  or  immoral  conduct,"  in  which  case  the 
applicant  may  appeal  to  the  Governor.  The  penalty  for 
practicing  without  having  first  obtained  the  license  is  a  fine 
of  $5  to  $100,  or  imprisonment  for  ten  to  ninety  days,  or 
both   fine   and   imprisonment.     The  practice  of  medicine  is 


796  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

set  forth  to  include  the  appending  of  the  letters  "  M.  D."  or 
"  M.  B."  to  the  name  of  the  individual,  or  prescribing  or 
recommending  for  the  use  of  any  person  "  any  drugs  or 
medicine,  or  other  agency  for  the  treatment,  care  or  relief  of 
any  wound,  fracture  or  bodily  injury,  infirmity  or  disease." 
The  act,  however,  does  not  apply  to  dentists. 

Mississippi,  1892.  Chapter  104  of  the  Annotated  Code 
requires  every  person  who  desires  to  practice  medicine  to 
obtain  a  license  from  the  State  Board  of  Health.  His  ap- 
plication must  state  his  name  in  full,  his  place  of  residence 
and  post  office  address,  his  nativity  and  age,  the  time  spent 
in  medical  study,,  the  name  and  address  of  the  preceptor, 
the  courses  of  medical  lectures  attended,  the  name  of  the 
medical  schools  attended,  if  a  graduate  the  name  of  the 
medical  college,  the  time  spent  in  a  hospital,  the  time  if  any, 
spent  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  the  School  or  System  of 
Practice  chosen,  and  references  as  to  personal  character. 
The  examination  relates  to  "  his  learning  in  the  following 
branches  of  learning  only,  viz. :  Anatomy.  Chemistry, 
Obstetrics,  Materia  Medica,  Physiology,  Pathology,  Surgery 
and  Hygiene."  All  examinations  as  to  learning  are  upon 
written  questions  and  answers,  "  and  distinctions  shall  not 
be  made  between  applicants  because  of  the  different  sys- 
tems or  Schools  of  Practice  that  may  be  chosen."  The 
license  must  be  signed  by  each  of  the  members  of  the  Board 
who  approves  of  its  issuance.  It  names  the  place  of  resi- 
dence and  post  office  address  of  the  recipient,  and  qualifica- 
tions as  to  learning  and  moral  character.  Every  person 
receiving  a  license  must  file  it  within  sixty  days  from  its 
date,  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the 
county  in  which  he  resides,  or  otherwise  it  will  be  void. 
Females  engaged  in  the  practice  of  midwifery  are  not  re- 
quired to  procure  a  license. 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  797 

Missouri,  1883.  The  Revised  Statutes  of  Missouri  place 
medical  matters  in  the  hands  of  the  State  Board  of  Health. 
This  Board  consists  of  seven  members,  four  of  the  Old 
School,  two  Homoeopathists  and  one  Eclectic  physician.  It 
gives  certificates  to  graduates  of  medical  colleges  in  good 
standing  (having  a  graded  course  of  instruction)  signed  by 
at  least  four  members,  which  are  conclusive  of  the  holders' 
rights  to  practice  medicine  in  the  State.  If  an  applicant  is 
not  a  graduate,  he  must  submit  to  such  examination  as  the 
Board  may  require.  The  examinations  may  be  in  whole  or 
in  part  in  writing,  and  must  be  of  an  elementary  and 
practical  character,  but  sufficiently  strict  to  test  the  qualifi- 
cations of  the  candidate  as  a  practitioner.  If  the  examina- 
tion is  satisfactory  the  Board  issues  a  certificate  to  that 
effect  signed  by  at  least  four  of  the  members,  which  is  a 
license  to  practice  medicine  in  the  State.  The  Board  may 
refuse  certificates  to  individuals  guilty  of  unprofessioiial  or 
dishonorable  conduct,  and  revoke  them  for  like  causes, 
after  giving  the  person  inculpated  an  opportunity  to  be 
heard  in  his  defense  before  the  Board.  Any  itinerant  ven- 
der of  any  drug,  nostrum,  ointment  or  appliance  of  any 
kind,  intended  for  the  treatment  of  disease  or  injury,  or  who 
shall  in  any  way  "  publicly  profess  to  cure  or  treat  diseases, 
injuries  or  deformities  by  any  drug,  nostrum,  manipulation 
or  other  expedient,"  must  pay  to  the  State  a  license  of  $100 
a  month,  and  in  case  of  violation  of  this  condition,  is 
punished  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  $500,  or  by  imprisonment 
not  to  exceed  six  months,  or  by  both  fine  and  imprisonment. 
Any  person  practicing  medicine  or  surgery  without  comply- 
ing with  the  provisions  of  the  statute  may  be  punished  by  a 
fine  of  $50  to  $500,  or  imprisonment  for  thirty  days  to  a 
year,  or  by  both  fine  and  imprisonment  for  each  and  every 
offense. 


798  HISTORY  OF  MEDICINE. 

There  has  not  always  been  harmony  between  the 
Board  of  Health  and  the  Courts,  Legislature  and  Governor. 
Judge  Noonan  of  St.  Louis  declared  certain  sections  of  the 
statute  to  be  unconstitutional,  and  the  Legislature  has  once 
or  twice  omitted  to  make  appropriation  for  the  Board.  The 
diplomas  of  a  college  in  Kansas  City  having  been  rejected 
by  the  Board,  an  order  was  secured  from  the  Supreme  Court 
requiring  it  to  accept  them.  The  Osteopathic  College  also 
had  a  controversy,  and  won  its  case.  In  1896  a  graduate 
of  the  Physio-Medical  College  of  Indiana  was  refused,  on 
the  ground  that  the  institution  was  not  in  good  standing. 
The  Supreme  Court,  however,  declared  that  "  good  stand- 
ing "  in  the  statutes  simply  meant  good  reputation,  and 
granted  him  a  peremptory  writ  to  obtain  the  certificate.* 

Montana,  1895.  A  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  is  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate.  It  is  composed  of  "  seven  learned,  skilled  and 
capable  physicians  "  who  have  attended  three  courses  of 
lectures,  and  are  "  graduates  of   accredited  colleges  of  medi- 


*  Dr.  Edwin  Younkin  suggests  that  the  true  remedy  for  these  difficulties  lies  with 
the  medical  colleges  themselves.  "  Let  their  charters  be  granted  upon  certain  articles 
of  agreement,"  he  proposes  ;  "and  let  those  articles  of  agreement  define  the  kind  of 
material  that  the  colleges  are  to  accept  as  students,  the  amount  of  preliminary  educa- 
tion, the  branches  to  be  taught,  and  the  length  and  number  of  sessions.  Then,  when  a 
college  violates  the  stipulations  of  its  charter,  the  Court  can  take  away  the  charter  and 
shut  the  doors  of  the  institution.  A  charter  thus  granted,  a  diploma  would  be  sufficient 
evidence  of  qualification." 

"  As  long,"  Dr.  Younkin  adds,  "  as  long  as  an  institution  is  operating  under  the 
provisions  of  its  charter,  it  is  a  question  in  my  mind  whether  a  State  Board  of  Exam- 
iners can  have  the  Constitution  and  authority  to  dictate  to  the  graduates  of  that  in- 
stitution as  to  whether  they  practice  medicine  or  not." 

Declarations  of  eminent  jurists  are  of  the  same  tenor.  "  I  hold,"  says  Justice 
Bradley  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  "  I  hold  that  the  liberty  of  pursuit —  the 
right  to  follow  any  of  the  ordinary  callings  of  life  —  is  one  of  the  privileges  of  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States.  But  if  it  does  not  abridge  the  privileges  and  immunities  of  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States  to  prohibit  him  from  pursuing  his  chosen  calling  and 
giving  to  others  the  exclusive  right  of  pursuing  it,  it  certainly  does  deprive  him  (to  a 
certain  extent)  of  his  liberty  ;  for  it  takes  from  him  the  freedom  of  adopting  and  follow- 
ing the  pursuit  which  he  prefers  ;  which,  as  already  intimated,  is  a  material  part  of  the 
liberty  of  the  citizen." 

Justice  R.  W.  Peckham  quotes  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  that  "  the  word 
'  liberty  '  as  used  in  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution,  compre- 
hends not  merely  the  right  to  freedom  from  physical  restraint,  but  also  the  right  to 
'  pursue  any  livelihood  or  calling  ;  and  for  that  purpose  to  enter  into  all  contracts 
which  may  be  proper.'  " 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  799 

cine,"  The  term  of  office  is  fixed  at  seven  years.  Appli- 
cants wishing  to  practice  medicine  or  surgery,  or  any  of 
their  departments  in  the  State,  must  present  the  Board  with 
his  or  her  diploma  to  be  verified  as  to  its  genuineness.  "  If 
the  diploma  is  found  genuine,  and  is  issued  by  a  medical 
school  legally  organized  and  in  good  standing,  whose 
teachers  are  graduates  of  a  legally-organized  school,  which 
facts  the  said  Board  of  Examiners  shall  determine,  and  if 
the  person  presenting  and  claiming  said  diploma  be  the 
person  to  whom  the  same  was  originally  granted,  at  a  time 
and  place  designated  by  said  Board,  or  at  a  regular  meeting 
of  said  Board,  said  applicant  shall  submit  to  an  examination 
in  the  following  branches,  to  wit :  Anatomy,  Physiology, 
Chemistry,  Histology,  Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics,  Pre- 
ventive Medicine,  Practice  of  Medicine,  Surgery,  Obstetrics, 
Diseases  of  Women  and  Children,  Diseases  of  the  Nervous 
System,  Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  Ear,  Medical  Jurisprudence 
and  such  other  branches  as  the  Board  shall  deem  advisa- 
ble." He  must  also  present  evidence  of  having  attended 
four  courses  of  lectures  of  at  least  six  months  each.  "  Said 
Board  shall  cause  such  examination  to  be  both  scientific  and 
practical,  but  of  sufficient  thoroughness  and  severity  to  test 
the  candidate's  fitness  to  practice  medicine  and  surgery ; 
when  desired,  such  examination  may  be  conducted  in  the 
presence  of  the  dean  of  any  medical  school,  or  the  president 
of  any  medical  society  of  the  State."  A  majority  of  the 
members  of  the  Board  may  decide  whether  the  examination 
is  satisfactory,  and  decide  upon  the  granting  of  a  certificate 
accordingly. 

The  Board  may  refuse  to  grant  a  certificate  for  "  unpro- 
fessional, dishonorable  or  immoral  conduct."  But  before 
this  can  be  done  the  Board  must  serve  in  writing  upon  the 
applicant   a  copy  of  the  charges  against  him  and  appoint  a 


8oO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

day  for  the  hearing.  Upon  a  like  hearing  the  Board  may 
refuse  a  certificate  to  any  one  who  may  publicly  profess  to 
cure  or  treat  disease,  injury  or  deformity  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  deceive  the  public.  The  Board  may  also  with  the 
concurrence  of  four  members,  revoke  a  certificate  for  unpro- 
fessional, dishonorable  or  immoral  conduct,  giving  the  in- 
culpated physician  like  opportunity  to  oppose  and  refute  the 
charges.  In  case  of  such  refusal  or  revocation  of  a  certifi- 
;ate  the  person  aggrieved  may  take  an  appeal  to  the  Dis- 
trict Court  of  the  County  in  which  the  action  was  taken, 
and  the  Court  must  affirm  or  reverse  the  decision  of  the 
Board.  An  appeal  may  also  be  taken  from  the  judgment  of 
the  District  Court  to  the  Supreme  Court. 

The  certificate  when  awarded  must  be  recorded  within 
sixty  days  in  the  office  of  the  County  Clerk  in  the  county  in 
which  the  holder  resides,  and  till  it  is  so  recorded  the 
physician  practicing  under  it  is  liable  to  all  the  penalties 
prescribed.  A  person  practicing  medicine  or  surgery  with- 
out a  certificate  is  liable  on  conviction  to  a  fine  of  $ioo  to 
$400,  or  imprisonment  for  thirty  to  ninety  days,  or  to  both 
fine  and  imprisonment.  Any  person  is  regarded  as 
practicing  medicine  who  uses  the  letters  "  M,  D."  or  pro- 
fesses to  be  a  physician  or  surgeon,  or  "  who  shall  recom- 
mend, prescribe  or  direct  for  the  use  of  any  person  any 
drug,  medicine,  appliance,  apparatus  or  other  agency, 
whether  material  or  immaterial,  for  the  cure,  relief  or 
palliation  of  any  ailment  or  disease  of  the  mind  or  body,  or 
for  the  cure  or  relief  of  any  wound,  fracture  or  bodily  injury, 
or  other  deformity,  after  having  received  or  with  the  intent 
of  receiving  therefor,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  any  bonus, 
gift  or  compensation." 

Nebraska,  1891.  The  State  Board  of  Health  has  charge 
of  medical  matters  in  Nebraska.     This  Board  consists  of  the 


SYNOPSIS    OE    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  8oi 

Governor,  Attorney-General  and  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction.  It  has  four  secretaries,  graduated  physicians 
who  have  practiced  medicine  consecutively  for  seven  years, 
and  are  actually  so  engaged  in  Nebraska.  "  Two  shall  be 
physicians  of  the  so-called  Regular  Sohool,  one  of  the  so- 
called  Eclectic  School,  and  one  of  the  so-called  Homoeo- 
pathic School."  The  Secretaries  advise  aid  assist  the 
Board  in  the  performing  of  its  duties.  Candidates  for  the 
practice  of  medicine  must  present  their  diplomas  to  the 
Board  with  an  affidavit  that  they  are  lawful  possessors  of  the 
same,  and  have  attended  the  full  course  of  study  required 
for  the  degree,  and  are  the  persons  there  named.  A  medi- 
cal college,  in  order  to  be  considered  in  good  standing, 
must  require  a  preliminary  examination  for  admission  to  its 
courses  of  study,  and  from  the  candidate  for  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  an  attendance  on  at  least  three  courses 
of  lectures  of  six  months  each,  no  two  of  them  in  the  same 
year,  and  have  a  full  Faculty  of  Professors  in  all  the  different 
branches  of  medical  education,  namely :  Anatomy,  Physi- 
ology, Chemistry,  Toxicology,  Pathology,  Hygiene,  Materia 
Medica,  Therapeutics,  Obstetrics,  Gynaecology,  Principles 
and  Practice  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  and  clinical  instruc- 
tion in  the  last  two  named.  If  upon  investigation  of  the 
diploma  and  affidavit  the  applicant  shall  be  found  entitled  to 
practice,  there  shall  be  issued  to  him  the  certificate  of  the 
Board.  The  certificate,  however,  may  be  refused  or  revoked 
for  unprofessional  or  dishonorable  conduct,  after  opportunity 
for  a  hearing  has  been  given.  No  person  can  recover  for 
professional  services  who  has  not  complied  with  the  pro- 
visions of  the  statute,  and  is  authorized  to  be  registered  as  a 
physician.  Any  person  not  possessing  the  qualifications  for 
the  practice  of  medicine,  surgery  or  obstetrics  as  required, 
or  who   has  engaged   in    such  practice   in   disregard  of  the 


8o2  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

provisions  of  the  statute,  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  $50  to  ^300 
and  costs  for  each  offense,  and  stand  committed  till  the 
fines  and  costs  are  paid.  Itinerant  venders  of  any  drug, 
nostrum,  ointment  or  appliance  of  any  kind  intended  for  the 
treatment  of  any  disease  or  injury,  or  who  shall  by  any 
method  publicly  profess  to  cure  or  treat  a  disease  or  injury 
or  deformity,  by  any  drug,  nostrum,  manipulation  or  oth^r 
expedient,  will  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon 
conviction  will  be  fined  $50  to  $100  and  imprisoned  for 
thirty  days  to  three  months,  or  both,  in  the  discretion  of  the 
Court,  for  each  offense.  Any  person  is  to  be  regarded  as 
coming  within  the  scope  of  this  enactment  "  who  shall 
operate  on,  profess  to  heal,  or  prescribe  for,  or  otherwise 
treat  any  physical  or  mental  ailment  of  another."  But  the 
enactment  does  not  apply  to  commissioned  surgeons  of  the 
United  States  service,  nor  to  nurses  in  th^ir  legitimate 
occupations,  or  to  gratuitous  services  in  case  of  an  emer- 
gency, nor  to  the  administration  of  household  remedies. 

Nevada,  1875.  ^°  person  may  practice  medicine  or 
surgery  in  Nevada  who  has  not  received  a  medical  educa- 
tion and  a  diploma  from  a  regularly-chartered  medical  school 
which  had  a  bofia  Jide  existence  at  the  time  when  the 
diploma  was  granted.  A  copy  of  it  must  be  filed  with  the 
Clerk  of  the  County,  or  a  certificate  from  the  dean  of  the 
school,  certifying  to  his  graduation.  The  penalty  for  prac- 
ticing medicine  in  violation  of  the  statute,  is  a  fine  of  $50 
to  $500,  or  imprisonment  for  thirty  days  to  six  months  for 
each  offense,  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment. 

Several  States  have  required  from  physicians  who  are  not 
graduates  in  medicine,  a  certani  defined  number  of  years  of 
practice,  next  preceding  the  passage  of  the  medical  act. 
The  Supreme  Court  of  Nevada  has  declared  this  to  be  un- 
constitutional,    because    in     violation    of    the    Fourteenth 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES,  803 

Amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  perceive  that  the  amendment  in  question,  properly  inter- 
preted and  applied,  is  more  sweeping  still. 

Netv  Hampshire,  1897.  The  statute  provides  for  three 
separate  Boards  of  Medical  Examiners,  of  five  members 
each,  to  be  appointed  b}'  the  Governor,  from  each  of  the 
three  State  Medical  Societies.  The  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  is  their  Regent,  and  all  examinations  of 
candidates  are  conducted  through  him.  Only  persons  hold- 
ing diplomas  from  reputable  medical  colleges  are  admitted 
to  examination.  Licentiates  from  other  States,  with  a 
standard  equal  to  that  of  New  Hampshire,  are  licensed 
without  examination.  A  discrimination  is  made  in  favor  of 
applicants  who  graduate  at  the  medical  colleges  of  New 
Hampshire  prior  to  1903- 

A  medical  statute  had  been  enacted  several  years  before, 
but  was  declared  unconstitutional  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  State. 

New  Jersey,  1894.  The  enactment  of  1894  provides  for  a 
State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  appointed  by  the  Gover- 
nor, with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  "  consist 
of  five  Old-School  physicians,  three  Homoeopathic  and  one 
Eclectic."  All  persons  beginning  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  any  of  its  branches  in  the  State  must  submit  an  applica- 
tion to  the  Board,  with  satisfactory  proof  of  good  moral 
character,  and  a  competent  common-school  education,  and 
must  also  have  received  a  diploma  conferring  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  from  some  legally-incorporated  medical 
college  in  good  standing  when  it  was  issued,  or  a  diploma 
or  license  conferring  full  right  to  practice  medicine  in  a 
foreign  country,  having  studied  medicine  four  years,  includ- 
ing three  full  courses  of  lectures  in  different  years  in  some 
American   or  foreign   medical   college  or  colleges  legally  in- 


Sod.  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

corporated  prior  to  the  granting  of  the  diploma  or  license. 
They  must  then  submit  to  examinations  in  writing  in  the 
English  language;  and  the  questions,  except  in  Materia 
Medica  and  Therapeutics,  must  be  such  as  can  be  answered 
in  common  in  all  Schools  of  Practice.  If  an  applicant  in- 
tends to  practice  as  an  Homoeopathist  or  Eclectic  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  belonging  to  these  Schools  respectively 
will  examine  him  in  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics. 
The  examinations  are  upon  the  following  subjects,  namely : 
Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics  ;  Obstetrics  and  Gynae- 
cology ;  Practice  of  Medicine,  including  Diseases  of  the 
Skin,  Nose  and  Throat ;  Surgery,  including  Surgical 
Anatomy  and  Diseases  of  the  Eye,  Ear  and  Genito-Urinary 
Organs ;  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Chemistry,  Histology, 
Pathology,  Bacteriology,  Hygiene,  Medical  Jurisprudence, 
and  in  such  other  subjects  as  the  Board  may  decide.  All 
examinations  must  be  scientific  and  practical,  and  of 
sufficient  severity  to  test  the  fitness  of  the  candidate.  If 
they  are  satisfactory  the  Board  issues  a  license  entitling  the 
recipient  to  practice  medicine  in  the  State.  In  case  that 
an  adverse  conclusion  is  reached,  the  candidate  may  appeal 
to  the  Governor,  who  will  appoint  three  competent  persons, 
one  of  each  School,  to  review  the  questions  and  answers 
submitted.  A  temporary  license  is  also  given  to  a  physician 
from  another  State  who  takes  the  place  of  a  physician  in 
New  Jersey.  Licentiates  from  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
and  members  and  ex-members  of  the  State  Examining 
Boards  of  other  States  are  accepted  without  examination. 
A  license  may  be  refused  or  revoked  for  chronic  inebriety,  the 
practice  of  criminal  abortion,  conviction  of  crime  which 
involves  moral  turpitude,  public  advertising  of  special 
ability  to  treat  or  cure  chronic  and  incurable  cases,  or  fraud 
in  procuring  the  license. 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  805 

Any  person  is  regarded  as  practicing  medicine  or  surgery, 
who  makes  use  of  the  words  or  letters  "  Dr.",  "  Doctor," 
"Professor,"  "  M.  D.",  "  M.  B.",  in  connection  with  his  or 
her  name  intending  to  be  understood  by  it  as  a  practitioner 
of  Medicine  or  Surgery  in  any  of  its  branches,  and  who  in 
connection  with  any  of  these  titles  or  without  them  "  shall 
prescribe,  direct,  recommend,  advise,  apply,  give  or  sell,  for 
the  use  of  any  person  or  persons,  any  drug  or  medicine  or 
other  agency  or  application  for  the  treatment,  cure  or  relief 
of  any  bodily  injury,  infirmity  or  disease."  The  provisions 
of  the  act  "  apply  to  all  persons  professing  and  attempting 
to  cure  diseases  by  means  of  the  so-called  systems  of  '  failh- 
curism,'  '  mind-reading,'  '  laying-on-of-hands,'  and  other 
similar  systems."  The  penalty  for  violation  is  a  fine  of  not 
less  than  $ioo  or  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  thirty  days, 
or  both  fine  and  imprisonment ;  and  double  the  penalty  for 
each  subsequent  offense. 

The  Examiners  are  paid  solely  from  the  license  fees 
which  they  receive. 

New  York,  1893,  1895.  There  are  three  separate  Staie 
Boards  of  Medical  Examiners  in  New  York,  of  seven  mem- 
bers each,  one  representing  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State,  one  representing  the  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society, 
and  one  representing  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society.  They 
are  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  of 
the  State  of  New  York  from  lists  of  candidates  furnished  by 
the  respective  Societies.  Each  of  these  candidates  must 
have  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from  some 
registered  medical  school,  and  practiced  medicine  legally  in 
the  State  for  five  years.  Each  Board  must  submit  to  the 
Regents  as  required,  lists  of  suitable  questions  in  Anatomy, 
Physiology  and  Hygiene,  Chemistry,  Surgery,  Obstetrics, 
Pathology    and    Diagnosis,    and     Therapeutics,    including 


8o6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Practice  and  Materia  Medica.  From  these  lists  the  Regents 
prepare  question  papers  for  all  these  subjects,  which  are  the 
same  for  all  candidates  at  any  examination,  except  that  in 
Therapeutics  and  Materia  Medica  all  the  questions  sub- 
mitted to  any  candidate  are  those  from  the  Board 
selected  by  him,  and  must  be  in  harmony  with  the  tenets  of 
that  School  as  determined  by  its  State  Board  of  Medical 
Examiners. 

Candidates  are  admitted  to  examination  by  the  Regents 
upon  paying  a  fee  of  $25  and  presenting  satisfactory  evi- 
dence, (i)  that  they  are  more  than  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
(2)  that  they  are  of  good  moral  character,  (3)  that  they 
have  the  general  education  required  by  law  preliminary  to 
receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  or  Doctor  of  Medicine  in 
the  State,  (4)  that  they  have  studied  medicine  not  less  than 
three  full  years,  including  three  satisfactory  courses  in  three 
different  academic  years  in  a  medical  school  registered  as 
maintaining  at  the  time  a  satisfactory  standard,  and  (5)  that 
they  have  either  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  or  Doctor 
of  Medicine  from  some  registered  medical  school,  or  a 
diploma  or  license  conferring  full  right  to  practice  medicine 
in  some  foreign  country. 

The  degree  of  Bachelor  or  Doctor  of  Medicine  can  not 
be  conferred  in  New  York  before  the  candidate  has  filed 
with  the  institution  conferring  it  the  certificate  of  the 
Regents  of  the  University,  that  three  years  before  the  date 
of  the  degree  he  has  either  graduated  from  a  registered 
college  or  satisfactorily  completed  a  full  course  in  a  regis- 
tered academy  or  high  school ;  or  that  he  has  had  a  pre- 
liminary education  considered  and  accepted  by  the  Regents 
as  fully  equivalent.  The  Regents  may,  however,  in  their 
discretion  accept  five  years  of  reputable  practice  of  medicine 
as  equivalent  for  any  part  of  the  requirements  in  regard  to 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES  807 

general  education  and  attendance   at   a  medical  school  for 
three  years. 

Upon  receiving  from  a  State  Board  an  official  report  that 
an  applicant  has  successfully  passed  the  examinations  and 
is  recommended  for  license,  the  Regents,  if  they  deem  him 
qualified,  issue  a  license  accordingly  to  practice  medicine. 
Applicants  who  have  been  examined  and  licensed  by  other 
State  Examining  Boards  which  have  been  registered  by  the 
Regents  as  maintaining  standards  not  lower  than  provided 
in  this  State,  and  applicants  matriculating  in  a  medical 
school  in  New  York  before  June  5th,  1890  and  graduating 
before  August  1895,  may  receive  from  them  an  endorsement 
of  their  licenses  or  diplomas  conferring  all  rights  of  a  license 
from  the  Regents  issued  after  examination. 

Every  license  to  practice  medicine  must  be  registered  in 
the  office  of  the  County  Clerk  of  the  county  in  which  the 
holder  intends  to  begin  practice,  before  he  so  engages.  He 
must  make  affidavit  that  he  is  the  person  to  whom  it  was 
issued,  that  he  had  complied  with  all  requisites  of  study, 
attendance  and  examinations,  that  he  had  paid  no  money 
for  the  license  except  the  regular  fees,  and  that  no  fraud, 
misrepresentation  or  material  mistake  had  been  employed  or 
occurred  in  order  that  the  license  should  be  conferred.  In 
case  of  removal  to  another  county  the  certificate  of  registra- 
tion must  be  shown  to  the  County  Clerk,  and  endorsed  by 
him. 

No  registration  is  valid  unless  the  authority  registered  to 
practice  medicine  has  been  issued  or  endorsed  as  a  license 
by  the  Regents.  "  No  diploma  or  license  conferred  on  a 
person  not  actually  in  attendance  at  the  lectures,  instruction 
and  examination  of  the  school  conferring  the  same,  or  not 
possessed  at  the  time  of  its  conferment,  of  the  requirements, 
then  demanded  of  medical   students   in  this  State  as  a  con- 


8o8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

dition  of  their  being  licensed  so  as  to  practice,  and  no  regis- 
tration not  in  accordance  with  this  article  shall  be  lawful 
authority  to  practice  medicine,  nor  shall  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  be  conferred  honoris  causa  or  ad  eundem, 
nor  if  previously  conferred  shall  it  be  a  qualification  for 
such  practice."  All  previous  legislation  making  degrees  of 
these  descriptions  heretofore  conferred  a  condition  of 
license  are  repealed. 

The  penalty  for  violation  of  the  medical  statute  is  a  fine 
not  exceeding  $250  for  the  first  offense,  or  imprisonment  for 
six  months,  and  for  subsequent  offenses  a  fine  of  not  more 
than  $500  or  imprisonment  for  one  year,  or  both  fine  and 
imprisonment.  The  offending  is  enumerated  as  practicing 
medicine  without  lawful  registration ;  buying,  selling  or 
fradulently  obtaining  any  medical  diploma,  license,  record 
or  registration,  or  aiding  or  abetting  in  such  a  matter,  or 
practicing  medicine  under  cover  of  such  an  illicit  procedure, 
or  after  having  been  convicted  of  a  felony,  or  appending  the 
letters  "  M.  D."  to  his  or  her  name,  or  any  title  conveying 
the  impression  of  being  a  practitioner  of  medicine  when  not 
having  legally  received  the  medical  degree  or  license  to 
practice  medicine.  Any  person  who  shall  practice  medicine 
under  a  false  or  assumed  name,  or  who  shall  falsely  per- 
sonate another  practitioner  of  a  like  or  different  name  is  de- 
clared guilty  of  a  felony. 

North  Carolina,  1889.  There  is  established  for  the 
proper  regulation  of  the  practice  of  medicine  a  Board 
entitled  "  The  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  of  the  State  of 
North  Carolina,"  consisting  of  seven  regularly  graduated 
physicians  appointed  by  the  Medical  Society  of  the  State. 
No  person  may  engage  in  the  practice  of  medicine  except 
he  has  been  licensed  by  this  Board.  All  applicants  must  be 
examined  by  the  Board  on  Anatomy,  Physiolog}^  Surgery, 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES  809 

Pathology,  Medical  Hygiene,  Chemistry,  Pharmacy,  Materia 
Medica,  Therapeutics,  Obstetrics  and  the  Practice  of  Medi- 
cine. If  found  competent  the  applicant  will  receive  a 
license  or  diploma  conferring  the  desired  authority.  Five 
members  of  the  Board  constitute  a  quorum,  and  four  must 
be  agreed  in  regard  to  the  qualifications  of  the  applicant. 
Two  of  the  Examiners  can  grant  a  temporary  license  which 
will  be  valid  till  the  next  meeting  of  the  Board.  Any 
license  granted  by  the  Board  may  be  rescinded,  when  the 
holder  has  been  guilty  of  grossly  immoral  conduct.  Any 
person  who  practices  medicine  without  a  license  can  not  sue 
for  and  recover  any  bill  for  services  ;  and  upon  conviction 
for  so  doing,  may  be  fined  $25  to  $100  or  imprisonment,  at 
the  discretion  of  the  Court,  for  each  and  every  offense. 
Midvvives  are  not  included  in  this  statute,  and  physicians 
from  other  States  coming  into  the  State  for  consultation  are 
likewise  exempt. 

North  Dakota,  1891.  The  State  Board  of  Medical  Exam- 
iners is  appointed  by  the  Governor,  and  is  composed  of  nine 
persons,  eight  of  them  practicing  physicians  in  good  stand- 
ing, and  one  a  lawyer.  Two  of  the  physicians  are  to  be 
Homoeopathists.  No  member  may  serve  more  than  two 
terms  in  succession,  or  be  member  of  any  college  or  uni- 
versity having  a  medical  department.  All  persons  com- 
mencing the  practice  of  Medicine,  Surgery  and  Obstetrics 
in  any  of  their  branches  in  the  State,  must  apply  for  a 
license  and  submit  to  an  examination  in  Anatomy,  Physi- 
ology, Chemistry,  Histology,  Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics. 
Preventive  Medicine,  Practice  of  Medicine,  Surgery, 
Obstetrics,  Diseases  of  Women  and  Children,  Diseases  of 
the  Nervous  System,  Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  Ear,  Medical 
Jurisprudence,  and  such  other  branches  as  the  Board  shall 
deem  desirable,  and    present  evidence  of   having  attended 


8lO  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

three  courses  of  lectures  of  six  months  each ;  the  examina- 
tion to  be  both  practical  and  scientific,  but  of  sufficient 
severity  to  test  the  candidate's  fitness  to  practice  Medicine, 
Surgery  and  Obstetrics.  When  desired,  it  may  be  con- 
ducted in  the  presence  of  the  Dean  of  any  medical  school 
or  the  president  of  medical  society  of  the  State.  After 
examination  the  Board  may  grant  a  license  to  practice,  but 
only  by  consent  of  seven  members,  and  the  person  receiving 
it  must  file  it,  or  a  copy  of  it,  with  the  Register  of  Deeds 
where  he  or  she  may  reside.  A  license  may  be  revoked  or 
refused  for  unprofessional,  dishonorable  or  immoral  conduct, 
or  for  chronic  or  persistent  inebriety,  or  for  the  practice  of 
criminal  abortion,  or  for  publicly  advertising  to  treat  or  cure 
diseases  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Board,  it  impossible  to 
cure.  The  person  inculpated  is  entitled  to  a  hearing  in 
person,  or  by  attorney,  in  his  own  behalf,  and  to  an  appeal 
to  the  appointing  power.  The  penalty  for  practicing  medi- 
cine without  a  license  is  a  fine  of  $50  to  ^200,  or  imprison- 
ment for  ten  to  sixty  days,  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment. 
Any  person  is  regarded  as  practicing  medicine  who  appends 
the  letters  "  M.  D."  or  "  M.  B."  to  his  or  her  name,  or  for  a 
fee  prescribes,  directs  or  recommends  for  the  use  of  any 
person  any  drug  or  medicine,  or  other  agency  for  the  treat- 
ment, cure  or  relief  of  any  wound,  fracture  or  bodily  injury, 
infirmity  or  disease.  But  this  enactment  does  not  apply  to 
dentists,  or  to  surgeons  commissioned  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  or  to  physicians  or  surgeons  in  consultation 
from  other  States  or  Territories,  or  to  medical  students  prac- 
ticing medicine  under  tlie  supervision  of  a  preceptor. 

Ohio,  1896.  The  Governor  of  Ohio  is  authorized  to  ap>- 
appoint,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  a  State 
Board  of  Medical  Registration  and  Examination  consisting 
of  seven  members,  who  are  physicians  of  good  standing  in 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  8ll 

their  profession.  Representation  is  given  to  Schools  of 
Practice  in  the  State  in  proportion  to  their  numerical 
strength,  but  no  one  School  is  to  have  a  majority  in  the 
Board.  No  person  may  practice  medicine,  surgery  or  mid- 
wifery except  he  shall  first  have  complied  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  statute.  If  a  graduate,  he  must  present  his 
diploma  either  personally  or  by  letter  or  proxy,  with  an 
affidavit  that  he  is  the  person  named,  and  is  the  lawful 
possessor,  and  stating  his  age  and  time  spent  in  the  study  of 
medicine.  If  the  Board  finds  the  diploma  to  be  genuine, 
and  from  a  legally-chartered  medical  institution  in  good 
standing,  as  determined  by  the  Board,  and  that  the  person 
named  in  it  is  the  holder  and  possessor,  it  shall  issue  its 
certificate  to  that  efifect,  which,  when  delivered  to  the  Pro- 
bate Judge  for  record  is  conclusive  evidence  that  the  owner 
is  entitled  to  practice  medicine  or  surgery  in  the  State. 

The  Board  may  refuse  or  revoke  a  certificate  in  case  that 
the  person  is  guilty  of  felony  or  gross  immorality,  or  addicted 
to  the  liquor  or  drug  habit  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render  him 
unfit  to  practice  medicine  or  surgery.  An  appeal  may  be 
taken  to  the  Governor  and  Attorney-General,  and  their 
decision,  either  affirming   or  overruling  this  action,  is  final. 

All  persons  desiring  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  mid- 
wifery must  also  appear  before  the  Board  for  examination. 
If  this  is  satisfactory  a  certificate  to  that  effect  is  issued, 
which  entitles  the  holder,  when  filed  with  the  Probate  Judge, 
to  practice  midwifery  in  the  State.  It  may  be  refused  or 
revoked  as  in  the  case  of  physicians.  The  certificate,  how- 
ever gives  no  authority  to  perform  version,  or  treat  breech 
or  face  presentation,  or  do  any  obstetric  operation  requiring 
instruments,  except  in  emergencies. 

The  penalty  for  practicing  medicine  or  surgery  in  viola- 
tion of  the  statute  is  a  fine  of  ^20  to  $500,  or  imprisonment 


8l2  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

from  thirty  days  to  one  year,  or  both  fine  and  imprisonment. 
A  person  practicing  midwifery  in  violation  of  the  statute  is 
liable  to  a  fine  of  $25  to  $100.  A  person  who  files  or 
attempts  to  file  as  his  own,  the  diploma  or  certificate  be- 
longing to  another,  or  a  false,  forged  certificate  of  his 
identity,  or  who  wilfully  swears  falsely  to  any  question  pro- 
pounded at  his  examination,  or  to  any  affidavit  required  to 
be  made  or  filed  by  him  with  the  Board,  is  guilty  of  felony 
and  liable  to  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  one  to  five 
years. 

A  person  is  regarded  as  practicing  medicine  or  surgery 
who  appends  the  letters  M.  D.  or  M.  B.  to  his  name,  or 
for  a  fee  prescribes,  directs  or  recommends  for  the  use  of 
any  person,  any  drug  or  medicine  or  other  agency  for  the 
treatment,  cure  or  relief  of  any  wound,  fracture  or  bodily 
injury,  infirmity  or  disease  ;  but  this  does  not  prohibit  ser- 
vice in  the  case  of  emergency,  or  the  domestic  administra- 
tion of  family  remedies.  None  of  these  requirements  or 
penalties  apply  to  commissioned  officers  in  the  service  cf  the 
United  States,  nor  to  legally  qualified  dentists  when  engaged 
exclusively  in  dentistry,  nor  to  legal  practitioners  of  medi- 
cine or  surgery  from  another  State  or  Territory  when  in 
actual  consultation  with  a  legal  practitioner  of  Ohio,  nor  to  a 
legal  practitioner  living  within  the  border  of  a  neighboring 
State  whose  practice  extends  over  the  boundary. 

Ok/ahofua.  No  person  is  permitted  to  practice  medi- 
cine in  any  of  its  departments  in  Oklahoma  unless  he  is  a 
graduate  of  a  medical  college,  or  unless,  upon  examination 
before  a  Board  composed  of  the  County  Superintendent  of 
Public  Health  and  two  other  physicians  selected  by  the 
Territorial  Board  of  Health,  he  is  found  proficient  in  the 
practice  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  and  to  have  been  actually 
engaged  in  practice    of  medicine  for  a  term  of  five  years. 


SYNOPSIS    OE    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  813 

No  person  may  practice  medicine  unless  he  is  of  good  moral 
character,  and  not  an  habitual  drunkard.  Any  person 
possessing  the  qualifications  required,  will,  upon  the  pres- 
entation of  it,  or  proof  by  affidavit  that  it  is  lost  or  destroyed, 
and  upon  the  affidavit  of  two  reputable  citizens  from  the 
county  in  which  he  resides  that  he  possesses  the  qualifica- 
tions of  a  physician  as  here  set  forth,  receive  from  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Health  a  license  certifying  him  to 
be  a  practicing  physician  and  having  the  requisite  qualifica- 
tions. This  license  must  be  recorded  in  the  office  of 
Register  of  Deeds  of  the  county.  Any  person  who  practices 
medicine,  or  attempts  to  do  so,  without  complying  with  the 
provisions  of  the  statute  is  to  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor. Any  person  who  professes  publicly  to  be  a  physi- 
cian, or  appends  the  title  of  "  M.  D."  to  his  name,  comes 
within  the  requisitions.  But  the  statute  does  not  prohibit 
students  from  prescribing  under  the  supervision  of  pre- 
ceptors, or  gratuitous  services  in  case  of  emergency,  nor 
apply  to  commissioned  surgeons  in  the  Army  and  Navy  of 
the  United  States. 

Oregon,  1895.  The  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  for  the 
State  of  Oregon  consists  of  five  physicians  appointed  by  the 
Governor.  They  must  have  been  residents  of  the  State  for 
seven  years  and  of  five  years  of  practical  experience  in  their 
profession.  "  Three  of  the  Board  shall  be  regulars,  one 
Eclectic  and  one  Homceopathist."  Every  person  desiring 
to  practice  Medicine  or  Surgery,  or  either  of  them,  in  any 
of  their  or  its  branches,  must  make  a  written  application  to 
the  Board  for  a  license.  He  must  accompany  it  by  an 
affidavit  setting  forth  the  actual  time  spent  in  the  study  of 
Medicine  and  Surgery,  and  when  ;  whether  such  study  was 
in  an  institution  of  learning,  and  if  so,  give  its  name  and 
location  ;  and  if  not,  then  where   and  under  whose  tutorship 


8l4  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

the  study  was  prosecuted  ;  the  time  that  the  apphcant  has 
been  engaged  in  actual  practice,  if  at  all,  of  medicine  and 
surgery,  or  either  of  them,  and  where  he  was  located ;  and 
his  age  at  the  time  of  making  application.  He  must  then, 
at  the  time  and  place  designated  by  the  Board,  or  at  a 
regular  meeting,  undergo  an  examination  in  Anatomy, 
Physiology,  Chemistry,  Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics, 
Practice  of  Medicine,  Surgery,  Obstetrics,  Diseases  of 
Women,  Medical  Jurisprudence,  and  such  other  branches  as 
the  Board  shall  deem  advisable.  The  examination  is  to  be 
both  scientific  and  practical,  and  of  sufficient  severity  to 
test  the  fitness  of  the  candidate  for  the  profession.  It  must 
be  by  questions  and  answers,  written  or  printed,  or  partly 
written.  After  examination,  if  the  result  is  satisfactory,  the 
Board  grants  a  license  to  practice  in  the  State.  The  Board, 
however,  may  refuse  or  revoke  a  license  for  "  unprofessiona- 
ble  or  dishonorable  conduct,"  by  which  is  signified  :  i.  the 
procuring,  or  aiding  or  abetting  in  procuring,  a  criminal 
abortion;  2.  the  employing  of  "cappers"  or  "  steerers  " ; 
3.  the  obtaining  of  a  fee  on  the  assurance  that  a  manifestly 
incurable  disease  can  be  permanently  cured ;  4.  the  wilfu^ 
betraying  of  a  professional  secret;  5.  the  advertising  of 
medical  business  in  which  untruthful  or  improbable  state- 
ments are  made  ;  6.  all  advertising  of  any  medicines  whereby 
the  monthly  periods  of  women  are  regulated  or  menses  re- 
established if  suppressed;  7.  conviction  of  any  offense  in- 
volving moral  turpitude  ;  8.  habitual  intemperance. 

Before  a  license  can  be  revoked  a  complaint  must  be  filed 
with  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  and  a  notice  served  upon 
the  person  inculpated,  in  order  that  he  may  appear  and 
defend  himself.  In  case  of  refusal  or  revocation  of  a 
license,  there  may  be  an  appeal  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  the 
county  in  which  the    Board  sat  when  the  action  was  taken, 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  815 

and  a  second  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court.  The  person 
receiving  the  Ucense  must  file  it,  or  a  copy,  with  the 
County  Clerk  of  the  county  in  which  he  resides,  and  in  case 
of  removal  to  another  county  a  certified  copy  must  be  filed 
with  the  County  Clerk  there,  as  in  the  former  instance. 

Any  person  practicing  medicine  or  surgery  without  a 
license,  or  contrary  to  the  statute,  is  subject  on  conviction, 
to  a  fine  of  $50  to  $100,  or  to  imprisonment  for  ten  to  ninety 
days,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment.  Any  person 
will  be  regarded  as  practicing  medicine  who  appends  the 
letters  "  M.  D."  or  "  M.  B."  to  his  or  her  name,  or  who 
shall  for  a  fee,  prescribe,  direct  or  recommend  any  drug  or 
medicine  or  agency  for  the  treatment,  cure  or  relief  of  any 
wound,  fracture  or  bodily  injury,  infirmity  or  disease. 
Justices  of  the  peace  and  municipal  courts  have  jurisdiction 
of  the  provisions  of  the  enactment.  Dentists  are  not  in- 
cluded in  the  prohibition. 

Pennsylvania,  1893.  The  Statute  creates  the  Medical 
Council  of  Pennsylvania  consisting  of  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  the  Attorney-General,  the  Secretary  of  Internal 
Affairs,  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  and  the 
president  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  and  Vital  Statistics, 
including  with  them  the  Presidents  of  the  three  State  Boards 
of  Medical  Examiners,  for  which  the  enactment  specially 
provides.  This  Medical  Council  holds  two  stated  meetings 
at  Harrisburg  in  each  year,  and  may  hold  special  meetings 
at  such  times  and  places  as  it  may  deem  proper.  It  super- 
vises the  examinations  conducted  by  the  Medical  Examiners 
of  all  applicants  for  license  to  practice  Medicine  in  the 
Commonwealth,  and  issues  licenses  to  applicants  presenting 
satisfactory  and  properly  certified  copies  of  licenses  from 
State  Boards  of  Medical  Examiners  or  State  Boards  of 
Health   of   other   States,   or    who   have  successfully  passed 


8l6  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

examinations  made  by  the  State  Boards  of  Examiners  of 
Pennsylvania.  This  Medical  Council,  however,  has  no 
powers,  duties  or  functions,  except  such  as  pertain  to  the 
supervision  of  examinations  and  the  issuing  of  licenses  to 
applicants. 

There  are  three  separate  Boards  of  Medical  Examiners 
for  the  State,  of  seven  members  each  ;  one  representing  the 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  one  repre- 
senting the  Homoeopathic  Aledical  Society  of  the  State  and 
and  one  representing  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society.  The 
members  of  the  Boards  are  appointed  by  the  Governor  from 
names  furnished  by  the  respective  societies,  and  in  case  of 
neglect  to  furnish  such  lists,  then  from  members  in  good 
standing,  belonging  to  the  society  entitled  to  nominate. 
Each  person  appointed  must  be  a  registered  physician  in 
good  standing  who  has  practiced  medicine  or  surgery  for  a 
period  of  not  less  than  ten  years.  Each  Board  has  power  to 
take  testimony  concerning  matters  within  its  jurisdiction, 
and  the  presiding  officer  may  issue  subpoenas  and  admin- 
ister oaths  to  witnesses. 

The  several  Boards  are  required,  not  less  than  a  week 
prior  to  each  examination  of  candidates,  to  submit  to  the 
Medical  Council  questions  for  thorough  examinations  in 
Anatomy,  Physiology,  Hygiene,  Chemistry,  Surgery, 
Obstetrics,  Pathology,  Diagnosis,  Therapeutics,  Practice  of 
Medicine  and  Materia  Medica.  The  Council  selects  from 
the  questions  so  submitted  the  questions  for  each  examina- 
tion. These  are  the  same  for  all  candidates,  except  that  in 
the  departments  of  Therapeutics,  Practice  of  Medicine  and 
Materia  Medica  the  questions  must  be  in  harmony  with  the 
teachings  of  the  School  selected  by  the  candidate.  The 
examinations  are  in  writing,  and  when  concluded  the  Board 
is    required    to    act  upon  them  without  unnecessary  delay. 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  817 

An  official  report  signed  by  the  officers  and  each  acting 
member  is  transmitted  to  the  Medical  Council,  in  which  are 
given  the  examination,  average  of  each  candidate  in  each 
branch,  the  general  average,  and  the  result,  with  the  Exam- 
ination papers,  the  questions  and  answers,  to  be  kept  for 
information  and  reference.  The  Medical  Council  is  required 
to  issue  to  each  candidate  who  has  successfully  passed  the 
examination  and  is  adjudged  by  the  Council  to  be  duly 
qualified  for  the  Practice  of  Medicine,  a  license  to  practice 
medicine  and  surgery  in  the  State.  The  Medical  Council 
must  require  the  same  standard  of  qualifications  from  all 
candidates,  except  in  the  departments  in  which  each  Board 
specifically  determines  the  standard  for  its  own  applicants. 

Every  applicant  is  required  to  present  a  written  applica- 
tion for  license  to  the  Medical  Council,  with  satisfactory 
proof  that  he  is  of  good  moral  character,  and  more  than 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  that  he  has  obtained  a  competent 
common-school  education  and  has  received  a  diploma  from 
a  legally-incorporated  medical  college,  or  a  diploma  or 
license  conferring  the  full  right  to  practice  medicine  and 
surgery  in  some  foreign  country,  having  pursued  the  study 
of  medicine  for  at  least  four  years,  including  three  regular 
courses  of  lectures  in  a  legally-incorporated  medical  college 
prior  to  the  granting  of  the  diploma  or  foreign  license. 
Upon  receiving  the  application  the  Council,  if  satisfied  with 
it,  issue  an  order  for  an  examination  before  the  Board  of 
Medical  Examiners  which  the  candidate  may  select.  In 
case  of  failure  to  pass  the  examination  the  candidate  may 
have  a  second  examination  after  six  months  and  within  two 
years,  without  paying  an  additional  fee.  Applicants  who 
have  been  licensed  by  the  State  Boards  of  Medical  Exam- 
iners or  State  Boards  of  Health  of  other  States,  on  payment 
of  a  fee  of  $15  and   filing  a  copy  of  the  license  certified  by 


8l8  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the  affidavit  of  the  president  or  secretary  of  the  Board  by 
which  it  was  granted,  showing  that  the  standard  of  the 
Board  is  the  same  substantially  as  the  one  required  in 
Pennsylvania,  receive  a  license  conferring  the  rights  and 
privileges  provided  by  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  sections 
of  the  medical  statute. 

No  person  may  enter  upon  the  practice  of  medicine  or 
surgery  in  the  State  unless  he  or  she  has  complied  with  the 
provisions  of  the  medical  statute  and  has  exhibited  to  the 
prothonotary  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  the  county 
in  which  he  or  she  intends  to  engage  in  practice  a  license 
duly  obtained,  and  is  duly  registered.  The  penalty  is  a  fine 
not  exceeding  $500. 

The  statute  exempts  from  its  conditions  medical  officers 
of  the  United  States,  medical  examiners  of  relief  depart- 
ments of  railroad  companies  while  so  employed,  members  of 
the  resident  medical  staff  of  any  legally-incorporated 
hospital,  dentists,  legally-qualified  physicians  from  other 
States  or  countries  coming  to  meet  registered  physicians  in 
consultation,  physicians  or  surgeons  residing  on  the  border 
of  another  State  whose  practice  extends  into  Pennsylvania, 
but  who  do  not  open  an  office  or  have  a  place  in  the  State  to 
receive  calls,  and  practitioners  duly  registered  before  March, 
1894.  Nor  does  the  statute  interfere  with  or  prevent  the 
dispensing  and  sales  of  medicines  or  medical  appliances  by 
apothecaries  and  pharmacists,  or  with  the  manufacture  of 
artificial  eyes,  limbs  or  orthopedic  instruments  or  trusses  of 
any  kind  for  fitting  such  instruments  on  persons  needing 
them. 

Rhode  Island,  1895.  The  State  Board  of  Health  issues 
upon  application  a  certificate  to  any  reputable  physician  who 
is  practicing,  or  who  desires  to  begin  the  the  practice  of 
Medicine  or  Surgery  in  the   State,  who  possesses  a  diploma 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  8ig 

from  a  reputable  and  legally-chartered  medical  college  en- 
dorsed as  such  by  the  Board,  or  who  gives  satisfactory 
evidence  of  having  been  reputably  and  honorably  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  medicine  or  surgery  before  1892.  Appli- 
cants desiring  to  engage  in  practice  must  present  themselves 
before  the  State  Board  of  Health  and  submit  to  such  exam- 
ination as  the  Board  may  require.  If  the  examination  is 
satisfactory  a  certificate  is  issued  accordingly.  The  statute 
permits  no  discrimination  against  any  particular  School  or 
System  of  Medicine,  and  neither  prohibits  women  from 
practicing  midwifery  nor  the  rendering  of  gratuitous  services 
in  case  of  emergency.  Nor  does  it  apply  to  surgeons  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  or  to  legally-qualified  physicians 
from  another  State  who  are  called  to  see  a  particular  case, 
but  do  not  open  an  office  or  appoint  a  place  to  receive  calls. 
Any  medical  or  surgical  service  performed  or  attempted  for 
reward  or  compensation  in  violation  of  the  statute,  is  pun- 
ishable for  the  first  offense,  by  a  fine  of  ^50,  and  for  each 
and  for  every  subsequent  conviction  by  a  fine  of  $100,  or  im- 
prisonment for  thirty  days,  or  by  both,  in  the  discretion  of 
the  Court ;  and  the  offender  is  not  entitled  to  receive  com- 
pensation for  services  so  rendered.  The  opening  of  an 
office,  or  announcing  of  readiness  to  practice  medicine  or 
surgery  in  the  State,  is  declared  to  be  to  engage  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  within  the  meaning  of  the  enactment. 

South  Carolina^  1894.  A  State  Board  of  Medical  Exam- 
iners, seven  in  number,  one  from  each  Congressional  Dis- 
trict of  the  State,  is  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  Board 
examines  all  applicants  who  hold  diplomas  from  any  medical 
colleges  or  schools,  and  give  to  each  one  successfully  pass- 
ing the  examination  a  certificate  to  that  effect.  A  record  is 
kept  of  the  proceedings,  and  a  register  of  all  applicants  for  a 
license,  together  with  the  age  of  each,  the  time  spent  in  the 


820  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Study  of  medicine,  and  the  name  and  locations  of  the 
institutions  granting  the  degrees  or  certificates  of  lectures  in 
medicine  or  surgsry.  The  certificate  of  qualification  entitles 
the  holder  to  be  registered  as  a  lawful  practicing  physician 
by  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  the  county  in  which  he  or  she 
may  reside.  Upon  the  refusal  of  any  license,  the  applicant 
may  appeal  to  the  Governor,  who  may  order  a  re-examina- 
tion to  be  held  in  the  presence  of  the  Dean  of  any  medical 
college  in  the  State  and  a  committee  composed  of  six  prac- 
ticing physicians.  Medical  officers  in  the.  service  of  the 
United  States,  and  physicians  or  surgeons  from  other  States 
called  in  consultation  are  not  included  in  the  conditions  of 
the  statute.  Midwives  also  are  not  subject.  Persons 
practicing  medicine  in  the  State  without  complying  with 
these  conditions,  or  in  violation  of  them,  are  punished  upon 
conviction  by  a  fine  not  exceeding  $300,  or  by  imprisonment 
for  not  more  than  three  months,  or  both  fine  and  imprison- 
ment at  the  discretion  of  the  Court.  The  compensation  of 
the  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  is  derived  solely  from 
receipts  from  applicants. 

South  Dakota,  1893.  The  Board  of  Health  is  constituted 
a  Board  of  Public  Examiners  ex  officio,  for  the  purpose  of 
examining  and  licensing  physicians  to  practice  medicine  in 
the  State.  Any  person  who  is  a  graduate  of  a  lawful  medi- 
cal college  and  has  attended  three  full  courses  of  medical 
lectures  of  six  months  each,  no  two  of  them  in  the  same 
year,  who  is  of  good  moral  character  and  not  an  habitual 
drunkard,  upon  the  proof  of  such  facts  to  the  Superin- 
tendent of  the  State  Board  of  Health  as  the  Board  shall 
require,  and  upon  the  payment  of  a  license-fee  of  $5, 
receives  from  the  Superintendent  a  license  certifying  that  he 
is  a  practicing  physician  and  qualified.  The  license  must 
be  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  Register  of  Deeds  in  the 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  82 1 

county  where  the  physician  resides.  The  State  Board  of 
Health  may  cancel  any  such  license,  if  it  was  fraudulently 
obtained,  or  if  the  physician  is  an  habitual  drunkard,  or  is 
guilty  of  immoral  practices  or  gross  unprofessional  conduct. 
But  the  person  implicated  must  first  have  a  hearing  before 
the  Board,  at  which  a  majority  must  be  present,  after  at 
least  ten  days'  notice,  and  there  must  be  due  proof  of  the 
matter  charged.  An  appeal  may  be  taken  to  the  Circuit 
Court  of  the  county  in  which  he  lives  by  any  person 
aggrieved  by  the  action.  It  is  unlawful  for  any  physician  or 
other  person  to  practice  medicine,  surgery  or  obstetrics  in 
any  of  their  departments,  except  he  holds  a  license  from  the 
State  Board  of  Health ;  except  such  as  have  been  so  engaged 
before  the  passing  of  the  enactment,  students  prescribing 
under  the  supervision  of  preceptors,  persons  rendering 
gratuitous  services  in  case  of  emergency,  and  surgeons  com- 
missioned in  the  army  or  navy  of  the  United  States.  The 
penalty  for  violation  of  the  statute,  or  for  practicing  medi- 
cine without  a  license  is  a  fine  of  $25  to  $100,  or  imprison- 
ment for  a  term  not  exceeding  thirty  days,  or  both  fine  and 
imprisonment  in  the  discretion  of  the  Court. 

Tennessee,  1889.  The  State  Board  of  Medical  Examiners 
consists  of  six  graduate  physicians,  two  from  each  section  of 
the  State.  "  The  three  Schools  of  Medicine,  viz  :  Allopath, 
Homceopath  and  Eclectic  shall  be  represented  on  said  Board 
of  Examiners."  Any  person  wishing  to  enter  upon  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  any  of  its  branches,  except  dentistry, 
must  present  to  the  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  a  diploma 
from  some  medical  college  in  good  standing.  "  The  Board 
shall  recognize  any  college  that  is  recognized  by  the 
National  Medical  Association."  He  must  otherwise  present 
himself  before  the  Board  for  examination  upon  Anatomy, 
Physiology,  Chemistry,  Pathology,  Surgery,  Obstetrics  and 


822  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Therapeutics.  If  the  diploma  is  found  genuine,  or  if  the 
applicant  is  found  worthy  and  competent,  then  the  Board 
issues  a  certificate  in  accordance  with  the  facts,  signed  by 
all  the  members,  which  is  conclusive  as  to  the  right  of  the 
holder  to  practice  medicine  in  the  State.  During  the  recess 
of  the  Board  two  of  its  members  may  grant  temporary 
Hcenses,  which  continue  in  force  till  the  next  regular  meet- 
ing of  the  Board.  But  no  such  license  may  be  granted 
where  an  applicant  has  been  rejected  by  the  Board  till  six 
months  have  intervened. 

Five  members  of  the  Board  constitute  a  quorum,  and  a 
majority  of  those  in  attendance  is  necessary  for  the  rejecting 
of  any  application.  The  rejection  does  not  bar  the  applicant 
against  another  examination  three  months  afterwards.  The 
statute  further  provides  "  that  the  members  of  the  Board 
representing  each  School  of  Medicine  shall  have  the  right  to 
examine  all  applicants  of  that  School,  and  the  Board  shall 
issue  the  certificate  of  qualification  to  applicants  who  are 
recommended  by  the  members  who  belong  to  said  School 
after  such  examination." 

Every  person  holding  a  certificate  must  present  it  to  be 
recorded  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  the 
county  in  which  he  resides,  and  the  date  of  record  endorsed 
upon  it.  Till  this  is  done  he  may  not  exercise  any  of  the 
rights  or  privileges  conferred  to  practice  medicine.  In  case 
of  removing  to  another  county  the  certificate  must  be  again 
recorded  there  as  before,  but  practitioners  in  one  county 
who  go  into  another  on  professional  service  are  not  re- 
quired to  register  there.  The  penalty  for  practicing  medi- 
cine in  violation  of  the  statute  is  the  sum  of  JS25  for  the  first 
offense  and  $200  for  each  subsequent  offense.  But  women 
who  follow  the  avocation  of  midwife  are  exempt.  A  person 
filing  or  attempting  to  file  as  his  own  the  diploma  or  certi- 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  823 

ficate  of  another,  or  a  forged  affidavit  of  identification,  will 
be  guilty  of  felony.  Itinerant  venders  of  any  drug,  nostrum, 
ointment  or  application  of  any  kind,  intended  for  the  treat- 
ment of  disease  or  injury,  or  who  may  in  any  way  profess  to 
cure  or  treat  diseases  or  deformity  by  any  drug,  nostrum, 
manipulation  or  other  expedient,  in  the  State,  incurs  the 
penalty  of  a  fine  of  $ioo  to  ^500. 

The  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  derive  their  compensa- 
tion solely  from  fees,  and  can  not  obligate  the  State  for  the 
payment  of  any  money. 

Texas,  1879.  A  Board  of  Medical  Examiners  is  appointed 
in  every  Judicial  District  of  the  State  by  the  Presiding 
Judge,  composed  of  no  less  than  three  practicing  physicians, 
who  are  residents  of  the  District  and  graduates  of  some 
medical  college  recognized  by  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation. They  are  required  to  examine  thoroughly  all 
applicants  for  certificates  of  qualification  to  practice  medi- 
cine in  any  of  its  departments,  whether  they  are  furnished 
with  medical  diplomas  or  not,  upon  Anatomy,  Physiology, 
Pathological  Anatomy  and  Pathology,  Surgery,  Obstetrics 
and  Chemistry  ;  "  but  no  preference  shall  be  given  to  any 
School  of  Medicine."*  When  the  Board  shall  be  satisfied 
as  to  the  qualifications  of  an  applicant  they  grant  him  a 
certificate  of  qualification.  This  entitles  the  holder  to  prac- 
tice in  any  county  of  the  State,  when  it  has  been  recorded 
in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  of  the  County 
in  which  the  practitioner  may  reside  or  sojourn.  Other 
persons  who  practice  medicine,  except  those  who  had  been 
duly  authorized  before  1875,  will  be  punished  as  provided 
in  the  penal  code.  But  women  practicing  midwifery  strictly 
as  such  are  not  liable  to  the  penalty. 

*The  Constitution  of  Texas   specifically   inhibits   all   legislation    unfavorable   to    any 
School  of  Medicine. 


824  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Utah,  1894.  The  Governor  of  Utah  appoints  biennially 
a  Board  of  Medical  Examiners,  seven  in  number,  "  from  the 
various  recognized  Schools  of  Medicine."  They  hold  office 
two  years  and  till  their  successors  are  appointed.  In  order 
to  be  eligible  they  must  be  graduates  of  legally-chartered 
medical  colleges  in  good  standing  in  the  States  in  which  they 
exist.  The  Board  has  power  to  issue  certificates  to  all  who 
furnish  satisfactory  proofs  of  having  received  degrees  or 
diplomas  from  chartered  medical  colleges  in  good  standing, 
and  pass  a  satisfactory  examination  before  the  Board.  Ex- 
aminations are  to  be  made  wholly  or  partially  in  writing, 
and  the  Board  may  refuse  to  issue  certificates  to  individuals 
guilty  of  immoral  or  dishonorable  conduct,  the  nature  of 
which  must  be  stated  in  writing,  and  it  may  revoke  them  for 
like  causes.  The  persons,  however,  may  appeal  to  the 
Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  and  he  may  affirm  or  overrule 
the  decision  of  the  Board.  Any  person  practicing  medicine 
or  surgery  in  the  State,  without  a  certificate  or  contrary  to 
the  provisions  of  the  statute,  is  to  be  deemed  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor.  Any  person  is  regarded  as  practicing  medi- 
cine within  the  meaning  of  the  act,  who  shall  treat,  operate 
or  prescribe  for  any  physical  ailment  of  another  for  a  fee,  or 
hold  himself  or  herself  by  any  means  as  a  physician  or 
surgeon  ;  but  serving  in  case  of  emergency,  and  the  admin- 
istration of  family  medicines  are  not  prohibited.  Commis- 
sioned surgeons  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  in  ths 
discharge  of  their  special  duties,  and  visiting  physicians  in 
the  act  of  consultation,  are  also  exempted. 

Persons  desiring  to  practice  Obstetrics  must  apply  to  the 
Board  of  Examiners  for  a  certificate,  and  pass  a  proper  ex- 
amination. Any  person  practicing  Obstetrics  without  a 
license  or  certificate  from  the  Board  will  be  deemed  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor.     But  the  exception  is  added  :     "  Nothing  in 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES  825 

this  section  shall  be  construed  to  apply  to  physicians  hold- 
ing certificates  in  accordance  with  this  act,  or  to  prohibit 
service  in  case  of  emergency,  or  to  persons  practicing 
Obstetrics  where  there  are  no  licensed  practitioners,  or  pro- 
hibiting a  fee  therefor." 

Vermont,  1876.  Physicians  are  licensed  in  Vermont  by 
the  Censors  of  the  several  medical  societies  holding  a 
charter  from  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State.  Every 
society  elects  a  Board  of  Censors  of  three  members,  who 
hold  office  for  a  year  and  till  others  are  chosen,  and  are 
authorized  to  examine  and  license  practitioners  of  Medicme, 
Surgery  or  Midwifery.  They  are  empowered,  in  their  dis- 
cretion, to  notify  practitioners  of  the  terms  of  the  statute, 
and  to  require  them  to  comply  with  these  within  thirty  days, 
but  may  extend  the  time  to  ninety  days.  They  give  a  cer- 
tificate after  the  examination,  setting  forth  the  branches  of 
the  medical  profession  in  which  they  have  found  the 
recipient  qualified,  and  licensing  him  accordingly  to  practice 
those  branches  within  the  State.  The  recipient  must  pro- 
cure this  certificate  to  be  recorded  in  the  Clerk's  office  of 
the  county  in  which  he  resides,  or  if  he  is  not  a  resident  of 
the  State,  it  must  be  so  recorded  in  the  county  in  which  it 
was  obtained.  The  certificate,  after  it  has  been  recorded, 
is  valid  through  the  State.  The  Censors  may  revoke  or 
annul  it,  if  in  their  judgment  the  person  has  obtained  it 
fraudulently,  or  has  forfeited  his  right  to  public  confidence 
by  conviction  of  crime. 

A  practitioner  who  by  sign  or  advertisement  offers  his 
services  to  the  public,  or  assumes  the  title  of  "  Doctor  " 
must  obtain  a  certificate  from  one  of  these  societies,  either 
from  a  county,  district  or  State  society.  A  person  not  a 
resident  of  Vermont  who  has  not  received  a  diploma  from  a 
medical   college,  must  obtain  a  certificate   from  a  Board  of 


826  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

Censors  before  he  is  permitted  to  practice  the  Medical  Art 
in  the  State.  Each  Board  issues  certificates  without  fee  to 
physicians  and  surgeons  who  furnish  evidence  by  diploma 
from  a  medical  college  or  university,  or  by  certificate  of 
qualification  by  an  authorized  Board,  which  satisfies  the 
Censors  that  the  person  presenting  such  credentials  has 
been,  after  due  examination,  deemed  to  be  qualified  to 
practice  the  branches  mentioned  in  the  diploma  or  cer- 
tificate. No  person  practicing  in  either  of  the  branches  of 
medicine,  surgery  or  midwifery  in  the  State  is  permitted  to 
enforce  in  the  Courts  the  collection  of  a  fee  or  compensa- 
tion for  services  rendered,  or  for  medicine  or  material  fur- 
nished, in  the  practice  of  any  of  the  branches  for  which  he 
has  not  a  certificate.  But  this  provision,  and  other  penalties 
do  not  apply  to  the  practice  of  dentistry,  nor  to  the  practice 
of  midwifery  by  women,  nor  to  physicians  who  were  in  prac- 
tice five  years  before  November  28,  1876. 

A  person  who  practices  medicine,  surgery  or  midwifery  in 
the  State,  or  signs  a  certificate  of  death  for  purposes  of  burial 
or  removal,  unless  he  is  authorized  to  do  so  by  a  certificate 
duly  recorded,  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  ^50  to  ^200  for  the  first 
offense  and  $200  to  $500  for  each  subsequent  offense; 
which  fine  may  be  recovered  by  an  action  of  debt  for  the 
use  of  any  person  who  sues  for  it,  or  by  indictment. 

Virginia,  1894.  There  is  in  Virginia  a  Board  of  Medical 
Examiners  appointed  by  the  Governor  for  a  term  of  four 
years.  It  consists  of  one  member,  a  physician,  from  each 
Congressional  district,  and  two  from  the  State  at  large  who 
are  selected  from  names  recommended  by  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  and  two  in  addition, 
Homoeopathic  physicians  nominated  in  like  manner  by  the 
Hahnemann  Medical  Society  of  the  Old  Dominion.  The 
Board  examines  all  persons  who  make  application,  who  de- 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  827 

sire  to  commence  the  practice  of  medicine  in  the  State  ;  and 
when  an  applicant  passes  an  examination  satisfactory  as  to 
efficiency  before  the  Board  in  session,  the  president  of  the 
Board  grants  him  a  certificate  to  that  effect.  An  applicant 
who  fails  to  pass  an  examination  may  not  be  examined  till 
six  months  afterward,  or  till  the  next  meeting  of  the  Board. 
"  No  applicant  shall  be  rejected  upon  his  examination  on 
account  of  his  adherence  to  any  particular  School  of  Medi- 
cine or  System  of  Practice,  nor  on  account  of  his  views  as  to 
the  method  of  treatment  and  cure  of  diseases." 

When  in  the  opinion  of  the  President  of  the  Board  any 
applicant  has  been  prevented  by  good  cause  from  appearing 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Board,  he  may  appoint  a  committee  of 
three  members  who  shall  examine  the  applicant,  and  if  they 
see  fit,  grant  him  a  certificate  which  shall  be  of  full  force 
and  effect  till  he  can  appear  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board.  If 
he  does  not  appear  the  president  may  revoke  the  certificate 
or  extend  the  permit  to  another  opportunity,  in  his  discre- 
tion. 

The  certificate  when  granted,  must  be  recorded  in  the 
Clerk's  office  of  the  county  or  corporation  in  which  the 
holder  resides,  before  he  may  lawfully  engage  in  practice. 
If  he  resides  in  Richmond  it  must  be  recorded  in  the  Clerk's 
office  of  the  Chancery  Court  of  that  city  ;  but  if  he  does  not 
reside  in  the  State,  he  must  cause  it  to  be  recorded  where  he 
offers  to  practice,  in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  county  or  cor- 
poration, or  in  the  clerk's  office  of  the  Chancery  Court  of 
Richmond.  The  penalty  for  practicing  medicine  or  surgery 
in  the  State  in  violation  of  the  statute  is  a  fine  of  $50  to 
$500  for  each  offense,  and  forfeiture  of  all  right  to  compen- 
sation for  the  service  rendered. 

Washingtoti,  1890.  There  is  a  State  Medical  Examining 
Board    appointed  by  the    Governor.     It   consists   of   nine 


525  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

members,  who  are  sworn  "  to  well  and- faithfully  and  without 
partiality  perform  the  duties  of  such  office  according  to  the 
best  of  their  knowledge  and  ability."  Every  person  desir- 
ing to  commence  the  practice  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  or 
either  of  them,  must  make  application  to  the  Board  for  a 
license.  This  must  be  supported  and  accompanied  by  an 
affidavit  of  the  applicant  setting  forth  the  actual  time  spent 
by  him  in  the  study  of  Medicine,  and  when  ;  whether  it  was 
in  an  institution  of  learning,  and  if  so,  the  name  and  loca- 
tion of  the  institution  ;  and  if  not,  then  where  and  under 
whose  tutorship  it  was  prosecuted ;  the  time  engaged,  if  at 
all,  in  the  actual  practice  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  and 
where  located  at  the  time ;  and  the  age  of  the  applicant  at 
the  time  of  making  the  application.  He  must  then  at  the 
time  and  place  designated  by  the  Board,  or  at  a  regular 
meeting,  submit  to  an  examination  in  Anatomy,  Physiology, 
Chemistr}^,  Histology,  Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics,  Pre- 
ventive Medicines,  Practice  of  Medicine,  Surger)',  Obstetrics, 
Diseases  of  Women  and  Children,  Diseases  of  the  Nervous 
System,  Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  Ear,  Medical  Jurisprudence, 
and  such  other  branches  as  the  Board  deem  advisable.  The 
examination  is  directed  to  be  both  scientific  and  practical, 
and  of  sufficient  severity  to  test  the  fitness  of  the  candidate 
to  practice  medicine  and  surgery.  It  shall  be  written  or 
printed,  or  partly  written  and  partly  printed,  questions  and 
answers,  and  filed  to  be  preserved.  If  the  examination  is 
satisfactory  the  Board  grants  a  license  to  practice.  This 
requires  the  consent  of  five  members. 

The  Board  may  refuse  or  revoke  a  license  for  "  unpro- 
fessional or  dishonorable  conduct,"  by  which  is  defined : 
I.  The  procuring,  or  aiding  or  abetting  in  the  procuring  of 
a  criminal  abortion.  2.  The  employing  of  what  is  popularly 
known  as  "cappers ''  or  "steerers,"     3,     The   obtaining  of 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  829 

any  fee  on  the  assurance  that  a  manifestly  incurable  disease 
can  be  permanently  cured  4.  The  wilful  betraying  of  a 
professional  secret.  5.  All  advertising  of  medical  business 
in  which  untruthful  and  improbable  statements  are  made. 
6.  All  advertising  of  any  medicines  or  of  any  means  by 
which  the  monthly  periods  of  women  can  be  regulated,  or 
the  menses  re-established  if  suppressed.  7.  Conviction  of 
any  offense  involving  moral  turpitude.  8.  Habitual  in- 
temperance. A  brief  and  concise  statement  of  the  grounds 
and  reasons  of  the  procedure  and  the  decision  of  the  Board 
in  writing  is  to  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary.  But 
before  a  license  can  be  revoked  a  complaint  of  some  person 
under  oath,  stating  the  acts  of  unprofessional  and  dishonora- 
ble conduct,  must  be  filed  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  ; 
and  a  written  notice  and  copy  served  upon  the  person 
accused,  with  an  appointment  of  time  and  place  of  hearing, 
which  must  be  at  least  ten  days  afterward.  He  may  appear 
with  counsel  and  witnesses  for  defense,  and  present  other 
in  his  own  behalf. 

In  the  case  of  refusal  or  revocation  of  a  license,  the 
applicate  or  the  licentiate  has  the  right  to  appeal  within 
thirty  days  to  the  Superior  Court  in  and  for  the  county  in 
which  the  meeting  of  the  Board  was  held  prior  to  such 
action.  In  case  of  such  appeal  the  cause  will  be  tried 
de  novo.  After  it  is  decided,  either  party  may  appeal  to  the 
Supreme  Court  within  sixty  days  thereafter.  But  no  license 
shall  be  granted  to  the  applicant,  or  revocation  made,  while 
the  controversy  is  pending.  In  case  the  final  decision  of 
the  Supreme  Court  be  against  the  Board,  then  the  Court 
shall  make  such  order  as  may  be  necessary,  and  the  Board 
shall  act  accordingly. 

After  receiving  the  license  the  holder  must  file  it  with  the 
County  Clerk  in  and  for  the  county  in  which  he  resides,  and 


830  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

if  he  removes  into  another  county  he  or  she  must  procure  a 
certified  copy  and  file  it  in  the  office  of  the  County  Clerk  of 
that  county.  In  case  the  license  is  revoked  the  County 
Clerk  must  make  a  memorandum  of  that  fact.  Any  person 
practicing  medicine  or  surgery  in  the  State  without  having 
obtained  a  license,  or  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the 
statute,  incurs  a  penalty  of  a  fine  of  $50  to  $100,  or  im- 
prisonment for  ten  to  ninety  days,  or  both  fine  and  im- 
prisonment. A  person  comes  within  the  scope  of  the  en- 
actment who  appends  the  letters  "  M.  D."  or  "M.  B."  to  his 
or  her  name,  or  for  a  fee  prescribes,  directs  or  recommends 
for  the  use  of  any  person,  any  drug  or  medicine  or  agency 
for  the  treatment,  cure  or  relief  of  any  wound,  fracture  or 
bodily  injury,  infirmity  or  disease  :  dentists,  however,  are  ex- 
cepted. 

IVesf  Virgifiia,  1895.  The  Board  of  Health  of  West 
Virginia  consists  of  two  persons  from  each  Congressional 
District  of  the  State,  appointed  by  the  Governor.  They 
must  be  graduates  of  reputable  medical  colleges,  who  have 
practiced  medicine  for  not  less  than  twelve  years  continu- 
ously. A  majority  constitutes  a  quorum.  The  Board,  at 
such  times  as  a  majority  deems  proper,  holds  examinations 
for  the  licensing  of  practitioners  of  medicine.  There  must 
be  not  less  than  three  of  these  in  each  year,  and  they  are  to 
be  held  at  such  places  as  are  convenient  to  candidates  and 
to  the  Board.  At  these  examinations  written  and  oral 
questions  are  submitted  to  the  applicants  for  license,  which 
must  be  of  an  elementary  and  practical  character,  embrac- 
ing the  general  subjects  of  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Chemistry, 
Materia  Medica,  Pathological  Anatomy,  Surgery  and 
Obstetrics,  but  sufficiently  strict  to  test  the  qualifications  of 
the  candidate  as  a  practitioner  of  Medicine,  Surgery  and 
Obstetrics.     But   females  practicing   midwifery    are  not  re- 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  83 1 

quired  to  undergo  such  examination.  Phiysicians  from 
other  States  who  are  duly  qualified  to  practice  medicine 
therein,  and  are  called  into  consultation  in  this  State  by  a 
physician  legally  qualified,  are  also  exempt  from  these  re- 
quirements. Every  person  holding  a  certificate  must  procure 
it  to  be  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  State 
Board  of  Health. 

"  No  applicant  for  license  to  practice  medicine  in  this 
State  shall  be  rejected  because  of  his  or  her  adherence  to 
any  particular  School  or  Theory  of  Medicine.  The  State 
Board  of  Health  shall  call  to  their  assistance  in  the  exam- 
ination of  any  applicant  who  professes  the  Homoeopathic  or 
Eclectic  School  of  Medicine,  a  Homoeopathic  or  Eclectic 
physician  duly  licensed  to  practice  medicine  in  the  State, 
and  such  Homoeopathic  or  Eclectic  physician  so  called  to 
the  assistance  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  shall  be  allowed 
the  same  per  diem  and  actual  expenses  incurred  hereafter 
allowed  to  regular  members  of  the  State  Board  of  Health." 

Any  person  practicing  or  attempting  to  practice  Medicine 
Surgery  or  Obstetrics  in  the  State  without  having  complied 
with  the  provisions  of  the  statute,  incurs  the  penalty  of  a 
fine  from  ^50  to  $500  for  every  such  offense,  or  imprison- 
ment for  one  to  twelve  months,  or  both,  at  the  discretion  of 
the  Court.  Any  person  will  be  regarded  as  practicing 
medicine  who  shall  publicly  profess  to  be  a  physician,  and 
to  prescribe  for  the  sick,  or  who  shall  append  to  his  name 
the  letters  "  M.  D."  This  provision  applies  also  to  apothe- 
caries and  pharmacists  who  prescribe  for  the  sick,  but  not  to 
commissioned  officers  in  the  service  of  the  United  States, 

Wisconsin,  1897.  The  Wisconsin  Board  of  Medical  Ex- 
aminers is  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  appointments 
are  made  from  three  separate  lists  of  ten  names  each,  which 
are    presented    to    him    every   second    year,    one    by  the 


832  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Wisconsin  State  Medical  Society,  one  by  the  Homoeopathic 
Medical  Society  and  one  by  the  Wisconsin  State  Eclectic 
Medical  Society.  They  must  be  graduates  of  a  recognized 
medical  college,  and  representatives  of  the  different  Schools 
of  Medicine.  No  person  may  be  appointed  for  more  than 
two  terms  in  succession.  The  statute  provides  that  "three 
of  the  appointees  shall  be  Regulars,  and  two  of  them  shall 
be  Homoeopathic  physicians,  and  two  of  them  shall  be 
Eclectic  physicians,  and  vacancies  in  said  Board  may  be 
filled  as  they  occur  by  appointment  from  said  list,  preserving 
the  same  proportion  of  the  different  Schools  of  Medicine." 
No  member  of  any  medical  college,  or  university  having  a 
medical  department,  may  be  appointed.  The  Board  holds 
regular  meetings  each  year  on  the  second  Tuesday  in 
January,  April,  July  and  October — one  in  Madison,  one  in 
Oshkosh  and  two  in  Milwaukee ;  also  other  meetings  at  such 
times  and  places  as  the  Board  may  from  time  to  time  deter- 
mine. It  registers  applicants  for  license,  the  institutions 
granting  degrees  and  the  facts  connected  with  each  case. 

All  persons  commencing  the  practice  of  Medicine  or 
Surgery  in  any  of  their  branches  in  the  State,  must  apply  to 
the  Board  for  license  so  to  do  at  the  time  and  place  desig- 
nated by  the  Board,  or  at  the  regular  meeting,  and  submit 
to  an  examination  in  the  various  branches  of  Medicine  and 
Surgery  ;  or  they  must  present  a  diploma  from  a  medical 
college  that  requires  at  least  three  courses  of  not  less  than  six 
months  each  before  graduation,  no  two  of  the  courses  to  be 
taken  in  the  same  twelve  months.  The  examination  in 
Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics  and  Practice  of  Medicine  is 
conducted  by  the  members  of  the  Board  representing  the 
School  of  Medicine  that  the  applicant  claims  to  follow. 
The  proceedings  of  the  Board  are  to  be  open  at  all  reasona- 
ble times  to  pubUg  inspection.     After  examination,  or  the 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  833 

presentation  of  a  satisfactory  diploma,  the  Board,  if  it  finds 
the  candidate  quaUfied,  will  grant  a  license  to  the  applicant 
to  practice  medicine  in  the  State.  But  a  license  can  be 
granted  only  upon  the  concurrence  of  five  of  the  members. 
The  Board,  after  due  notice  and  a  hearing,  may  by 
unanimous  vote,  revoke  the  certificate  of  any  registered  per- 
son who  has  been  convicted  before  the  proper  courts  of 
crime  committed  in  course  of  his  professional  business. 
The  license  must  be  recorded  with  the  County  Clerk  in  the 
county  in  which  the  holder  resides,  with  a  memorandum  of 
the  date,  name  and  time  when  recorded.  In  case  of  remov- 
ing to  another  county  the  license  must  be  recorded  there  in 
like  manner. 

A  practitioner  from  another  State,  holding  a  certificate 
from  a  State  Board  that  imposes  similar  requirements,  may, 
on  the  presentation  of  a  diploma,  and  the  payment  of  the 
regular  fee,  be  admitted  to  practice  in  the  State,  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Board,  without  an  examination. 

Every  person  who  begins  the  practice  of  Medicine  or 
Surgery  without  having  obtained  a  license,  or  contrary  to  the 
provisions  of  the  enactment,  or  who  not  having  the  license 
shall  advertise  or  hold  himself  out  to  the  public  as  a  physi- 
cian or  surgeon  or  specialist  in  medicine  or  surgery  in  the 
State,  or  who  shall  use  the  title  of  "  Doctor,"  or  append  to 
his  or  her  name  the  letters  "  M.  D."  or  "  M.  B."  meaning 
thereby  Doctor  of  Medicine,  may  be  deemed  guilty  of  mis- 
demeanor, and  be  punished  upon  conviction  by  a  fine  of  $50 
to  $100  for  each  offense,  or  by  imprisonment  for  three 
months,  or  by  both  fine  and  imprisonment.  Every  person  is 
regarded  as  practicing  medicine  who  appends  the  letters 
"  M.  D."  or  "  M.  B."  to  his  or  her  name,  with  intent  to 
represent  himself  or  herself  as  a  physician  or  surgeon,  or 
who  for  a  fee  prescribes  drugs  or  other  medical  or  surgical 


834  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

treatment  for  the  cure  or  relief  of  any  wound,  fracture, 
bodily  injury,  infirmity  or  disease.  Dentists  in  the  practice 
of  their  profession  are  not  amenable  to  these  require- 
ments. 

Wyoming.  No  person  may  practice  Medicine,  Surgery 
or  Obstetrics  in  Wyoming  who  has  not  received  a 
medical  education  and  a  diploma  from  some  regularly- 
chartered  medical  school  having  a  genuine  existence  when 
the  diploma  was  granted.  Every  physician,  surgeon  or 
obstetrician  must  file  a  copy  of  his  or  her  diploma  or 
certificate  of  graduation  with  the  Register  of  Deeds  of  the 
county  in  which  he  or  she  is  engaged  in  practice,  also  ex- 
hibiting a  copy  of  the  original,  or  a  certificate  from  the  dean 
of  the  medical  school  attesting  the  graduation.  It  is  re- 
quired also  that  the  person  shall  be  identified  by  the 
affidavit  of  two  citizens  of  the  county,  or  by  his  or  her  own 
affidavit,  as  to  identity.  The  penalty  for  not  complying 
with  the  statute  is  a  fine  of  $50  to  $500,  or  imprisonment 
for  thirty  days  to  six  months,  or  by  both  fine  and  imprison- 
ment for  each  and  every  offense.  The  filing  or  attempting 
to  file  a  diploma  or  certificate  as  belonging  to  oneself 
which  belongs  to  another,  or  a  forged  affidavit  of  identifica- 
tion, is  made  a  felony.  The  enactment  only  requires  the 
prosecution  to  show  that  the  defendant  has  practiced  medi- 
cine since  it  went  into  effect ;  and  the  defendant  is  not  en- 
titled to  acquittal  except  he  or  she  shall  prove  having  re- 
ceived a  medical  education  and  holding  a  genuine  diploma 
from  a  regularly-chartered  medical  school. 

The  exemptions  are  made  in  behalf  of  a  person  who  in  an 
emergency  shall  prescribe  or  give  advice  in  Medicine, 
Surgery  or  Obstetrics  in  a  section  of  country  where  no 
physician,  surgeon  or  obstetrician  resides  within  convenient 
distance,  also  of  persons  prescribing  in  their  own  families, 


SYNOPSIS    OF    MEDICAL    STATUTES.  835 

and  persons  claiming  to  practice  Medicine,  Surgery  or 
Obstetrics  in  any  section  wliere  no  one  having  a  diploma  or 
certificate  of  graduation  resides. 


There  have  been  two  reasons  offered  for  this  legislation 
of  the  later  period  :  one  to  elevate  the  standard  of  practice, 
and  the  other  to  exclude  clairvoyants,  magnetic  physicians 
and  others  from  being  identified  as  physicians.*  The  trend 
of  the  period  is  to  make  all  higher  education  so  costly  and 
difficult  to  procure  that  only  the  wealthy  may  acquire  it.  In 
England  university  education  is  coasidered  the  privilege  of 
the  sons  of  gentlemen,  and  a  yeoman's  son  who  ventures  to 
enter  a  college  or  university  is  made  to  feel  himself  classed 
as  an  interloper.  These  medical  statutes  read  as  if  devised 
in  a  like  spirit  and  purpose.  They  have  been  enacted,  not 
as  constitutional  measures,  but  as  warranted  by  the  police 
power. 


*  During  the  winter  sessions  of  igoi,  bills  have  been  introduced  in  the  Legislatures 
of  twenty  States  to  place  all  these  in  the  category  of  physicians,  and  subject  them  to  the 
official  examinations. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  AMERICAN  REFORMERS  IN  MEDICINE. 

The  immortality  of  a  cause  is  assured  by  the  vitality  of  its 
principles,  the  fidelity  of  its  supporters  and  the  quality  of  its 
literature.  Generations  pass,  each  in  its  turn  departing 
from  the  ways  and  opinions  of  those  that  preceded  it,  but 
the  Good  and  True  are  permanent  and  without  change. 
The  energy  which  inspires  and  gives  law  to  Nature  is  not 
the  dominion  of  the  worse.  Evil  can  not  perpetuate  itself. 
Every  new  doctrine  bases  its  pretensions  upon  some  ap- 
parent approximation  to  the  Right.  It  holds  its  ground  till 
it  is  superseded  by  another  of  better  aims,  and  while  its 
advocates  are  earnest  and  unselfish  in  its  support,  not  de- 
grading it  to  the  place  of  a  stepping-stone  for  personal 
ambitions,  or  employing  it  as  a  means  of  pecuniary  ad- 
vantage. 

The  importance  of  literature  as  an  auxiliary  to  an  enter- 
prise can  hardly  be  estimated  too  highly.  It  is  a  record  of 
what  has  been  thought  and  done,  and  perpetuates  its  re- 
membrance to  later  times.  Every  faith  that  has  dominated 
a  people  has  established  itself  by  its  books ;  and  even  when 
succeeded  by  some  newer  system  it  has  often  appeared  in 
another  aspect  in  the  bosom  of  its  successors.  Plato, 
Aristotle  and  Zeno  have  given  shape  and  aim  to  all  later 
opinions ;  India,  China  and  Egypt  of  the  archaic  and  pre- 
historic periods  are  inspiring  the  Orient  and  Occident  of  the 
present  time,  and  we  are  thinking  the  thoughts  of  their 
sages  in  our  own  effusions. 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  AMERICAN  REFORMERS  IN  MEDICINE.  837 

Our  medical  knowledge  comes  within  the  same  category. 
The  notions  which  prevailed  at  a  remote  antiquity,  accounts 
of  which  have  been  unearthed  and  handed  down  Ukewise  by 
tradition  and  written  records,  are  still  current,  some  as  new 
discoveries  and  others  as  time-honored  maxims.  Yet  it  is 
no  obligation  of  ours  to  adhere  more  closely  to  former 
opinion  and  usage,  than  our  own  intuition  and  experience 
will  justify.  We  have  our  own  work  to  do,  and  our  own 
record  to  make.  We  are  obligated  by  duty  as  physicians,  as 
well  as  by  our  common  humanity,  to  carry  forward  our  art 
to  greater  accuracy  and  perfection,  and  to  make  known  by 
every  laudable  means  what  we  think  and  know.  Our  future 
depends  vitally  upon  the  character  and  sufficiency  of  our 
literature. 

Right  here  it  behooves  us  to  pay  a  deserved  tribute  to 
those  who  have  faithfully  endeavored  to  render  us  this  ser- 
vice. In  Medicine,  as  elsewhere,  he  only  is  great  who  serves, 
and  the  greatest  is  the  one  who  best  serves  all.  Francis 
Bacon  made  a  just  as  well  as  severe  criticism  :  "  Medicine 
is  a  science  more  professed  than  labored,  and  yet  more 
labored  than  advanced  —  the  labor  having  been  more  in  a 
circle  than  in  progression."  If  he  had  been  more  a  phil- 
osopher, he  would  have  known  that  all  progress  is  in  a 
circle,  ascending  by  a  spiral  or  going  downward  vertically. 
It  should  be  regarded  as  our  mission  to  redeem  our  art 
from  his  imputation.  "  I  hope  and  believe,"  said  Thomas 
Jefferson,  "  that  it  is  from  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  that 
Europe,  which  has  taught  us  so  many  other  things,  will  be 
led  into  sound  principles  in  this  branch  of  science,  the  most 
important  of  all,  being  that  to  which  we  commit  the  care  of 
health  and  life." 

Our  pioneers  and  teachers  during  the  Nineteenth  Century 
have  by  no  means  been  remiss   in  their  efforts  to  provide  a 


838  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

literature  for  the  use  of  their  fellows  and  those  who  were  to 
come  after  them.  They  have,  as  a  general  rule,  copied 
little  from  others,  but  given  simply  their  own  observations, 
and  the  results  of  actual  experience.  They  vary  in  style 
from  the  plain  speech  of  the  "  plain  people  "  to  the  more 
cultured  utterances  of  schoolmen  ;  very  generally,  however, 
without  effort  at  display.  They  were  in  keeping,  however, 
with  the  general  attainments  of  the  times,  and  equal,  if  not 
superior  to,  analogous  productions  from  writers  in  the  other 
Schools  of  Medicine.  They  ignored  the  arts  of  the 
charlatan,  and  the  characteristic  vaunting  of  the  pretender 
to  superior  knowledge. 

A  very  complete  collection  of  the  publications  of  the 
Reformers  in  Medicine  of  the  several  Schools,  has  been 
made  by  John  Uri  Lloyd  of  Cincinnati.  Probably  an  as- 
sortment so  perfect  can  not  elsewhere  be  found,  even  in  the 
Library  of  the  Surgeon-General  at  Washington.  The 
diligence  which  Professor  Lloyd  has  displayed  in  this  under- 
taking can  not  be  too  highly  commended  and  admired.  It 
was  a  work  necessary  as  a  memorial  of  our  bibliography, 
and  is  certain  to  be  invaluable  to  the  future  student  of  our 
medical  history.  By  his  generous  courtesy  in  making  up  a 
list  of  the  books,  pamphlets  and  periodicals  in  his  collection, 
we  are  enabled  to  present  a  more  perfect  catalogue  of  publi- 
cations the  production  of  writers  on  reform  in  Medicine, 
than  could  otherwise  have  been  obtained.  We  accordingly 
begin  with  the  Lloyd  Library.  The  names  marked  with  an 
asterisk  belong  in  the  category  of  Botanic  and  Thomsonian 
Physicians,  who  have  never  affiliated  with  the  Eclectic 
School  of  Practice. 

MEDICAL    PERIODICALS. 

I.     American  Eclectic  Medical  Review..     R.  S.  Newton,  P. 
A.  Morrow.     New  York.     See  also  LXVII. 


MEDICAL    PERIODICALS.  839 

II.  American  Journal  of  the  Indigenous  Materia  Medica. 
Incomplete.     B.  Keith.     New  York.     i860. 

III.  American  Journal  of  Medicine.  S.  H.  Potter.  (Vol. 
II,  No.  7.)     Syracuse,  N.  Y.      1852. 

*IV.  American  Journal  of  Medical  Reform.  Jos.  D. 
Friend  and  Hermes  M.  Sweet.      1851,  1852.     See  also  L. 

V.  American  Medical  Journal.  Vol.  I,  1856-7.  By  the 
Faculty  of  the  American  Medical  College.     Cincinnati. 

VI.  American  Medical  Journal.  George  C.  Pitzer,  Edwin 
Younkin,  Mont.  M.  Hamlin.  Complete  from  1875  ^^ 
1898,  except  No.  10  of  Vol.  VIII,  October,  1898,  which 
is  wanted.     St.  Louis. 

VII.  American  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal.  S.  H. 
Potter,  Dwight  Russell.  Vol.  I,  1851;  Vol.  II,  1852, 
Nos.  4,  6,  8  on  hand.  For  title  of  Vol.  II  see  No.  Ill 
above.  Consolidated  with  No.  XXVI II  and  merged  into 
No.  LXXXVII.     Syracuse,  New  York. 

VII.  a.  American  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal.  S.  H. 
Potter,  E.  R.  Stockwell,  J.  Kent.  Vol.  VII,  Nos.  8, 
10,  II,  12;  Vol.  VIII,  1856,  Nos.  I,  2.  For  previous 
volumes  see  LXXXIII.     Syracuse  and  Cincinnati. 

VIII.  Annual  of  Eclectic  Medicine  and  Surgery.  Finley 
Ellingwood,  John  V.  Stevens.  Vols.  I-VIII,  1890-1897. 
Chicago. 

IX.  Annual  of  the  Eclectic  and  Liberal  Association  of 
Eastern  Indiana.  N.  G.  Smith.  Begun  1879.  Incom- 
plete.    Lewisville,  Indiana. 

X.  Arkansas  Eclectic  Medical  Journal.  W.  L.  Leister. 
Vols.  I,  II.  Complete.  Continued  as  No.  LXXXIIIa. 
Little  Rock,  Arkansas. 

*XI.  Australian  Botanic  Practitioner.  John  Broadbent. 
1891-92.     Incomplete.     Melbourne,  Australia. 


840  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

*XII.     Bostonian    Thomsonian    Medical   Journal.     Vol.    I, 

1845-46.     Complete.     Boston. 
*XIII.     Boston  True  Thomsonian.     Vol.  I,  1840  to  Vol.  II, 

1842.     Complete.     Boston. 
*XIV.     Botanic-Eclectic  Review  and  Medical  Tribune.     D. 

TurnbuU.     1885-89.     Incomplete.     London,  England. 
*XV.     Botanic    Medical    Reformer    and    Home    Physician. 

Thomas  Cooke.     Vol.  I,   1841   and  Vol.  II,  1842.     Later 

volumes  wanted.     Philadelphia. 
*XVI.     Botanic  Practitioner.     Thomas    Butterfield.      1892. 

London,  England. 
*XVII.     Botanic  Practitioner.     John  Simmons.     Quarterly. 

Incomplete.     Hyde,  England. 
*XVIII.     Botanic  Medical  Recorder.     Alva  Curtis,  William 

H.  Cook      Vol.   XI,   1843  to  Vol.  XIV,   1847,  and  Vol. 

XVII,  1851   to  Vol.  XIX,  1853,  on  hand.     Wanted,  1839 

to  1842,  Vols.  VIII  to  X  ;   1848  to  1850,  Vols.  XV,  XVI, 

and  all  after  1853,  Vol.  XIX.     For  previous  numbers  see 

No.  LXXXVI.     Cincinnati. 

XIX  Buchanan's  Journal  of  Man.  Joseph  Rodes 
Buchanan.     Vols.  I,  II,  III.     Complete.     Boston. 

XX  California  Medical  Journal.  Complete  from  1880 
except  index  missing  in  Vol.  Ill,  1883.     San  Francisco, 

XXI.  Chicago  Medical  Times.  Robert  A.  Gunn ;  later, 
H.  D.  Garrison,  W.  H.  Davis,  A.  L.  Clark,  Finley  EUing- 
wood.  Complete  from  1869  to  1898,  except  Nos.  9  and 
12,  and  Index  of  Vol.  Ill,  (1871-73),  No.  6  of  Vol.  VII, 
(1875-76),  and  Index  of  Vol.  IX,  1877-78.     Chicago. 

*XXII.  Cincinnati  Medical  Recorder.  William  H.  Cook. 
Vol.  LI,  Nos.  I,  2,  6  on  hand.     Cincinnati. 

XXIII.  Eastern  Medical  Journal.  A.  J.  Marston.  We 
have  Vols.  Ill,  1884,  and  VI,  1886,  complete.  Missing, 
Vol.  IV,  Nos.  2,  6;  Vol.  VII,  1887,  No.  10;  and  following 


MEDICAL    PERIODICALS.  64 1 

numbers.     Continuation  of  No.  LVII.    Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts. 
XIV.      Eclectic    Medical  Journal,    [last    series].     John   M. 
Scudder.    Vols.  I,  II,  III,  (1870-71),  on  hand.    Complete. 
Cincinnati. 

XXV.  Eclectic  Health  Journal.  Richard  A.  Hasbrouck. 
Vol.  I,  1892,  Nos.  1-4,  6-12;  Vol.  II,  1893,  complete; 
Vol.  Ill,  1894,  1-4,  6-8.     Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

XXVI.  Eclectic  Journal  and  Family  Adviser.  W.  W. 
Johnston  and  W.  H.  Price.  Vol.  I,  1894,  Nos.  1-8. 
Carthage,  Missouri. 

*XXVII.  Eclectic  Journal  of  Medicine.  John  Bell.  Four 
volumes,  1836-40.     Philadelphia. 

XXVIII.  Eclectic  Journal  of  Medicine.  Levi  Reuben  and 
L.  C.  Dolley.  Vols.  Ill,  IV,  July  185 1  to  December 
1852.  Complete.  For  previous  issue  see  No.  LXVIII. 
Consolidated  with  No.  VII,  and  merged  into  No. 
LXXXVII.     Rochester,  New  York. 

XXVIII.  a.  Eclectic  Journal  of  Science.  Vol.  II,  1835. 
Previously  No.  XXX. 

XXIX.  Eclectic  Medical  Advocate.  S.  House  and  A.  Wilder. 
Vol.  VI,  old  series,  or  Vol.  I,  new  series,  1884,  complete 
without  index ;  Vol.  II,  1885,  complete  with  ind3x;  Vol. 
Ill,  1886,  complete  without  index  ;  Vol.  IV,  1887,  incom- 
plete.    New  York. 

*XXX.     Eclectic    and    Medical    Botanist.     William  Hance. 

Vol.  I,   1835.    Probably  continued  as  No.  XXXVI,  [which 

is  not  named.]     Columbus,  Ohio. 
XXXI.     Eclectic  Medical  Journal.  Thomas  V.  Morrow,  Jos. 

R.    Buchanan,    R.    S.    Newton.     No.    I,    1849,  ^^^^   date. 

Preceded  by  No.  XCI.     Cincinnati. 


842  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

XXXII.  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  of  Pennsylvania.*  John 
Buchanan.  Vol.  VI,  1868,  No.  11  ;  Vol.  VII,  1869  ;  Vol. 
XI,  1873,  No.  3  ;  Vol.  XII,  1874,  No.  i  ;  Vol.  XV,  1877, 
Nos.  7,  8,  9;  Vol.  XVI,  1878,  Nos.  1-4,  7,  8,  11.  12  ;  Vol. 
XVII,  1879,  Nos.  5-12  ;  Vol.  XVIII,  1880,  Nos.  1-6  are  on 
hand.  Others  are  wanted.  Continued  later  as  No.  LI. 
Philadelphia. 

XXXIII.  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  of  Philadelphia.  Wm. 
Paine.  Vol.  I,  1858  to  Vol,  IV,  1861,  complete;  Vol.  V, 
1862,  Nos.  5  and  8  wanted;  Vol.  VI,  1863,  Nos.  3-6  and 
8-12  wanted;  Vol.  VII,  complete  ;  the  title  having  been 
changed  to  No.  XXXV.t     Philadelphia. 

XXXIV.  Eclectic  Medical  Record  and  Psychological  Re- 
view. J.  C.  Lewis.  Begun  1869.  Incomplete.  Indian- 
apolis. 

XXXV.  Eclectic  and  University  Journal  of  Philadelphia. 
William  Paine.  Vols.  VII  and  VIII.  Complete.  Con- 
tinued as  No.  LXXXIX,     Previously  No.  XXXIII. 

XXXVI.  Wanting. 

XXXVII.  Eclectic  Review.  G.  W.  Boskowitz.  Vols.  I,  II, 
1890,  1 89 1.     Complete.     New  York. 

XXXVIII.  English  Eclectic  Medical  Practitioner  and 
Journal  of  Medical  Dissent.  J.  Simmons.  Vol.  I,  1894. 
Is  incomplete.     Hyde,  England. 

XXXIX.  Family  Journal  of  Health.  J.  M.  Scudder.  i860. 
Incomplete.     Cincinnati. 

*The  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  of  Pennsylvania  was  conducted  originally  by  Doctors 
Thomas  Coolce  and  Hollenibaek  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  and  afterward  by  Dr. 
William  Paine.  After  several  years  Dr.  Paine  separated  abruptly  from  the  Faculty, 
and  set  up  a  rival  institution,  and  began  the  publication  of  No.  XXXIII.  Dr. 
HoUembaek  began  The  Quarterly  Eclectic  Medical  Journal  of  Pennsylvania,  July, 
1862,  Vol.  I,  No.  1,  which  a  year  or  two  later  passed  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  John 
Buchanan. 

t  Dr.  Paine  having  established  a  second  medical  college  in  Philadelphia,  endeavored 
to  procure  the  approval  of  the  neighboring  medical  societies.  Not  succeeding  in  this, 
he  announced  himself  in  the  May  number  of  this  volume  (1865)  as  "  parting  with  the 
venerable  name  of  Eclectic  "  and  afterward  declared  himself  "  no  longer  an  Eclectic  " 
but  "  a  new-school  practitioner  of  Medicine.  As,  however,  he  did  not  form  a  party, 
nor  change  his  mode  of  practice,  his  publications  are  still  enumerated  as  before. 


MEDICAL    PERIODICALS.  843 

XL.  Georgia  Eclectic  Medical  Journal.  Vol.  IV,  and  all 
from  Vol.  VII,  1884-5  ^^  1898  are  complete.  Other 
volumes  incomplete.     Atlanta,  Georgia. 

XLI.  Independent  Medical  Investigator.  S.  S.  Boots  and 
J.  L.  Marsh.  Vol.  I,  1879-80,  and  Vol.  II,  1880  to  May 
1 88 1,  are  complete.  Combined  with  the  June  number, 
1881,  of  No.  XLIII.  In  August  1883  Dr.  Boots  revived 
the  Investigator.  Vol.  II,  1883-84,  Nos.  1-9  is  on  hand. 
Probably  complete.     Greenfield,  Indiana. 

XLII.  Indiana  Eclectic  Medical  Journal.  G.  W.  Pickerill. 
Vol.  Ill,  1885,  tu  Vol.  VI,  1888.  Complete.  Other 
volumes  incomplete.  Continued  later  as  No.  LIX.  In- 
dianapolis. 

XLIII.  Indiana  Medical  Journal.  Daniel  Lesh.  Pub- 
lished by  the  Trustees  of  the  Indiana  Eclectic  Medical 
College.  Vol.  I,  1881-82.  Complete.  Other  volumes 
wanted.     Indianapolis. 

XLIV.  Journal  of  Eclectic  Medicine.  Begun  in  1891.  In- 
complete.    Morristown,  Tennessee. 

XLV  to  XLIX.      Omitted. 

*L.  Journal  of  Medical  Reform.  Friend  and  Sweet.  1854. 
See  No.  IV.     New  York. 

LI.  Journal  of  Progressive  Medicine.  John  Buchanan. 
Preceded  by  No.  XXXII.      Incomplete.     Philadelphia. 

LII.  Journal  of  Rational  Medicine.  C.  H.  Cleaveland. 
Vol.  I,  1868  to  Vol.  Ill,  Complete.  Subsequent  volumes 
wanted.     Cincinnati. 

LIII.  Iowa  Medical  Journal.  John  G.  Hill  and  H.  O. 
Conoway.     Begun  in  1884.     Incomplete.     Des  Moines. 

LIV.  Iowa  Eclectic  Medical  Journal.  O.  H.  P.  Shoemaker. 
Begun  in  1884.     Incomplete.     Des  Moines. 

LV.  Kansas  Medical  Journal.  J.  Milton  Welch.  Begun 
in  1883.     Incomplete.     Topeka  and  La  Cygne. 


844  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

LVI.  a.  Keystone  Medical  Journal.  H.  B.  Piper,  A.  B. 
Woodward.  Vols.  I,  II,  III.  Complete.  Tunkhannock 
and  Tyrone,  Pennsylvania. 

*LVI.  b.  Lobelia  Advocate  and  Medical  Recorder.  John 
Rose.     Vol.  I,  1839.     Baltimore. 

LVII.  Maine  Medical  Journal.  A.  J.  Marston.  Vol.  I, 
1882,  complete  ;  Vol.  II,  1S83,  1-7.  Continued  as  No. 
XXIII.      Lewiston. 

LVIII.  a.  Massachusetts  Medical  Journal.  H.  G.  Barrows 
and  Robert  A.  Reid.  Vols.  Ill  to  VIII,  1883-88,  also 
1896-98,  complete.     Others  incomplete.     Boston. 

LVIII.  b.  Medical  Eclectic.  Alexander  Wilder  and  R.  S. 
Newton.  Vol.  Ill,  1876,  and  Vol.  V,  1878,  complete ; 
A^ols.  I,  1873-74,  II  and  IV,  incomplete.  Continued  as 
No.  LXIX.    Preceded  by  Nos.  I  and  LXVIL    New  York. 

LIX.  Medical  Free  Press.  G.  W.  Pickerill.  Vols.  VIII, 
1890,  and  X,  1892-93,  complete.  Others  incomplete. 
Discontinued  in  1895.  Preceded  by  No.  XLII.  Indian- 
apolis. 

LX.  Medical  Gleaner.  W.  C.  Cooper  and  W.  E.  Bloyer. 
Begun  in  1889.     Complete.     Cleves  and  Cincinnati. 

*LXL  a.  Medical  Independent.  H.  Goadby,  E.  Kane,  L. 
G.  Robinson.     Vols.  I,  II,  1846,  on  hand.     Detroit. 

LXI.  b.  Medical  Independent.  William  Paine.  Vol.  XIV. 
Incomplete.  (Probably  supplementary  to  No.  XXXV.) 
Philadelphia. 

LXII.     Omitted. 

LXIII.  Medical  Tribune.  Robert  A.  Gunn  and  Alexander 
Wilder.  Vols.  I,  1878,  to  VIII,  1892,  complete  except 
No.  II  of  Vol.  II,  September,  1881.  Vol.  VI  was  inter- 
rupted in  1884  and  resumed  as  Vol.  VI  in  1890.  Of 
Vol.  VI  in  1884  we  have  Nos.  1-6  ;  of  Vol.  VI,  1890,  No. 


MEDICAL    PERIODICALS  845 

2  (May)  is  missing.  Volumes  subsequent  to  Vol.  VIII 
are  incomplete.     New  York. 

*LXIV,  Middle  States  Medical  Reformer,  Palemon 
John  and  John  S.  Prettyman.  Vols.  I  to  III,  1854-5,  and 
Vol.  IV,  1857,  Nos.  1-5,  on  hand,  except  Index  to  Vol. 
III.     Millville,  Pennsylvania. 

LXV.  Monthly  Mirror.  Robert  A.  Gunn.  Vol.  I,  1873- 
74,.     Followed  by  No.  LXIII.     New  York. 

LXVI.  a.  Nebraska  Medical  Journal.  W.  S.  Latta.  Begun 
1884.     Incomplete.     Lincoln. 

*LXVI.  b.  New  England  Botanic  and  Surgical  Journal. 
Calvin  Newton.  We  have  Vol.  I,  1847.  ^o^-  ^^>  185 1  ; 
Vol.  VII,  1852;  Vol.  VIII,  1853;  Vol.  X,  1855.  All 
others  wanted.  In  Vol.  VI  it  became  No.  XCIV.  [It 
was  preceded  by  the  New  England  Medical  Eclectic] 
Worcester,  Massachusetts. 

LXVII.  New  York  Eclectic  Medical  Review.  R.  S.  New- 
ton, Edwin  Freeman,  P.  Albert  Morrow.  Vols.  I  to  V, 
1866-1870.  Complete.  Also  Vol.  VII,  1871-72.  Com- 
plete. Vol.  VI  is  missing.  In  Vols.  Ill  to  VII  the  title 
is  changed  to  No.  I.     New  York. 

LXVIII.  New  York  Eclectic  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal. 
William  W.  Hadley*  (and  S.  H.  Potter).  Complete  set, 
Vols.  I,  II,  1849  to  June,  185 1.  Continued  as  No. 
XXVIII.     Syracuse.  N.  Y. 

LXIX.  New  York  Medical  Eclectic.  R.  S.  Newton.  Vol. 
VI,  1879,  complete;  Vols.  YII  and  VIH,  incomplete. 
Preceded  by  No.  LVIII  b.     New  York. 

LXX.  Paine's  Journal  of  Domestic  Medicine.  William 
Paine.     Vol.  I,  1873.     Incomplete.     Philadelphia. 

LXXI.     Omitted. 

*  Dr.  Hadley  afterward  conducted  the  New  York  Pathological  Journal  at  New  York, 

and  died  in  1870. 


846  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

LXXII.     People's  Medical  Monthly.     Edwin  F.  Rush.     Be- 
gun 1886.     Incomplete.     Chicago. 
*LXXIII.     Philadelphia  Botanic   Sentinel   and  Thomsonian 

Medical  Revolutionist.    Vol.  Ill,  1838  and  Vol.  IV,  1839. 

All  others  wanted.     Philadelphia. 
LXXIV.     Philadelphia  University  Journal  of  Medicine  and 

Surgery.     Joseph  Longshore  and  E.  D.  Buckman.     1871. 

Odd  numbers.      See  No.  LXXXIX.     Philadelphia. 
*LXXV.     Physio-Medical   Journal.     George  Hasty.     Vols. 

Ill,  1886,  and   XIII.     Complete.     All  others  incomplete. 

Indianapolis. 
*LXXVI.     Physio-Medical  Recorder  and   Surgical  Journal, 

Vols.  XVII,    1849,   ai^d    XVIII,    1850.     Complete.     All 

other    volumes    wanted.       Continued    as    No.    LXXVII. 

Cincinnati. 
*LXXVII.     Physio-Medical  Recorder  and  Surgical  Journal. 

Vol.  XIX,  1 85 1.     Other  volumes  wanted.     Preceded  by 

No.  LXXVI. 
*LXVIII.     Physio-Medical  Era  and  Journal  of  Health.     N. 

K.   Hard   and  D.  W.   Bloom.     Vol.   I,  1849-50.    No.  10 

missing.      All    other  volumes    wanted.      Mount    Vernon, 

Ohio. 
LXIX.       St.    Louis    Medical    Journal.       George    H.   Field. 

Vols.  II.    1875,   and  XIII,  1888.     Complete.     All  others 

incomplete.     St.  Louis. 
*LXXX.     Sanative  Medicine.     G.  H.  Mayhugh  and  after- 
ward T.  J.  Lyle.     Begun    189 1    and   complete    to  date. 

Westerville  and  Salem,  Ohio. 
LXXXI.     Omitted. 
*LXXXII.       Southern    Botanic   Journal.     D.    F.  Naudain. 

Vol.  I,  1836.     Subsequent  volumes  wanted.     Charleston, 

South  Carolina. 


MEDICAL    PERIODICALS.  847 

LXXXIII.  a.     Southwestern  Progressive    Medical   Journal. 

W.  L.  Leister.     See  No.  X.     Rogers,  Arkansas. 
LXXXIII.  b.       Syracuse  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal.     S. 

H.  Potter.     Vol.  VI,  1854,  or  Fourth  Series,  Vol.  I,  Nos. 

i-ii,  February   to    December.     Complete.     Preceded  by 

No.  LXXXVII  and  succeeded  by  No.  VII.  c.     Syracuse, 

N.  Y. 
*LXXXIV.     Thomsonian  Medical  Revolutionist.     See  No. 

LXXIII.     Philadelphia. 
*LXXXV.     Thomsonian  Messenger.     0.  B.  Lyman.     Vols. 

I,  II,  1842-3.     Norwich,  Connecticut. 
♦LXXXVI.     Thomsonian  Recorder.     Vol.  I,  1883   to  Vol. 

VII,    1838,    on    hand.     Continued    later   as    No.  XVIII. 

Columbus,  Ohio. 
LXXXVII.     Union  Journal  of  Medicine.    Levi  Reuben  and 

S.  H.  Potter.     Vol.  V,    1853,    Nos.   1-7.     Wanted,    8-12. 

Preceded  by  Nos.  VII  and  XXXVIII.     Continued  by  Dr. 

Reuben  in  New  York,  and  followed  by  Dr.  Potter  as  No. 

LXXXIII.  b.     Syracuse  and  New  York. 
LXXXVIII.     United  States  Medical  Investigator.     Duncan 

Brothers,     Begun  1865.     Incomplete.     Chicago. 
LXXXIX.     University   Journal  of   Medicine   and  Surgery. 

Odd  numbers  of  1857-70  on  hand.     Continued  in  187 1  as 

No.  LXXIV.     Preceded  by  No.  XXXV.     Philadelphia. 
XC.     West-American  Review.     G.   W.  L.  Bickley.     Begun 

1853.     Vol.  I.     Complete.     Cincinnati. 
XCI.      Western    Medical    Reformer.       Thomas    Vaughan 

Morrow,  I.  G.  Jones  and  associates  in  Worthington  Medi- 
cal College.     1836  to   1843.     Complete   set.     Continued 

as  No.  XXXI. 
XCII,  XCIII.     Omitted. 
XCIV.     Worcester   Journal   of    Medicine.     F.    H.    Kelley. 

Preceded  by  LXVI.  b.     Worcester,  Mass. 


848  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

[Those  marked  with  an  asterisk  are  works  of  the  Botanic 

Schools.] 

Abbott,  F.  W,  The  Education  of  Youth  in  Matters  Sexual. 
Taunton,  Mass.     1895. 

Abbott,  F.  W.     Limitation  of  the  Family.    Taunton.     1891. 

Allen,  Paul  W.  The  Eclectic  System  of  Medicine,  its 
Origin,  Remedies,  Success.     New  York.     1869. 

Beach,  Wooster.  An  Improved  System  of  Midwifery.  New 
York.     1847. 

Beach,  Wooster.  Medical  and  Botanic  Dictionary.  New 
York.     1847. 

Beach,  Wooster.  The  American  Practice  of  Medicine. 
Three  volumes.     New  York.     1833. 

Beach,  Wooster,  Dr.     Vol.  III.     New  York.      1836. 

Beach,  Wooster.  The  Family  Physician*  (condensed  into 
one  volume.)     Cincinnati.     1889. 

Bickley,  G.  W.  L.  Introductory  Address  Delivered  at  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  November  10,  1S53.  Cincin- 
nati.     1853. 

Bickley,  G.  W.  L.  Lecture  before  the  Class  of  E.  M. 
Institute,  November  6,  1853.     Cincinnati.     1853. 

Bickley,  G.  W.  L.  The  West-American  Review.  A 
Critical  Encyclopaedia.     Vol.  I.     Cincinnati.     1853. 

Bickley,  G.  W.  L.  Principles  of  Scientific  Botany.  Cincin- 
nati.     1853. 

*Biggs,  A.  The  Botanic  Medical  Reference  Book.  Mem- 
phis, Tennessee.      1847. 

Buchanan,  John.     A  Practical  Treatise  of  Midwifery.     With 

*  Another  edition  of  Dr.  Beach's  work,  condensed  into  a  single  volume,  was  published 
in  England  by  the  late  Dr.  Thomas  Simmons.  Dr.  Beach,  himself,  also  issued  a 
revised  work  in  three  volumes  at  a  later  period — Vol.1,  Practice  of  Medicine  ;  Vol 
II,  Surgery  :  Vol.  Ill,  Materia  Medica. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  849 

an    Appendix    containing   the    Eclectic     Pharmacopoeia. 

Philadelphia.      1866. 
Buchanan,  John.     A    Practical   Treatise   on  the  Diseases  of 

Children.     Philadelphia.     1866. 
Buchanan,    John,    and    J.    F.    Siggins.       Dispensatory    and 

Pharmacopoeia   of    North    America    and    Great    Britain. 

Philadelphia.     1878. 
Buchanan,    Joseph    Rodes.       Introductory    Lecture    at    the 

Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  Cincinnati,  1850. 
Buchanan,  Joseph  Rodes.     Manual  of   Psychometry  —  The 

Dawn  of  the  New  Civilization.     Boston.     1885. 
Buchanan,    Joseph   Rodes.     Outlines    of    Lectures    on    the 

Neurological  System  of  Anthropology.     Four  parts  in  one 

volume.     Cincinnati.      1854. 
Buchanan,    Joseph    Rodes.      Eclecticism    and    Exclusivism. 

Introductory  Lecture.     Cincinnati,     1854. 
Buchanan,  Joseph  Rodes.     Primitive  Christianity.     Volume 

I.     San    Jose,  California.     [Not    medical.]      1897.     [Vol- 
ume II  of  this  book  was  published  in  1899.] 
Buchanan,    Joseph    Rodes.      A    Grand    Reception — The 

Spirited  Anniversary  of  Eighty-Four  Years.      Voices  from 

the    Higher    Realms.     (In    The   Light   of   Truth.)     Vol. 

XXIV,  No.  I.     Columbus,  Ohio.      189 1. 
Buchanan,  Joseph  Rodes.     Wonders  of  the  Infinite.     (From 

the  Progressive  Thinker,  Chicago,  May,  1898.) 
Buchanan,    Joseph    Rodes.       Primitive    Christianity  —  The 

Rise    and    Fall   of    Pseudo-Christianity.     (In  Progressive 

Thinker,  September  17,  1898.) 
Coe,  Grover.     Positive  Medical  Agents.     New  York.     1855. 
Coe,  Grover.       Concentrated     Organic     Medicines.       New 

York.      1858. 
Coe,    Grover.       Concentrated    Organic    Medicines.      Ninth 

Edition,  twelve  new  pages.     New  York.     1867. 


850  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Collins,  A.  J.     What  is  Eclecticism  ? 

Cooper,  James.  From  Allopathy  to  Eclecticism.  (Manu- 
script in  lead  pencil.)     Bellefontaine,  Ohio,  June  4;  1892. 

Cooper,  W.  C.  Autobiographical  Sketch  and  Poem 
(^"  Irene"  in  Moody's  Magazine  of  Medicine,  Vol,  I.)    1896. 

Cooper,  W.  C.  Occult  Manifestations  (in  Areno^  Boston. 
1895. 

Cooper,  W.  C.     The  Dream  City.     Cleves,  Ohio. 

Downing,  B.  P.  Reformed  Practice  and  Family  Physician. 
Utica,  New  York.      185 1. 

Downs,  L.  S.  The  Three  Schools  of  Medicine,  Their  Rela- 
tive Differences  and  Practical  Advantages.  Galveston, 
Texas. 

Eastman,  Buell.  Practical  Treatise  on  Diseases  Peculiar  to 
Women  and  Girls :  to  which  is  appended  an  Eclectic 
System  of  Midwifery.  Second  Edition.  Connersville, 
Indiana.      1845. 

EUingwood,  Finley.  A  Systematic  Treatise  on  Materia 
Medica  and  Therapeutics,  with  Pharmacy,  etc.,  by  J.  Uri 
Lloyd.     Chicago,  1898. 

Fearn,  John.  Obituary  of  Dr.  John  M.  Scudder.  Oakland, 
California.      1894. 

Fearn,  John.  Shall  the  Eclectic  Practice  of  Medicine  be 
Perpetuated  ? 

Fclter,  H.  W      The  Genus  Rhus  in  Medicine.      1895. 

Felter,  H.  W.  The  Therapeutics  of  the  Respiratory  Organs, 
Reprinted  from  Eclectic  Medical  Journal. 

Foltz,  Kent  O.     See  Webster,  H.  T. 

Freeman,  Edwin.      Biography  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Scudder. 

Freeman,  Zoheth.     See   Sherwood,  William. 

Giles,  Alfred  E.  Free  Physicians'  and  Patients"  Rights  — 
Civil    and    Medical    Liberty    in    the   Healing  Art.     With 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  85 1 

Corroborative    Letters    from    E.    Crowell  and  Joseph   R. 

Buchanan.     Boston.      1880. 
Giles,  Alfred  E.     The  War  of  the  Doctors  on  the  Rights  of 

the  People.     Second  Edition.     Boston.     1881. 
Good,   Peter  P.     The   Family  Flora    and    Materia    Medica 

Botanica.     Two    volumes.      Elizabethtown,    New    Jersey. 

1845. 

Goss,  I.  J.  M.  The  New  Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics. 
St.  Louis.      1877. 

Goss,  L  J.  M.  The  American  Practice  of  Medicine.  Phila- 
delphia.     1882. 

Gunn,  Robert  A.     See  Medical  Tribune. 

Hadley,  William  W.  See  New  York  Eclectic  Medical  and 
Surgical  Journal,  Vol.  II.     Rochester,  N.  Y.      1850. 

Hance,  William.     See  Eclectic  and  Medical  Botanist. 

Hance,  William.  See  Eclectic  and  Medical  Journal  of 
Science,  Vol.  II.     Columbus,  Ohio.      1855. 

Hartley,  W.  H.  Tribute  to  Professor  Scudder.  (Reprinted 
from  the  Eclectic  Medical  Journal.) 

Hollembaek,  Henry.  The  American  Eclectic  Materia 
Medica.  Containing  125  Illustrations  of  Trees  and  Plants 
of  the  American  Continent.     Philadelphia.     1885. 

Howe,  A.  J.  Biography  by  J.  Uri  Lloyd.  (Reprinted  from 
Eclectic  Medical  Journal.)     Cincinnati.      1894. 

Howe,  A.  J.  Miscellaneous  Papers.  By  Mrs.  G.  L.  Howe. 
Cincinnati.      1894. 

Howe,  A.  J.  Latin  as  a  Compulsory  Qualification  in  the 
Medical  Student's  Preparatory  Education.     Cincinnati. 

Howes,  Pitts  Edwin.  Preventive  Medicine.  Address  be- 
fore the  Massachusetts  Eclectic  Society,  June,  1895. 

Jones,  I,  G.  The  American  Eclectic  Practice  of  Medicine 
V.  Posthumous  Writings  of  T.  V.  Morrow.  Two  volumes. 
Cincinnati.      1854. 


852  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

Jones,  I.  G.  and  Wm.  Sherwood.  American  Eclectic  Prac- 
tice of  Medicine.     Cincinnati.     1857. 

Jones,  Lorenzo  E.  Introductory  Lecture  at  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute,  Cincinnati.     1850. 

Jones,  Lorenzo  E.  Exposition  :  Scudder's  School  —  Is  it 
Eclectic?     Cincinnati.      1872. 

Jones,  Lorenzo  E.  and  A.  H.  Baldridge.  An  Exposition  of 
the  Character  of  J.  R.  Buchanan,  in  Reply  to  his  Defama- 
tory Attack  upon  L.  E.  Jones  and  others. 

King,  John.     Life,  by  J.  U.  Lloyd. 

King,  John.  Introductory  Lecture  at  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute,  Cincinnati.     1852. 

King,  John.  Special  Medical  Legislation.  An  Address 
Delivered  before  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tion at  its  Annual  Meeting  in  Cincinnati  in  June,  1884, 
and  published  by  order  of  the  Association. 

King,  John.  The  Coming  Freeman.  [Non-medical.]  Cin- 
cinnati.    1890. 

King,  John.  The  Cause  of  Chronic  Diseases.  Cincinnati. 
1867. 

King,  John.  American  Eclectic  Obstetrics.  Cincinnati. 
1866. 

King,  John.  Woman  and  Her  Diseases.  First  Edition. 
Cincinnati.      1859. 

King,  John.  Woman  and  Her  Diseases.  Second  Edition. 
Cincinnati,      i860. 

King,  John.  The  American  Family  Physician,  or  Domestic 
Guide  to  Health.     Cincinnati.      1857. 

King,  John.  The  Eclectic  Dispensatory  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  Cincinnati.  1854.  Supplement  by 
J.  U.  Lloyd.     Cincinnati.      1880. 

*Kost,   John.      The    Practice   of    Medicine,    Embracing  a 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  853 

Treatise  on  Materia  Medica  and  Pharmacy.  Mount 
Vernon,  Ohio.      1847. 

*Kost,  John.  Elements  of  Materia  Medica  and  Thera- 
peutics.    Cincinnati.     1849. 

*Kost,  John.     Domestic  Medicine.     Cincinnati.      1849. 

*Kost,  John.  Text-Book  of  Medical  Jurisprudence.  Cin- 
cinnati.    1885. 

Lindorme,  C.  A.  F.  Scientific  Basis  of  Eclecticism  in 
Medicine.  An  Address  before  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  at  Topeka  in  1883. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.  American  Pharmacopoeias  and  Dispensatories. 
Reprinted  from  the  American  Joiirual  of  P/iar?>iacy.,  De- 
cember 1896. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.  Supplement  to  the  American  Dispensatory. 
Cincinnati.     1880. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.  Life  of  John  King,  M.  D.,  and  the  Discovery 
of  Podophyllin.     Cincinnati.      1894. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.     Life  of  A.  J.  Howe,  M.  D.    Cincinnati.     1894. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.  Drugs  and  Medicines  in  North  America.  Cin- 
cinnati.     1874-5. 

McClanahan,  J.  T.  Rhus  Aromatica.  A  Paper  Read  at  the 
Meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  at 
St.  Louis  in  1881. 

McPheron,  E.  Melvin.  Eclecticism  versus  Allopathy.  Re- 
printed from  the  Eclectic  Health  Journal.  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah.     1882. 

Massie,  J.  C.  A  Treatise  on  the  Eclectic  Southern  Practice 
of  Medicme.     Philadelphia.      1854. 

Mayer,  Edward  R.  Specific  Medication.  Hints  Toward  a 
Better  Knowledge  of  Methods  and  Substances  Used. 
Pittston,  Penn.      1876. 

Meader,  L.  P.  The  People's  Medical  Companion  and 
Family  Guide.     Cincinnati.       1861. 


854  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

Meader,  L.  P.    The  People's  Physicians.     Cincinnati,    i860. 

Miller,  Charles  N.  Should  There  Be  a  Law  to  Regulate  the 
Practice  of  Medicine  ?  (Negative  argument.)  (From 
California  Medical  Journal,  January,  1899.    San  Francisco. 

Miller,  Charles  N.  The  Corset :  Thereby  Hangs  a  String. 
(From  California  ^'I/<?/'//r<?/ /(9///7/^?/,  November,  1898.  San 
Francisco. 

*Monill,  G.  A.  and  Brown  D.  P.  Trial  of  Doctor  Frost. 
Philadelphia.      1838. 

Morrow,  P.  Albert.     See  American  Medical  Review. 

Morrow,  Thomas  V.     See  Jones,  I.  G. 

Newton,  Calvin,  and  Marshall  Calkins.  Thoracic  Diseases ; 
with  a  Biographic  Sketch  of  Doctor  Newton.  Worcester, 
Mass.      1854. 

Newton,  Robert  S.  An  Eclectic  Treatise  on  the  Practice  of 
Medicine.     Cincinnati.      1861. 

Newton,  Robert  S.  See  also  Sherwood  Wm.,  Powell  Wm. 
Byrd,  The  American  Eclectic  Medical  Review,  The  Ameri- 
can Medical  Register,  The  Medical  Eclectic.     New  York. 

Niederkorn,  J.  S.  A  Ready  Guide  to  Specific  Medication. 
Bradford,  Ohio.     1893. 

Olsen,  Charles.  (Of  Olsen  in  Utah.)  Herbs  as  Medicine. 
Thesis  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  Cincinnati,  1898. 

Paine,  William.  Principles  and  Practice  of  Medicine. 
Second  Edition.     Philadelphia.     1868. 

Paine,  William.  Medical  Properties,  and  Users  of  Concen- 
trated Medicines.     Philadelphia.      1865. 

Paine,  William.  An  Epitome  of  the  American  Eclectic 
Practice  of  Medicine.     Philadelphia.     1857. 

Paine,  William.  History  of  the  Rise,  Progress  and  Prin- 
ciples of  the  American  Eclectic  Practice  of  Medicine 
(taken  from  Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute.)  Phila- 
delphia.    1849. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  855 

Piper,  Henry  B.  Inaugural  Address  as  President  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  at  Altoona, 
October,  1878.     (Published    in    N.  Y.  Medical  Eclectic.) 

Piper,  Henry  B.  Address  before  the  Pennsylvania  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  at  Bellefonte,  1879. 

Pitzer,  George  C.  Eclectricity  in  Medicine  and  Surgery.  St. 
Louis.      1893. 

Potter,  Stephen  H.  Compendium  of  Principles  and  Prac- 
tice of  Medicine,  Second  Edition.  Hamilton,  Ohio. 
1897. 

Potter,  Stephen  H.  Notes  of  Lectures  on  the  American 
Practice  of  Medicine.     Syracuse,  N.  Y.     1855. 

Potter.  Stephen  H.  See  the  American  Medical  and  Surgical 
Journal.     Syracuse  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal. 

Powell,  William  Byrd.  The  Natural  History  of  the  Human 
Temperaments.     Second  Edition.      Cincinnati.     1869. 

Powell,  William  Byrd,  and  R.  S.  Newton.  The  Eclectic 
Practice  of  Medicine.     Cincinnati.      1854. 

Prettyman,  John  S.     See    Middle  States  Medical  Reformer. 

Priest,  N.  L.  Medical  Companion.  Exeter,  New  Hamp- 
shire.     1838. 

Rafinesque,  Constantin  S.  Manual  of  the  Medical  Botany 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  Two  volumes.  Phila- 
delphia.     1828,   1830. 

Rafinesque,  Constantin  S.  The  Pleasures  and  Duties  of 
Wealth.      Philadelphia.      1830. 

Rafinesque,  Constantin  S.  American  Manual  of  the  Grape 
Vine  and  the  Art  of   Making  Wine.     Philadelphia.      1830. 

Reeve,  J.  C.     The  Latest  System   in    Medicine.     Columbus, 

Ohio.  '-    ■;  / 

Reuben,  Levi.     See  Union  Journal  of  Medicine. 
Rogers,    H.  N.     See    Transactions   of    Wisconsin    Eclectic 
Medical  Society. 


856  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

Scudder,  John  K.  Table  of  Specific  Indications  and  Doses 
of  Eclectic  Remedies.    Revised  to  May  1893.    Cincinnati. 

Scudder,  John  K.  Eclectics  and  Life  Insurance.  Eclectic 
Medical  Journal,  May,  1898. 

Scudder,  John  K.  Fair  Medical  Legislation,  in  Transac- 
tions of  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  for  1897. 

Scudder,  John  M,  Biographic  Sketch  by  J.  U.  Lloyd,  in 
Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  January,  1895. 

Scudder,  John  M.  Obituary  by  John  Fearn.  Oakland, 
California. 

Scudder,  John  M.  Tribute,  by  W.  H.  Hartley.  Sydney, 
Australia.     From    Eclectic  Medical  Journal.     Cincinnati. 

Scudder,  John  M.     Specific  Medication  —  What  is  It? 

Scudder,  John  M.  A  Brief  History  of  Eclectic  Medicine. 
1879. 

Scudder,  John  M..  The  Essential  Differences  Between  the 
Three  Schools  of  Medicine. 

Scudder,  John  M.  On  the  Use  of  Medicated  Inhalations. 
Cincinnati.      1866. 

Scudder,  John  M.  On  the  Use  of  Medicated  Inhalations. 
Fourth  Edition. 

Scudder.  John  M.  Specific  Medication  and  Specific  Medi- 
cines.     Seventh  Edition.     Cincinnati.      1876. 

Scudder,  John  M.  Specific  Medication  and  Specific  Medi- 
cines.    Tenth  Edition.      t88i. 

Scudder,  John  M.     See  Materia  Medica. 

Scudder,  John  M.  The  Family  Journal  of  Health.  Febru- 
ary to  July.      Cincinnati,      i860. 

Scudder,  John  M.  The  Eclectic.  Three  volumes.  Cin- 
cinnati.    1870-71. 

Scudder,  John  M.  Domestic  Medicine,  or  Home-Book  of 
Health.     Vol.  I.     Complete.     Cincinnati.     1865. 


BIRLIOORAPHY.  857 

Scudder,  John  M.  Specific  Diagnosis,  Fourth  Edition. 
Cincinnati.      1878. 

Scudder,  John  M.  The  American  Eclectic  Materia  Medica 
and  Therapeutics.  Eleventh  Edition.  Revised  and  Re- 
written.    Cincinnati.      1891. 

Scudder,  John  M.  Practical  Treatise  on  Diseases  of 
Women.  Fourth  Edition.  Cincinnati.  1866.  Fifth  Edi- 
tion.      1877. 

Scudder,  John  M.  Some  Miscellaneous  Writings  of  the 
late  Dr.  Scudder —  "  Some  Reminiscences." 

Scudder,  John  M.  Official  Announcement  of  the  Death  of 
Dr.  Scudder  by  Officers  of  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  with  Obituary  by  G.  W.  Pickerill,  in  Medical 
Free  Press. 

Scudder,  John  M.  and  Sons.  Catalogue  headed :  "  Of 
Interest  to  Every  Eclectic  Physician." 

Sherwood,  William.  Introductory  Lecture  on  Medical  Edu- 
cation, at  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  1852. 

Sherwood,  William.  History  of  the  Expulsion  of  Doctors 
Robert  S.  Newton  and  Zoheth  Freeman  from  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute.      1854. 

Simmons,  N.  See  Journal  of  Kansas  Eclectic  Medical 
Association. 

Thomas,  Rolla  L.  Eclecticism,  The  American  System  of 
Medicine.  Read  before  the  Wisconsin  Eclectic  Medical 
Society,  1867. 

Watkins,  Lyman.  An  Eclectic  Compendium  of  th '  Prac- 
tice of  Medicine.     Cincinnati.      1895. 

Webster,  Herbert  T.  Principles  of  Medicine.  Oakland, 
California.      1891. 

Webster,  Herbert  T.  Dynamical  Therapeutics.  Assisted 
by  J.  Uri  Lloyd  and  Kent  O.  Foltz.     Oakland.     1893. 

Webster,  Herbert  T,    Dynamical  Therapeutics.    Assisted  by 


858  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE, 

J.  U.  Lloyd  and   Kent  O.    Foltz.     Second  Edition.     San 

Francisco.     1898. 
Weyer,  A.     The   Family  Physician,  or   Poor  Man's  Friend. 

St.  Clairsville,  Ohio.     i88t. 
Wilder,    Alexander.     See    Transactions    of    the     National 

Eclectic  Medical  Association,  Vol.  V,  1877,  to  Vol.  XXIV,, 

1895.     (As  Secretary  and  contributor.) 
Wilder,  Alexander.    See  Medical  Tribune.    Medical  Eclectic. 
Wilder,  Alexander.    Biography  of  Wooster  Beach  in  Eclectic 

Medical  Journal.      1893. 
Wilder,    Alexander.       Plea    for    Collegiate    Education    of 

Women.     N.  Y.      1874. 
Wilder,  Alexander.   Intermarriage  of  Kindred.    (Approving.) 

1870. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     Perils  of  Premature  Burials.      1871. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     The  Soul.      1883. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     Mind  and  Cerebration. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     Later  Platonists.      1884. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     The  Ganglionic  Nervous  System.   1882. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     The  Antecedent  Life.      1895. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     Life  Eternal.      1885. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     The  Earlier  Period  of  Reformed  Medi- 
cine.    (From  Eclectic  Medical  Journal.)     1898. 
Wilder,    Alexander.       Scientific    Feeding.       (In     Scientific 

Man.)      1881. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     Fallacy  of  Vacination.      1878. 
Wilder,    Alexander.      Jesus    of    Nazareth.     (Clipping    from 

Religio-Philosophical  Journal,  September,  1879.) 
Wilder,    Alexander.       See      also     Metophysical  Magazine, 

Journal  American  Akademe,  Universal  Brotherhood,  Ideal 

Review,  etc.,  etc. 
Wilkinson,    G.    E.      Botanic-Medical    Practice.     Cincinnati. 

1845. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  859 

Complete  as  the  catalogue  of  Professor  Lloyd  appears,  the 
number  can  be  largely  increased,  and  even  fall  short  of  a 
perfect  enumeration.  The  early  Reformers  of  different 
places  and  shades  of  sentiment,  felt  the  need  of  an  intelli- 
gent statement  of  their  views  and  procedures.  Books  were 
published  and  periodicals  issued,  almost  in  profusion. 
Some  had  an  existence  of  many  years,  while  others  had  only 
a  name  for  a  brief  p"riod  and  were  forgotten.  Yet  their 
work  was  done  faithfully,  and  their  utterances  were  not  in 
vain.  Public  sentiment  was  changed,  and  the  persecutions 
which  characterized  the  former  years  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century  were  brought  to  an  end  by  legislative  action,  follow- 
ing in  the  wake  of  strenuous  effort  and  a  broader  intelli- 
gence. 

The  Botanic  Physician^  by  Elisha  Smith,  published  in 
Nuw  York  in  1830,  was  a  work  of  merit  equal  to  any  of  the 
time. 

Dr.  Beach's  publications  underwent  many  revisions, 
"  The  American  Practice  of  Medicine,"  first  issued  in  three 
volumes,  was  afterward  condensed  and  published  as  The 
Family  Physician,  in  which  form  it  had  an  extensive  sale, 
and,  indeed,  is  not  yet  superseded  by  its  numerous  suc- 
cessors. He  afterward  prepared  three  new  volumes,  on 
Surgery,  Practice  of  Medicine  and  Materia  Medica,  which 
quickly  found  sale.  Besides  these  he  published  a  little 
manual  of  Physiology,  a  Medical  Dictionary  and  a  treatise 
on  Midwifery.  He  by  no  means  confined  his  labors  to  the 
medical  field,  but  for  years  published  a  religious  periodical 
setting  forth  peculiar  views  on  various  doctrines  and  ques- 
tions of  personal  duty.  They  created  some  agitation  at  the 
time,  and  some  of  them  are  still  extant  in  other  forms. 

The  Digest  >■/  Materia  Aledica  by  Albert  Merrell,  pub- 
lished in  Philadelphia,  was    prepared   under  the  supervision 


86o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

and  with  the  concurrence  of  a  committee  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  and  has  the  official  approval 
of  that  body.  It  embraces  a  full  pharmacopceia,  and  joins 
the  merits  of  conciseness,  thoroughness  and  fidelity. 

The  leading  members  of  the  Colleges  at  Philadelphia  also 
wrote  works  of  great  value  of  which  the  principal  ones  are 
likewise  here  enumerated. 

Band,  Charles.     Eclectic  Practice,  Its  Office  and  Future. 
Band,  Charles.     Eclectic  Materia  Medica,  New    Remedies, 

Consumption  and   Its  Cure.     From  Transactions  of   the 

National  Eclectic  Medical  Association. 
Brown,  O.  Phelps.     The   Complete   Herbalist.     Jersey  City, 

N.  J.      1872. 

Buchanan,  John.     The  Eclectic  Practice  of  Medicine.    1861. 

Buchanan,  John.     Treatment  of    Venereal  Diseases.    1866. 

Ellingwood,  Finley.  Synopsis  of  Medical  Chemistry.  Chi- 
cago. 

Ellingwood,  Finley.     Manual  of  Urinalysis. 

Farnum,  E.  J.  Deformities  :  A  Text-Book  on  OrthopEedic 
Surgery.     Chicago. 

Foote,  E.  B.  Plain  Home-Talk  and  Medical  Common 
Sense.     New  York.      1870. 

Foote,  E.  B.  Science  in  Story,  or  Sammy  Tubbs  the  Boy 
Doctor  and  Sponsie  the  Troublesome  Monkey.  New 
York.      1874. 

Foote,  Edward  B.  Home  Cyclopedia  of  Popular  Medical, 
Social  and  Sexual  Science,  embracing  his  New  Book  on 
Health  and  Disease,  with  Recipes  Treating  of  the  Human 
System,  Hygiene  and  Sanitation  —  Causes,  Prevention, 
Cure,  and  Home  Treatment  of  Chronic  Diseases,  In- 
cluding Private  Words  for  Both  Sexes  and  250  Practical 
Recipes:  Also  Embracing  "Plain   Home  Talk  on  Love, 


biblio(;raphy.  86i 

Marringe  and  Parentage.  Twentieth  Century  Revised 
and  Enlarged  Edition.      New  York.      1891. 

Foote,  E.  B.  Pathology  of  the  Primary  Causes  of  Disease, 
Insanity  and  Premature  Death.  A  Paper  Read  Before 
the  World's  Medical  Congress  at  Chicago,  June  i,  1893. 
New  York. 

Gunn,  Robert  A.  Treatise  on  Venereal  Diseases.  New 
York.      1876. 

Gunn,  Robert  A.      Home  Physician.      New  York.      1883. 

Gunn,  Robert  A.  Forty  Days  \\'ithout  Food, —  Observa- 
tions of  the  Famous  Fast  of  Dr.  Tanner.  New  York. 
1881. 

Gunn,  Robert  A.  Vaccination  ;  Its  Fallacies  and  Evils. 
New  York.      1878. 

Hill,  Benjamin  L.  Among  the  publications  by  Eclectic 
writers  in  Cincinnati  not  included  in  the  Lloyd  Catalogue, 
was  a  Treatise  on  Surgery  by  Benjamin  L.  Hill.  Dr.  W. 
Sherwood,  of  the  College  of  Eclectic  Medicine,  also  issued 
a  work  on  the  Eclectic  Practice. 

Howe,  A.  J.     Fractures  and  Dislocations.    Cincinnati.   I870. 

Howe,  A.  J.     Operative  Gynaecology.     Cincinnati.      1890. 

Isaacs,  Judah.*  Eye  and  Ear:  Their  Diseases.  Philadel- 
phia.     1861. 

JeanSon,  J.  A.  Pathological  Anatomy,  and  Physical 
Diagnosis. 

JeanSon,  J.  A.  Diseases  of  the  Sexual  Organs.  (Male  and 
Female.) 

Kunze,  Richard  E.  The  Asclepiadacaj.  New  York.  1878. 
Also  the  Cacti  ;  Cereus  Bonplandii  in  Amaurosis  ;  Cocos 
Nucifera,  Convallaria,  Passiflora,  L' belism.  From  Trans- 
actions of  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association. 


*  Dr.  Isaacs  was  a  Lecturer  on  Diseases  of  tlie  Eye  and  Ear  in  the  Eclectic  Medical 
College  of  Pennsylvania. 


862  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

Lindorme,  C.  A.  F.  Medical  Tractice  of  the  Future.  At- 
lanta, Georgia.      1887. 

Lindorme,  C.  A.  F.  Intoxicants  and  Narcotics  :  Their 
Relation  to  the  Mental  Life.  Also  a  Philosophic  Expo- 
sition of  Man  and  this  World.      1883. 

Lindorme,  C.  A.  F.  Moral  Requisite  of  the  Criterion  of 
Truth.      1885. 

Locke,  A.  J.  and  H.  W.  Felter.  Locke's  Materia  Medica 
and  Therapeutics.     Cincinnati,  Ohio.      1900. 

Longshore,  Joseph.  Practice  of  Midwifery.  Philadelphia. 
1866. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.     Chemistry  of  Medicines.     Cincinnati.     1881. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.      Etidorhpa.     Cincinnati.       1898. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.     Right  Side  of  the  Car.     Boston.      1897. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.  and  H.  W.  Felter.     Materia  Medica. 

Lloyd,  J.  U.  Reminiscences  and  Conclusions  Drawn  From 
an  Obstetric  Practice  of  Twenty-Two  Years.  Reprint 
from  Massachusetts  Eclectic  Medical  Journal,  Vol.  I, 
1 88 1.     Boston. 

Miller,  M.  N.*  Treatment  of  Venereal  Diseases.  Philadel- 
phia.    1863. 

Munn,  S.  B.  Pathogenesis.  Waterbury,  Conn.  1893. 
Also  "  Diabetes,"  "Cereus  Bonplandii,"  "  Old-School 
Remedies  in  New-School  Practice,"  "What  I  Know 
About  Gynaicology,"  "  Are  the  Moderns  Shorter-Lived  ?" 

Newton,  Robert  S.  and  W.  Byrd  Powell.     Eclectic  Treatise 
on  Diseases  of  Children.      New  York.      1867. 
An  edition  substantially  a  reprint    of    "  Syme's  Surgery," 

was  also  published  under  the  following    head  :     "  Principles 

and  Practice  of  Surgery."    By   James    Syme    of    Edinburgh. 

Edited  with  Notes  and  Illustrations.     By  Robert  S.  Newton. 

Cincinnati,  1S63.     Several   other    works    may  also  be  men- 

*  Professor  ol  Anatomy  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  863 

tioned.  Chapman's  Treatise  on  Ulcers,  with  Notes,  Selec- 
tions aud  Additions.     By  R.  S.  Newton. 

Pierce,  Ray  V.  The  People's  Common  Sense  Medical 
Adviser.     Buffalo,  New  York.      1875. 

Pitzer,  Geo.  C.     Medical  Electricity.     St.  Louis.      1892. 

Pitzer,  Geo.  C.  Suggestion  in  the  Cure  of  Diseases  and  the 
Correction  of  Vices.  St.  Louis.  Now  Los  Angeles,  Califor- 
nia.     1898. 

Powell,  William  Byrd.     Human  Temperaments.    Cincinnati. 

Prince,  William  R.*  A  Treatise  on  Concentrated  Reme- 
dies.    Flushing,  N.  Y.     1864. 

Rodermund,  Matthew  J.  The  Murderous  Fads  in  the 
Practice  of  Medicine,  and  the  Cause  and  Prevention  of 
Disease.     Appleton,  Wisconsin.      1900. 

Sherwood,  Wm.     Eclectic  Practice.     Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Simpson,  Robert  A.  New  Method  of  Treating  Ulcers. 
Liverpool,  Pennsylvania.      1866. 

Simpson,  Robert  A.  The  Eclectic  Practice  of  Medicine, 
(Particulars  of  publication  not  known.) 

Sites,  Joseph. t  The  Eclectric  Obstetrics ;  Diseases  of 
Women  and  Children.      1861. 

Wilder,  Alexander.  Eclectic  Medicine :  Its  History  and 
Scientific  Basis.  An  Address  delivered  before  the  World's 
Eclectic  Medical  Congress,  auxiliary.     1893. 

Wilder,  Alexander.  Ancient  Symbolism  and  Serpent  Wor- 
ship,    A  Paper  read  at  the  American  Akademe.     1886. 

Wilder,  Alexander.  The  Pha^do  of  Plato.  Discourse  at 
the  Celebration  of  Plato's  Birthday  at  Jacksonville,  111. 

*  Dr.  Prince  was  a  well-known  Botanic  physician  in  Long  Island,  and  early  dis- 
played warm  sympathy  with  the  Eclectic  movement.  He  was  an  amateur  and  con- 
noisseur in  Botanic  Science,  maintaining  a  conservatory  and  cultivating  many  rare 
plants.  His  son,  the  Hon.  L.  Bradford  Prince,  of  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  possesses 
similar  tastes. 

t  Professor  of  Obstetrics  in  the  Kclectic  Medical  College  of  Penn'^ylvaiiia. 


864  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

Wilder.    Alexander.     The  Practical    Value    of    Philosophy. 

Address  at  the  Philosophical  Symposium    of   the    Illinois 

College,  Jacksonville.      1897. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     Life  of  Alphonse  de  Lamartine.      1898. 
Wilder,  Alexander.     Egypt  and  Egyptian  Dynasties.     1899. 
Wilder,    Alexander.     The    Fallacy    of    Vaccination.     New 

York.      1878. 

PUBLISHED    REPORTS    OF    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES. 

Transactions  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  Volumes  I  to  IV,  1872 
to  1875,  by  Robert  A.  Gunn,  M.  D.,  Secretary ;  Vol- 
V  to  XXIV,  1876  to  1895,  by  Alexander  Wilder,  M.  D. ; 
Volumes  XXV,  XXVI,  1896,  1897,  by  William  E. 
Kinnett;  Volumes  XXVII-XXIX,  1898-1900,  by  Pitts  E. 
Howes,  M.  D. 

Annual  Publication  of  the  Massachusetts  Eclectic  Medical 
Society.     Forty  numbers  in  pamphlet. 

Transactions  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Ar- 
kansas.    A.  J.  Widener,  M.  D.,  Secretary. 

Transactions  of  the  Connecticut  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tion. Two  pamphlets.  By  Elizabeth  G.  Smith,  M.  D., 
Secretary. 

Transactions  of  the  Iowa  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society. 
Pamphlet. 

Reports  of  the  Michigan  State  Eclectic  Medical  and  Surgical 
Society.     Five  volumes.     By  H.  S.  McMaster,  Secretary. 

Transactions  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey.     Two  pamphlets.     1879.  1880. 

Transactions  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York.     Eighteen  volumes.     1867  to  1901. 

Report  of  the  Ohio  State  Eclectic  Medical  Association. 
Three  Pamphlets. 


PUBLISHED    REPORTS    OF    MEDICAL    SOCIETIES.  865 

Report  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Pennsylvania. 
Pamphlet.      1878. 

Report  of  the  Texas  Eclectic  Medical  Association.  Pamph- 
let. 

PERIODICALS    BY    ECLECTIC    PHYSICIANS. 

1.  American  Journal  of  Medicine  By  A.  L.  Clink- 
scales.  Macon,  Georgia.  1873-75.  (Representing  the 
Medical  College  succeeding  the  Reform  Medical  College 
suspended  during  the  Civil  War.  The  title  of  the  publi- 
cation is  conjecturally  given.) 

2.  College  Journal.  By  the  Faculty  of  the  College  of 
Eclectic  Medicine,  including  J.  R.  Buchanan,  W.  Sher- 
wood, John  King  and  others.     Cincinnati.     1856  to  i860. 

3.  Eastern  Medical  Reformer.  A  Monthly  Journal  of 
Medical  and  Chirurgical  Science.  By  Joel  R.  Hibbard. 
Rutland,  Vermont,     1846. 

4.  Health  Journal.  S.  H.  Potter  and  J.  L.  Maffett.  Syra- 
cuse, N.  Y.     1852. 

5.  Health  Monthly.     E.  B.  Foote,     New  York. 

6.  Medical  Weekly.     S.  H.  Potter. 

7.  New  York  Pathological  Journal.  By  William  W.  Had- 
ley.     New  York.     185 1.     But  one  volume  was  published. 

8.  The  Alkaloidal  Clinic*  By  Doctors  W.  C.  Abbott  and 
W.  F.  Waugh.     1892  to  1901.     Chicago. 

9.  Eclectic  Medical  Review.  Vol.  IV.  By  George  W. 
Boskowitz,  M.  D.  Assisted  by  the  Faculty  of  the  N.  Y. 
Eclectic  Medical  College.     New  York.     1901. 

♦Representing  "  American  Alkalometry,"  a  mode  of  treatment  identical  or  analogous 
to  Dosimetric  Medication  as  described  in  pages  363  to  367.  Its  method  as  set  furtli  by 
Dr.  Abbott  is  the  administering  of  small  doses  frequently  repeated  till  the  required 
result  is  produced.  — "  the  smallest  possible  quantity  of  the  best  obtainable  means  to 
produce  a  desired  result."  The  active  principle  of  every  drug  is  adopted  in  granule 
form  whenever  it  can  be  obtained,  and  in  other  cases  the  best  Galenic  preparations. 
He  describes  it  accordingly  as  a  "  true  Eclecticism  witliout  any  fancies  around  it." 


866  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

THOMSONIAN    AND    BOTANIC    PUBLICATIONS. 

The  earlier  Botanic  Physicians  and  HerbaUsts,  especially 
those  who  subscribed  to  the  views  of  Samuel  Thomson  or 
took  their  departure  from  the  doctrines  which  he  promul- 
gated, were  indefatigable.  They  evinced  a  vast  energy  in 
controversy,  and  their  pubUcations  were  numerous.  Some 
were  ephemeral,  especially  in  the  line  of  periodicals,  but 
others  more  than  compensate  for  defects.  A  good  work  was 
done,  and  while  the  performers  lived,  it  remained  stable 
against  assault.  The  publications  here  enumerated,  in 
addition  to  those  given  in  the  Lloyd  Catalogue,  comprise  the 
principal  part  of  the  Thomsonian,  Botanic  and  Herbalist 
literature. 

BOOKS    AND    PAMPHLEIS. 

Biggs,  A.     Botanico-IVxedicai  Text-Book.     1846. 

Brown,  Z.  L.  Lecture  on  the  Principles  of  Medicine  before 
the  Thomsonian  Botanico-Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
Michigan.      1846. 

Colby,  Benjamin.  Guide  to  Health:  Being  an  Exposition 
of  the  Principles,  of  the  Tiiomsonian  System  of  Practice 
and  their  Mode  of  Application  in  the  Cure  of  Every  Form 
of  Disease.     1841. 

Comfort,  J.  W.  Thomsonian  Practice  of  Medicine.  Phila- 
delphia.    1842. 

(Comfort,  J.  W.  Comfort's  Thomsonian  Midwifery  and 
Treatment  of  Complaints  Peculiar  to  Females  and  Infants. 
Philadelphia.      1841. 

Comins,  L  M.  Reformed  Practice  of  Medicine,  and  His- 
tory of  Medicine.     New  York.      1845. 

Cook,  William  H.  Physio-Medical  Dispensatory  —  A  Dis- 
tinctly Original  Work  on  Therapeutics  and  Materia 
Medica.     Cincinnati.      1872. 


BOOKS    AND    PAMPHLETS.  867 

Cunningham,  John.     What  is  Thomsonism  ?     Poughkeepsie, 

N.  Y.      1845. 
Curtis,  Alva.     Treatise  on  Midwifery.     Cincinnati.     1840. 
Curtis.  Alva.     Synopsis    of    Lectures    on    Medical    Science. 

Cincinnati. 
Curtis,  Alva.     Synopsis  of   Lectures   on  Obstetrics   and  the 

Diseases  of  Women  and  Children.     Cincinnati. 
Curtis,  Alva.     Fair   Examination    and   Criticism  of  All  the 

Medical  Systems  in  Vogue.     Cincinnati. 
Curtis,  Alva.     Provocation  and  the    Reply.     A    Review    of 

Professor  Wright's  Hospital  Address.     Cincinnati. 
Fonerden,  William  Henry.     Lectures  on  the   Botanic   Prac- 
tice of  Medicine.     Forsyth,  Georgia. 
Forenden,    William    Henry.      Thomsonian    Principles    and 

Practice   of  Medico-Chirurgical   Obstetrics.      New  York. 

1846. 
Friend,  Joseph  D.     Plain  Practical  Treatise   on    Midwifery. 

New  York.      1846. 
Hersey,  Thomas,    Midwife's  Practical  Directory.    Columbus, 

Ohio.     1834. 
Johnson,  Dr.     Good  Samaritan,  or  The  Sick  Man's  Friend. 

Chester,  Penn.     1841. 
Kost,  John.     See  Lloyd  Catalogue, 
Kost,  John.     Family  Physician :    The  Practice  of  Medicine 

According  to  the  Plan  Most  Approved  by  the  Reformed 

or  Botanic  Colleges  of    the  United    States :    Embracing  a 

Treatise    on    Materia    Medica    and    Pharmacy,     Mount 

Vernon,  Ohio.     1847. 
Mattson,   Morris.     American    Vegetable    Practice.     Boston. 

1841. 
Priest,  N,  L.     Medical    Companion.     Exeter,  N.  H.      1838, 
Price,      Henry      M.     Reformed     Medical     Pharmacopoeia. 

Petersburg,  Va.      1841. 


868  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

Sperry,  Isaac  G.  Family  Medical  Adviser:  Containing  a 
Complete  History  of  Disease  with  the  Method  and  Mode 
of  Cure.     Hartford.     1848. 

Thomson,  Samuel.     Guide  to  Health.      1820. 

Worthy,  A.  N.  and  Henry  Lee,  (ne  Plummer.)  Botanic 
Practice  of  Medicine.     Forsyth,  Georgia.     1842. 

PERIODICALS. 

The  foUowiug  are  the  titles  of  various  periodical  publica- 
tions of  the  Botanic  and  Reformed  Schools  of  Medicine  in 
the  United  States.  Beginning  with  the  Botanico-Medical 
Recorder  by  Thomas  Hersey  and  the  Botanic  Watchman  by 
Dr.  John  Thomson,  most  of  them  belong  to  the  period  be- 
tween 1830  and  i860. 

1.  Botanic  Advocate.     Vermont,      1842. 

2.  Botanic  Luminary.     Hartford,  Connecticut.      1842. 

3.  Botanic  Medical  Reformer.     Philadelphia.      1843. 

4.  Botanic  Register.     Marion,  Alabama. 

5.  Botanic  Sentinel.      1845. 

6.  Botanic  Watchman.     By  John  Thomson.   Albany,  N.  Y. 

1834-5- 

7.  Botanic's  Friend,  and  Herald  of  Truth.     Philadelphia. 

1836. 

8.  Botanico-Medical  Recorder.  See  No.  XVHI  of  the 
Lloyd  Catalogue. 

9.  Botanico-Medical  Reformer.  By  John  Kost.  Mount 
Vernon,  Ohio. 

10.  Fall  River  and  Middleboro' Medical  Inquirer.  Massa- 
chusetts.    1846. 

Ti.     Georgia  Botanic  Journal.     1848. 

12.       Independent      Botanic     Advocate.       Afterward    the 

Botanic    Advocate    and    Thomsonian    Family    Physician. 

By  Doctors  Wilson  and  Sperry.    Connecticut.     1843. 


PERIODICALS.  869 

13.  Maine  Thomsonian  Recorder.  By  Benjamin  Colby. 
1859,     Merged  in  the  Thomsonian  Medical  Advertiser. 

14.  Medical  Reformer  and  Temperance  Advocate.  By 
I.  M.  Comings.     New  York.      1853. 

15.  Medical  Truth-Teller.  By  J.  Gates.  Rochester,  New 
York.      1846. 

16.  New  England  Medical  Eclectic  and  Guide  to  Health. 
By  Calvin  Newton.  Worcester,  Mass.  1846.  The  title 
was  changed  the  next  year  to  New  England  Botanic 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  and  again  some  years  later 
as  already  explained.     See  Lloyd  Catalogue  No.  LXVI. 

17.  Poughkeepsie  Thomsonian.  By  Thomas  Lapham. 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  1837.  Some  years  later  J.  M. 
Lapham  and  John  Cunningham  became  editors,  and  in 
November,  1845,  Dr.  Abiel  Gardner  succeeded.  He 
transferred  the  establishment  two  years  afterward  to  Dr. 
Aaron  Bassett.  At  this  period  the  medical  conflict  had 
been  generally  victorious,  and  the  zeal  for  organization 
and  Reform  journals  sensibly  waned.  Dr.  Bassett  discon- 
tinued the  Thomsonian  in  1848,  turning  the  subscribers 
over  to  the  New  England  Botanic  Medical  and  Surgical 
Journal. 

18.  Rhode  Island  Medical  Reformer.  By  B.  Franklin 
Clark.     Providence.     1843. 

19.  Southern  Botanic  Medical  Journal.  William  Henry 
Fonerden.     Forsyth,  Georgia.      1846. 

20.  Southern  Botanico-Medical  Journal.  By  L.  Bankston, 
Hugh  Quin,  T.  J.  Hand  and  others.  Forsyth,  Georgia. 
This  journal  was  afterward  removed  with  the  college  to 
Macon. 

21.  Southern  Medical  Reformer.     By  Henry  M.  Price. 

22.  Southwestern  Medical  Reformer.  By  William  liyrd 
Powell.     Memphis,  Tennessee.      1846. 


870  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

23.  Thomsonian  Advertiser,  By  James  Osgood.  Boston. 
1844. 

24.  Thomsonian  Defender.  By  William  Spillman.  Mary- 
ville,  Tennessee.     1835. 

25.  Thomsonian  Manual.  William  Alcott.  Boston.  This 
was  the  publication  recognized  as  the  organ  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Thomson  himself. 

26.  Thomsonian  Medical  and  Physiological  Journal.  By 
Benjamin  Colby.  Boston.  This  periodical  was  merged 
in  September,  1846,  in  the  New  England  Medical  Eclectic. 

27.  Thomsonian  Medical  Independent.     Boston.      1845. 

28.  Thomsonian  Messenger.  By  Joseph  D.  Friend.  New 
Haven,  Connecticut.      1845. 

29.  Thomsonian  Recorder.  By  Thomas  Hersey.  Col- 
umbus, Ohio.  1832.  Afterward  the  Botanico-Medical 
Recorder  which  was  removed  to  Cincinnati  and  conducted 
in  turn  by  Alva  Curtis  and  William  H.  Cook. 

30.  Thomsonian  Scout.  Standish  and  J.  W.  Johnson.  Hart- 
ford.    1841. 

31.  Thomsonian   Sentinel.     Philadelphia.      1841. 

32.  Thomsonian  Spy. 

33.  True  Thomsonian.  Boston.  1843.  Supporting  the 
cause  of  Dr.  Morris  Mattson  against  Samuel  Thomson. 

34.  Western  Medical  Truth-Teller  and  Physiological 
Journal.     Hillsborough,  Illinois.     1846. 

35.  Woonsocket  Sentinel  and  Thomsonian  Advocate. 
Woonsocket,  R.  I.      1842. 

There  were  several  other  periodicals  which  were  con- 
ducted with  spirit  and  energy.  The  public  mind  was  kept 
in  agitation  for  years,  and  there  was  even  a  political  organi- 
zation contemplated.  In  one  or  two  States  there  was  an 
actual  change  of  Governors  effected  by  this  issue,  when  as 
though  by  general  consent  the  enactments  establishing  legal 


PERIODICALS.  871 

disabilities  in  the  case  of  dissident  practitioners  of  medicine 
were  abrogated.  Almost  spontaneously  many  of  the 
periodicals  suspended  publication.  As  has  often  been  the 
case  with  Reform  movements,  their  great  object  having  been 
accomplished,  they  ceased  to  exist. 


NOTE. — The  following  belong  to  the  publications   of    Eclectic   physicians  and  were 
unavoidably  omitted  from  their  proper  place  in  the  catalogue  : 

Potter,  George  Edward.     My    Experience  with   the   International    Medical   Congress. 
Johnstown,  Penn.     1887.     Pamphlet. 

Taft,  Simon  P.     Unlawful  Interference  of  Legislation  with  the   Rights   of    Physicians 
Newark,  N.J.     1881.     Pamphlet. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


LATER    DEVELOPMENTS   IN    SURGERY    AND    MEDICINE. 

Sir  James  Y.  Simpson,  himself  a  protestant  against  the 
abuses  of  Old  Surgery  as  well  as  Old  Physic,  made  a  pre- 
diction of  ail  era  when  practitioners  would  look  upon  the 
cure  of  certain  maladies  as  simply  a  series  of  chemical  prob- 
lems and  formulas  ;  melt  down  all  calculi,  necrosed  bones, 
etc.,  chemically,  and  not  remove  them  by  surgical  opera- 
tions; stop  bleeding  in  amputations  and  other  wounds,  not 
by  septic  ligatures  or  stupid  needles,  but  by  the  simple  a.p- 
plication  of  haemastatic  gases  or  washes,  and  healing  by  the 
first  intention,  the  few  wounds  required  in  Surgery. 

This  has  not  all  been  accomplished.  Yet  it  must  be 
acknowledged  to  the  everlasting  credit  of  the  surgical  art, 
especially  in  Europe,  and  we  have  still  hope  to  be  able  to 
include  America,  that  it  has  become  more  cautious  and  con- 
servative than  it  has  been  of  aforetime.  There  is  greater 
courage  in  the  undertaking  of  capital  operations  when  these 
are  regarded  as  necessary,  and  perhaps  somewhat  less  of  the 
reckless  and  wanton  destroying  of  tissue  or  organs  that  are 
still  capable  of  preservation.  The  surgeon  respects  the 
physiologic  integrity  of  the  organism,  endeavoring  as  with  a 
holy  purpose  to  limit  his  procedures  to  the  removing  only  of 
diseased  parts  that  can  not  be  restored,  and  the  preserving 
of  the  healthy  material. 

There  was,  till  a  very  recent  period,  great  hesitation  in 
regard  to  interfering  with  the  brain.     Trephining  was  chiefly 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  IN  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE.       873 

employed  to  rem'^ve  bone  that  was  pressing  upon  the  soft 
tissue  ;  whereas,  it  is  now  an  incident  in  the  operations  for 
the  treatment  of  all  membranes.  The  Surgeon  formerly 
would  not  meddle  with  the  posterior  part  of  the  vertebral 
column.  He  now  ventures  upon  such  procedures  with  con- 
fidence. 

Of  the  surgery  of  the  thorax,  Mr.  Pearce  Gould  remarks, 
that  not  only  the  pleura,  but  the  lung  itself,  is  operated 
upon  ;  and  the  chief  bar  to  further  pulmonary  surgery  is  the 
difficulty  of  diagnosis  and  localisation  of  lung-diseases.  The 
pericardium  is  aspirated  or  drained  without  hesitation  ;  and 
the  suggestion  has  been  made,  not  only  to  tap  the  heart 
itself,  but  to  treat  wounds  of  the  muscular  structure  by  care- 
ful suture.  The  mediastinum,  likewise,  is  now  within  the 
pale  of  legitimate  surgery. 

No  single  organ  in  the  great  cavity  of  the  abdomen  is  now 
held  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the  surgeon's  knife.  The 
removal  of  large  abdominal  tumors  is  almost  a  common- 
place occurrence,  and  all  the  viscera  of  the  abdomen  are 
now  included  in  surgical  procedures.  Even  the  stomach  has 
been  invaded.  Portions  have  been  removed,  and  the 
patient  survived  ;  and  in  several  instances  the  entire  organ 
was  amputated.  The  success  thus  far  has  not  been  gratify- 
ing;  but  if  the  operation  is  performed,  and  not  only  recovery 
takes  place,  but  the  digestive  process  continues  normally, 
the  theories  of  that  function  will  require  to  be  essentially 
modified. 

Yet  till  very  recently  surgeons  have  considered  that  many 
organs  and  parts  of  the  human  body  lay  beyond  the  limits 
of  legitimate  surgical  interposition,  and  admitted  that  it 
was  no  reproach  to  their  art  to  refuse  to  interfere  with  the 
peritoneum,  the  kidney,  the  lungs  or  the  brain.  A  sur- 
gical   operation    was    thought    to    be    in    its    very    nature 


874  HISTORY  OF  MEDICINE. 

lethal,  and  certain  tissues  and  organs  were  believed  to  be  of 
such  anatomic  delicacy  that  the  submitting  of  them  to  opera- 
tion was  to  court  disaster.  It  is  now  known  that  simple 
surgical  procedures  when  well  executed  are  not  in  them- 
selves pathogenic,  and  that  every  tissue  and  organ  of  the 
body  is  the  seat  of  a  power  of  repair  superior  to  the  demand 
which  surgery  makes.  With  this  knowledge  the  anatomic 
barrier  in  the  progress  of  surgery  has  disappeared.  The 
only  bar  now  recognized  is  its  mechanical  impossibility. 
The  limit  which  is  acknowledged  is  the  physiological  one. 
The  medulla  oblongata,  for  example,  and  the  central  por- 
tions of  the  brain,  are  outside  of  the  field,  not  because  they 
cannot  be  reached,  nor  on  account  of  their  peculiarity  of 
structure,  but  because  of  their  physiological  importance. 
The  surgeon  considers  whether  he  can  operate  upon  a  tissue 
or  organ  without  injury  to  the  structure  necessary  to  life,  or 
without  inflicting  upon  the  patient  greater  disabilities  than 
those  caused  by  the  disease  which  he  is  called  upon  to 
combat. 

A  new  conception  of  the  real  nature  of  surgical  operation 
and  the  personal  responsibility  of  the  operator  is  beginning 
to  be  entertained.  Instead  of  brilliancy  of  execution,  we 
now  demand  actual  success.  When  a  patient  succumbs  to 
shock  or  other  fatal  agency,  the  operation  is  practically  a 
failure,  however  it  may  be  accounted  technically.  These 
heroic  achievements  which  are  often  described  in  glowing 
terms  in  public  newspapers,  and  in  professional  journals  and 
gatherings,  may  often  be  justly  condemned  in  the  language 
of  the  French  officer,  slightly  modified  :  "  C  est  magnifique ; 
mais  c'est  non  chirurgie "  —  magnificent  as  a  perform- 
ance, but  by  no  means  a  genuine  surgical  achievement. 
When  operations  fail  of  their  proper  purpose,  the  operator 
is  to  be   regarded  as  the  one  responsible ;  we  may  not  at- 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  IN  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE.      875 

tribute    anything  of    the  cause   of   failure   to  Divine  Provi- 
dence. 

The  highest  ideal  of  Surgery  is  now  apprehended  to  be 
the  treating  directly  of  the  causes  of  disease.  Surgical 
methods,  heretofore,  have  been  crude  and  unphilosophic. 
They  consisted  almost  entirely  of  the  removing  of  pathologic 
products,  as  by  amputation,  the  relief  of  tension,  and  the 
application  of  surgical  rest — ^  but  of  little  else  beyond  these. 
The  surgeon  now  directs  his  efforts  not  only  to  the  remov- 
ing of  the  effects  or  products  of  disease,  but  not  of  the 
active  cause.  There  is  ground  for  hope,  therefore,  as  there 
is  reason  to  desire  ardently,  that  with  superior  enlighten- 
ment there  will  also  be  a  higher  conscientiousness;  and 
accordingly,  that  there  will  be  a  ceasing  to  amputate  and 
mutilate  in  case  of  accident  or  disease,  till  the  procedure 
shall  be  known  to  be  absolutely  necessary  and  other  means 
morally  certain  to  fail.  An  unnecessary  surgical  operation 
is  clearly  allied  to  actual  crime,  and  the  faithful  and  upright 
surgeon  will  be  careful,  and  even  punctilious,  to  avoid  its 
performing. 

DENTISTRY. 

Within  the  Nineteenth  Century  the  art  of  Dentistry  has 
grown  to  the  dignity  of  a  learned  profession.  Like  the  other 
departments  of  Operative  Surgery,  it  had  been  previously 
consigned  to  the  barbers  and  others,  whose  principal  skill 
consisted  in  the  removing  of  diseased  teeth..  Yet  this  art 
seems  to  have  been  not  only  very  ancient,  but  to  have  been 
at  one  time  included  in  the  calling  of  the  physician.  One 
distinguished  teacher  and  practitioner  placed  a  model  of  his 
instruments  in  an  Ionian  temple-hospital.  The  art  of  re- 
placing lost  teeth  appears  also  to  have  been  of  great  an- 
tiquity. Artificial  teeth  have  been  found  in  the  mouths  of 
the  mummied  human  bodies   in   Egypt,  and   it    is   said  that 


876  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

the    two   famous    Roman     Imperators,    Julius    Caesar    and 
Antony,  were  thus  equipped. 

During  the  Eighteenth  Century  there  were  individuals  in 
the  various  countries  of  Europe  who  made  it  their  business 
to  insert  teeth  in  place  of  those  that  had  been  extracted. 
These  were  generally  made  from  ivory,  but  some  were  taken 
from  the  mouths  of  other  persons.* 

The  first  dentist  in  America  was  Mr.  John  Woofendale. 
He  plied  his  art  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  in  1766,  but 
soon  afterward  returned  to  England.  The  next  was  Mr. 
Joseph  LeMaine,  who  came  to  the  United  States  with  the 
French  army  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  Afterward  Mr. 
Isaac  Greenwood  engaged  in  the  business  in  Boston  ;  and  in 
1788,  his  son  began  the  practice  of  dentistry  in  New  York. 
He  constructed  an  entire  denture  for  General  Washington, 
which  was  greatly  admired.  It  was  not  long,  however,  in 
displaying  many  imperfections,  changing  the  expression  of 
the  countenance,  obstructing  speech,  and  otherwise  giving 
annoyance  ;  and  finally  they  were  laid  aside. 

For  many  years  the  art  of  dentistry  was  carried  on  in 
America  by  practitioners  from  Europe.  In  1820  there  were 
hardly  more  than  a  handred  in  the  country ;  in  ten  years 
there  were  three  times  that  number  ;  and  in  1840  more  than 
twelve  hundred  Americans  had  adopted  the  profession,  ad- 
vancing it  to  the  highest  degree  of  development  yet  known. 
It  is,  nevertheless,  an  unfortunate  fact  not  to  be  disguised, 
that  in  the  United  States  the  teeth  very  frequently  become 
diseased    at   an  early  period    in    life,    and    require    careful 

*  An  individual  from  Scotland  accompanied  the  British  army  in  the  Peninsular  «ar 
against  Napoleon  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  teeth  from  the  mouths  of  the  soldiers 
who  fell  in  battle.  He  supplied  himself  in  this  way  with  many  thousands,  and  after- 
ward obtained  a  large  amount  of  money  by  selling  them  to  dental  doctors.  The  fact, 
however,  came  to  public  knowledge,  and  his  house  in  Edinburgh  was  destroyed  by  an 
infuriated  mob,  while  he  himself  was  compelled  to  fly  for  his  life. 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  IN  SURGERY    AND  MEDICINE,       877 

attention  to  arrest  their  destruction.*  This  was  formerly 
traced  to  the  practice  of  medicatiLUi  by  mercury,  wliich  has 
been  general  and  is  yet  adhered  to  by  many  physicians,  but 
there  has  been  no  reform  that  has  brought  an  adequate 
remedy.  The  illnesses  of  infancy  and  early  childhood, 
especially  those  of  an  eruptive  and  infl  immatory  character, 
impair  the  he.ilth  ami  vitality  of  the  terth.  The  fever  en- 
suing from  vaccination  has  the  same  intiuence  An  expert 
dentist  can,  by  an  examining  of  the  m  iuth,  tell  with  great 
accuracy  the  period  of  these  early  sicknesses. 

Invention,  however,  has  been  active,  both  for  the 
preserving  of  the  natural  teeth  and  for  the  replacing  of 
them  skilfully  and  acceptably  ;  and  as  a  result  the  fame  of 
American  dentists  surpasses  the  reputation  of  their  profes- 
sional brethren  of  the  other  hemisphere.  Indeed,  till  the 
Utopian  ideal  shall  have  been  realized,  and  the  way  of  re- 
covering lost  conditions  shall  have  become  widely  kuvjwn 
and  followed,  the  calUng  of  dentistry  bids  fair  to  hold  its 
field  triumphantly  in  all  countries.  The  "  broken  tooth," 
as  well  as  the  '-foot  out  of  joint,"  is  a  fair  illustration  of  the 
misfortune  of  confiding  in  unfaithful  persons. 

The  proclivity  of  mediocre  practitioners  of  the  art  to 
secure  protection  for  themselves  against  competitors  by 
special  legislation  and  a  system  of  licensing  by  Examining 
Boards,  is  still  rife  in  many  of  the  States  of  the  American 
Union.  There  is  also  a  special  examination  required  in 
England,  in  connection  with  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons, 
and  a  curriculum  of  study  has  been  arranged.  Candidates 
who  attend  there  are  admitted  to  examination,  and  if  ap- 
proved, receive  a  certificate  which  authorizes  them  to  prac- 

*  Lord  Byron  in  one  of  liis  letters  remarked  that  it  is  necessary  to  consult  a  dentist  at 
least  every  year.  This  indicates  a  similar  state  of  affairs  in  England.  In  a  former 
century,  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  black  and  diseased  teeth  were  common 
among  the  courtiers  and  yenlry. 


878  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE 

tice  as  dentists.  In  Scotland,  diseases  of  the  teeth  and 
surrounding  structures  are  subjects  of  lecture  and  examina- 
tion at  the  universities,  but  no  special  or  partial  diploma  is 
given.  In  the  United  States  there  are  Colleges  of  Dentistry 
in  several  of  the  principal  cities,  with  a  curriculum  including 
every  branch  of  knowledge  that  is  regarded  as  pertaining  to 
the  art,  but  omitting  mnch  that  relates  to  General  Anatomy, 
Pathology  or  Therapeutics.  Diplomas  are  conferred  ac- 
cordingly. The  right  to  practice,  however,  is  more  or  less 
controlled  in  many  of  the  States  by  the  special  legislation. 

OTHER    FORMS    OF    THERAPY. 

Besides  the  three  Schools  of  Medicine  now  distinctly 
acknowledged  by  the  legislation  of  the  majority  of  the 
States,  there  are  several  others  preferring  claims  to  popular 
favor.  The  doctrines  of  Samuel  Thomson,  or  more  cor- 
rectly, of  the  Physio-Medical  School,  are  still  entertained  by 
several  thousand  physicians,  and  are  represented  in  two 
medical  colleges,  several  State  Societies,  three  or  more 
Medical  Examining  Boards,  and  a  National  Physio-Medical 
Association.  Any  persecution  of  them  after  the  manner  of 
the  former  years  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  would  be  likely 
to  enkindle  anew  the  fires  which  at  that  period  so  com- 
pletely burned  away  the  barriers  which  had  been  so  assidu- 
ously constructed  and  strenuously  maintained  against  Medi- 
cal Freedom.  Indeed,  a  revival  of  that  School  in  its  former 
force  and  aggressiveness,  is  predicted. 

The  mode  of  Therapeutics,  known  in  Europe  as  Dosi- 
metry, has  been  introduced  into  this  country  and  received 
with  favor  by  many  physicians  of  the  different  Schools  of 
Practice.  Its  peculiar  features  are  set  forth  in  a  work  en- 
titled "  American  Alkalo7nctry^^''  recently  published  at  Chicago 
by  Doctors  Abbott  and  Waugh.     The  professed    aim    is   set 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  IN  SURGERY   AND  MEDICINE,       879 

forth  as  "  accuracy  in  Therapeutics  with  cUnical  appHca- 
tions."  It  is  described  by  its  advocates  as  "  an  idea,  not  a 
system,"  and  it  is  characterized  by  the  chrono-thermal 
methods  and  minute  dosage. 

Colleges  of  Hygiene  for  the  instructing  of  students  have 
been  established  at  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  and  other  places, 
beginning  their  career  with  encouraging  prospects.  The 
founder  at  St.  Louis  was  Miss  Susanna  W.  Dodds,  a 
physician  of  merit  and  intelligence,  abundantly  capable  of 
bringing  her  views  into  successful  realization.  The  courses 
of  study  included  the  branches  of  knowledge  usually  taught 
in  medical  colleges,  together  with  Hygiene,  Sanitary  En- 
gineering and  Physical  Culture.  But  the  professional 
hostility  encountered,  and  the  general  indifference  stood  in 
the  way  of  success,  and  most  of  these  institutions  now  con- 
fine their  operations  to  professional  service. 

OSTEOPATHY. 

Another  enterprise  of  analogous  character  is  the  "  Ameri- 
can School  of  Osteopathy."  The  founder,  Dr.  Andrew  V. 
Still,  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Federal  Army  during  the  war 
between  the  Northern  and  Southern  States.  He  had  be- 
come disappointed  in  the  use  of  the  various  medicines,  from 
observing  that  they  were  uncertain  in  their  action,  and  that 
they  were  followed  by  different  effects  at  different  times. 
After  the  return  of  peace  he  made  his  home  in  a  frontier 
town  of  Kansas,  where  he  might  prosecute  his  investigations 
and  elaborate  the  conclusions.  Afterward,  in  1885,  he  re- 
moved to  Kirksville  in  Missouri,  where  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  new  method,  and  established  a  School  for  the 
promulgating  of  his  doctrines. 

Osteopathy  appears  to  be  a  form  of  the  "  Swedish  Move- 
ment Cure,"  assuming,  however,  to  be  a  distinct  branch  of 
the  Healing  Art.     It  dispenses  entirely  with  the  administer- 


88o  HISTORY    OF    MEDICINE. 

ing  of  medicines.  The  theory  represents  the  human  body 
as  an  ensouled  mechanism  which  is  not  to  be  improved  by 
any  art  or  invention.  It  considers  the  cause  of  a  large 
proportion  of  diseases  to  be  occasioned  from  a  deficiency  in 
the  supply  of  blood.  It  aims,  accordingly,  to  remedy  this 
condition  by  a  proper  course  of  manual  therapeutics,  secur- 
ing thereby  to  the  recipient  the  greatest  physical  activity, 
and  at  the  sante  time  assuring  to  the  nervous  system  com- 
plete rest.  The  organism,  it  is  insisted,  can  be  treated  by 
a  skilful  operator,  and  the  various  structures  and  functions 
regulated  by  judicious  manipulation  much  better  than  by 
drugs.  For  example,  in  cases  where  a  cathartic  medicine  is 
usually  administered,  it  is  considered  to  be  only  necessary 
to  open  the  gall-duct  by  this  means,  and  that  better  results 
will  be  thereby  obtained.  Nervous  troubles  and  paralytic 
affections,  it  is  affirmed,  will  yield  readily  to  this  mode  of 
treatment ;  and  a  satisfactory  cure  is  Ukewise  held  to  view 
for  asthma,  bronchitis,  cancer,  consumption,  diphtheritis, 
epilepsy,  female  complaints,  goitre,  spinal  meningitis, 
ophthalmic  affections,  renal  disease,  hip-disease,  heart- 
disease,  spinal  disease,  fever  and  other  disorders.  The 
treatment  is  begun  with  a  procedure  called  desetisitizing,  and 
this  is  followed  by  manipulations. 

"  The  American  School  of  Osteopathy "  at  Kirksville, 
though  not  formally  recognized  as  scientific  according  to  the 
denominational  sense  in  which  that  term  is  often  employed, 
is  described  as    having  a  curriculum    of  study    sufficiently 

thorough  to  enable  the  pupils  to  become  proficient*     There 

« 

*  Ihere  are  the  usual  appointments  and  fac'lities,  such  as  a  dissecting  room,  lecture 
hall,  recitation-rooms,  study-rooms,  operating  rooms  and  offices.  The  department 
which  receives  the  most  attention  is  Anatomy  ;  and  it  is  stated  that  there  are  bestowed 
upon  it  time  and  attention  many  times  over  that  are  given  to  it  in  other  institutions.  It 
is  considered  necessary  to  know  minutely  every  organ  and  constituent  part  of  the 
corporeal  organism.  The  instruction  next  to  this  is  clinical,  and  consists  entirely  in 
lessons  and  demonstrations  of  Osteopathy.  Classes  were  graduated  in  1891  and  suc- 
ceeding years. 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  IN  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE.      661 

are  also  Colleges  of  Osteopathy  in  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and 
other  places,  in  which  instruction  is  given  in  the  various 
departments  of  anatomic  and  physiological  study,  and  other 
knowledge  pertaining  to  the  peculiar  theory  and  practice. 

The  usual  attempts  have  been  made  to  bring  Dr.  Still 
and  practitioners  of  Osteopathy  to  account  under  the  various 
medical  enactments  in  Missouri,  Kentucky  and  other  States, 
but  the  prosecutions  resulted  in  acquittals.  In  several 
States  the  practitioners  have  obtained  a  statutory  recog- 
nition, but  in  others,  the  purpose  to  suppress  the  various 
schools  of  "  healers "  by  exemplary  legislation,  includes 
Osteopathists  with  the  others.* 

Endo-Therapy  or  the  "  Drugless  Science  "  of  which  Dr. 
W.  W.  Fulkerson  of  Kirksville,  Missouri,  is  said  to  be  the 
original  promulgator,  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  closely  akin 
to  Osteopathy,  if  it  is  not  actually  an  offshoot.  It  is  ex- 
plained as  pertaining  to  treatment  arising  from  internal 
causes,  and  it  purports  to  include  the  curative  treatment  of 
the  interior  structures  of  the  body  and  the  healing  of  disease 
by  rallying  the   internal  vital   fluids   and   forces  to  the  per- 


*  During  the  winter  of  igoi  bills  were  introduced  in  no  less  than  twenty  of  the 
Legislatures  of  tlie  States  to  subject  the  practitioners  of  clairvoyant  healing,  Christian 
Science,  Mental  Therapy,  etc.,  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Medical  Examining  Boards. 
In  several  of  these,  those  practicing  Osteopathy  were  included.  The  results  are  not  yet 
certain.  In  North  Dakota  the  Senate  emasculated  the  medical  bill  of  its  contem- 
plated objects  by  an  amendment  exempting  practitioners  of  these  several  Schools  from 
Its  provisions.  A  bill  directed  against  the  Osteopathists  having  passed  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  Washington,  Governor  Rogers  returned  it  on  the  15th  of  February  with 
a  message  containing  a  severe  rebuke. 

"  It  is  undeniably  true,"  said  he,  "  that  the  Practice  of  Medicine  and  the  art  of  heal- 
ing have  advanced  only  by  the  innovations  of  those  who  were  looked  upon  with  ex- 
tremes! disfavor  by  members  of  the  regular  Schools.  Truth  is  mighty  and  will  prevail. 
God  forbid  that  we  of  Washington  should  attempt  to  stay  its  progress.     »     »     * 

"  In  our  day  physicians  of  the  bluest  blood  and  the  highest  attainment?  are  guilty  of 
poisoning  the  springs  of  life.  The  contents  of  the  drug  store  are  perhaps  more  dan- 
gerous to  the  well-being  of  the  race  than  those  of  the  saloon.  Dope  fiends  are  thus 
created  by  the  thousand.  Morphine  powders  administered  to  parents  bring  forth  their 
natural  fruit  even  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation  of  descendants." 

The  degenerates  thus  created,  the  Governor  declares,  form  an  ever-increasing  army, 
and  threaten  by  their  weakness  and  criminality,  the   very  existence  of  civilization  itself. 

"If,"  he  adds,"  if  the  Osteopaths  can  show  us  a  better  way,  and  deliver  us  even 
in  the  smallast  degree  from  enormous  admitted  and  increasing  evils,  let  us  not  deny 
them  the  poor  honor  of  the  title  of  Teacher  or  Doctor." 


882  HISTORY   OF  MEDICINE. 

formance  of  their  natural  functions  —  thus  constituting  "  a 
scientific  system  of  healing  without  the  assistance  of  drugs." 
The  treatment  itself  is  described  as  consisting  of  "  kinetics, 
or  movements  and  manipulations  administered  by  a  skilful 
operator,  who  has  a  scientific  knowledge  of  the  anatomical 
construction  of  the  human  body,  ?nd  by  one  thoroughly  con- 
versant with  the  nature  of  disease." 

The  "  Chiropractic  "  or  hand-practice  is  described  as  "  a 
new  Science  of  healing  discovered  by  Dr.  Palmer "  of 
Davenport,  Iowa.  It  has  hardly  attained  the  dimensions  of 
a  distinct  School,  having  been  in  existence  for  only  a  few 
years  ;  nevertheless,  there  are  students  of  the  method  and  a 
definite  course  of  instruction.  The  "  underlying  philosophy  " 
is  explained  as  being  the  same  as  that  of  Osteopathy,  with  a 
wider  range  of  possibilities  for  both  operator  and  patient  — • 
the  Chiropractic  using  only  one  specific  "  movement  "  for 
each  disease,  while  the  Osteopath  employs  many.  The 
various  other  methods  and  systems  are  repudiated  which 
have  had  dominion  from  earliest  history  till  the  present  time 
—  from  astrology  and  necromancy,  clown  to  the  whole  array 
of  drugs  and  knives.  The  cause  of  disease.  Dr.  Palmer 
declares,  is  a  mechanical  obstruction  of  the  natural  functions. 
"  The  human  mechanic  can  remove  and  adjust  that  cause 
by  his  knowledge  of  Anatomy  and  a  highly-cultured  sense  of 
touch," —  doing  with  the  h  mds  what  the  medical  men  aim 
to  do  with  drugs  and  the  knife. 

Medical  legislation  calls  forth  a  forcible  utterance. 
"  People  have  been  made  to  believe,"  says  Dr.  Palmer, 
"  that  medical  laws  were  made  for  the  '  protection  of  the 
public  against  quacks.'  But  the  facts  are  that  these  laws 
are  usually  framed  by  professional  quacks  for  their  own  pro- 
tection." Being  reviled,  the  Doctor  should  not  revile  again, 
but  commit  his  cause  to   the  one   who  judges  righteously. 


LATER  DEVELOPMENTS  IN  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE.       883 

The  term  "  quack  "  is  vulgar  slang,  such  as  no  well-bred  in- 
dividual ever  employs,  or  cares  to  employ.  The  true  pro- 
fessional man  is  a  gentleman  in  speech  as  well  as  in  deport- 
ment. 

AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  OF  PHYSICIANS  AND  SURGEONS. 

In  October  1894  a  meeting  of  physicians  was  held  in  the 
city  of  Indianapolis,  and  an  Association  formed  by  the  name 
of  "the  American  Association  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons.'' 
The  original  members  were  principally  from  the  State  of 
Indiana,  but  there  were  accessions  soon  afterward  from  other 
parts  of  the  United  States.  The  first  annual  meeting  was 
held  in  Indianapolis  on  the  14th  day  of  January,  1895,  at 
which  Dr.  C.  Edson  Covey  of  Michigan  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  Dr.  RusselL  C.  Kelsey  of  Indianapolis,  secretary, 
with  a  vice-president  from  each  of  the  States  represented  in 
the  Association.  The  next  annual  meeting  was  held  at 
Indianapolis  in  1896,  and  awakened  much  general  interest. 
Electro-therapeutics,  Abdominal  Surgery  and  Vaccination 
were  allotted  to  Sections,  and  elicited  a  full  discussion. 
Hygiene,  Preventive  Medicine,  Practice,  and  several  subjects 
of  a  more  novel  character,  were  also  presented  by  their 
advocates.  The  Association  is  undenominational,  and  the 
members  had  been  identified  with  the  different  Schools,  as 
orthodox, Homoeopathist,  Eclectic,  Physio-Medical,  Hygienic, 
Hydro-Therapeutic,  Electro-Therapic,  etc.,  and  the  different 
views  which  had  been  entertained  were  vigorously  set  forth. 
The  Association  met  at  Buffalo  in  the  summer  of  1897.  It 
has  held  meetings  since  that  time  in  other  parts  of  the 
Northwest. 

The  American  Medical  College  at  Indianapolis  is  under 
the  auspices  of  this  Association.  It  was  organized  in  1894, 
with  a  force  of  thirty  professors,  and  has  graduated  several 


884  HISTORY  OF  MEDICINE. 

classes.  In  it  all  Schools  are  united  and  students  elect  to 
take  either  or  all  the  courses  :  '•  Regular,  Homoeopathic, 
Eclectic  or  Physio-Medical." 

IN    CONCLUSION. 

We  sometimes  hear  it  pleaded  that  in  the  Healing  Art 
there  should  be  no  parties,  no  separate  organizations.  Man- 
kind have  a  common  interest  in  health  and  in  the  means  to 
preserve  it.  This  pleading  is  plausible,  and  perfectly  con- 
sistent with  that  charity  that  seeketh  not  its  own  advantage, 
but  the  welfare  of  others.  But  in  the  human  constitution, 
as  in  every  department  of  Nature,  there  is  a  principle  of 
polarity,  and  an  impulse  to  differentiation.  One  class  of 
human  beings  hold  fast,  sometimes  almost  convulsively,  to 
what  has  been  long  esteemed  and  venerated ;  while  another 
is  ready,  and  frequently  even  eager,  to  discover  what  is  new, 
and  to  bring  it  into  possession.  In  a  state  of  savagery 
there  may  be  little  distinction  in  art,  but  in  the  civilized 
state  there  is  certain  to  be  differencing  of  effort  in  every 
direction.  It  is  in  the  plurality  of  faculties,  in  the  variety  of 
aspirations,  the  infinite  extending  of  conceptions,  that  man 
is  developed  and  perfected. 

In  the  Art  of  Healing  there  is,  accordingly  a  multiplicity 
of  methods  to  be  brought  into  view,  and  with  each  of  them 
must  come  the  modifying  and  even  the  discarding  of  older 
notions  and  procedures.  With  the  bringing  of  them  into 
contiguity,  there  is  very  certain  to  follow  collisior*,  degen- 
erating into  strife.  Personal  ambition  and  selfish  motive 
are  likely  to  transcend  philanthropy  and  love  of  truth. 
There  has  been  in  every  country  and  every  historic  period 
an  official  Medical  Practice,  taking  its  sanctions  and  theories 
from  enforced  authority.  It  boastfully  claimed  to  be  ample 
for  its  purpose,  and  was  characterized  by  jealousy  and  in- 


IN  CONCLUSION.  885 

tolerance  of  innovation.  From  the  Shaman  of  the  Siberian 
village  to  the  pretentious  stickler  for  scientific  regularity 
this  has  been  the  case.  As  in  former  religious  crusades 
and  persecutions,  the  arm  of  the  Civil  Power  has  been  in- 
voked and  employed  without  scruple  to  arrest  changes  by 
the  punishment  of  innovators.  The  record  of  history  in 
this  respect  in  both  hemispheres  has  been  far  otherwise 
than  humane  or  honorable.  In  every  new  period  there 
have  been  demonstrated  the  shortcomings  of  its  predecessor, 
and  instead  of  truth-loving  candor,  there  have  been  en- 
countered derision,  social  proscription,  persecution  and  even 
virtual  outlawry. 

In  Europe  the  disciples  of  Hahnemann,  and  in  America 
the  associates  and  followers  of  Beach  and  Thomson, 
breasted  alike  the  torrents  of  calumny  and  proscription. 
The  Homceopathists  who  bravely  adhered  to  their  convic- 
tions, opened  a  New  World,  like  Columbus,  to  subsequent 
explorers  and  colonizers.  Eclectic  Medicine  in  America, 
was  likewise  characterized  by  a  career  of  vigorous  protest 
and  earnest  endeavor.  It  was  an  enthusiasm  not  to  be 
measured  by  common  understanding.  Its  champions 
labored  to  develop  a  practice  of  Medicine,  not  cosseted 
and  fenced  about  by  special  legislation,  but  having  its 
foundations  planted  upon  its  intrinsic  usefulness,  without 
factitious  privileges,  always  open  to  new  light,  and  still  re- 
taining tenaciously  the  principles  to  which  it  owes  its  incep- 
tion and  continued  existence. 

There  is  vastly  more  to  be  learned  than  has  been  known. 
No  one  has  a  commission  to  set  up  a  standard,  to  cast  a 
measuring-line  and  say  to  the  explorer  :  "  Thus  far  shalt 
thou  go,  and  no  farther."  We  may  account  nothing  com- 
mon or  unclean.  It  is  the  unalienable  right  of  every  one  to 
do  without  arbitrary  restriction  the  work  which    is    appro- 


886  HISTORY  OF   MEDICINE. 

priate  to  him,  for  which  he  has  fitness  and  aptitude.  For 
as  every  star  has  a  glory  of  its  own  which  we  may  not  decry, 
so  human  beings  have  their  genius  and  vocation  whicli  to 
crush  or  to  cramp  is  murderous.  Nor  may  we  in  order  to 
give  the  stars  superior  distinctness,  endeavor  to  extinguish 
or  ecHpse  the  sun.  Enough  for  the  glow-worm  that  shines 
in  the  dark  to  hate  the  brilliant  orb  of  day ;  the  true  soul 
will  esteem  them  both  for  what  they  are,  and  will  admire  the 
light  of  each.  Every  age  teems  with  new  convictions.  The 
latest  knowledge  gives  us  freshest   thought  and  inspiration. 

The  words  of  Augustin  of  Hippo  are  replete  with  the  best 
sense  :  "  In  the  things  which  are  necessary  let  there  be 
unity  ;  in  those  not  absolutely  certain  let  there  be  liberty, 
and  in  them  all  let  there  be  charity."  That  is  not  genuine 
Science  where  these  are  not.  The  divine  Art  of  healing  has 
but  a  single  ethic  :  to  live  in  charity,  doing  to  others  as  we 
desire  them  to  do  to  us,  and  to  all  as  we  have  opportunity 
All  else  is  factitious  and  extraneous.  This  implies  knowl 
edge,  purpose  and  skill  akin  to  intuition. 

This  is  the  Higher  Law  of  Medicine ! 


INDEX. 


[As  most  of  the  individuals  here  named  who  belong  to  the  modern  period,  had  the 
rank  and  title  of  "  Doctor,"  the  designation  is  generally  omitted.] 


Abdomen  has  no  organ  beyond  the  surgeon's  knife,  pages  72, 873 

Abdul  Kasim,  118 

Abu  Bekr  ben  Tophail,  philosopher,  129 

Academic  degrees  made  a  subject  of  traffic,  648 

Academie  de  Chirurgie  at  Paris,  250 

Academy,  Platonic  at  Paris,  147 

Achillini,  Alessandro,  the  "  Second  Aristotle,"  151 

Act  of  1830  in  New  York  repealed,  472  ;  1855,  480 

Actual  healing  preferred  before  medical  orthodoxy,  511 

Acupuncture  practiced  in  Japan,  397 

Addison,  Doctor,  285;  "  Joseph,  the  author  on  minute  organisms, 
381 

Address  of  the  Independent  Thomsonian  Botanic  Society,  494 

Adolphus.  Joseph,  offers  resolution  for  a  National  organiza- 
tion, 692 

Advertising,  disreputable,  declared  not  professional,  697,  7Ul 

^sculapius,  41,  47;  his  serpent  brought  to  Rome,  51,  82 

^•Esculapian  procedures  explained,  41,  59 

jEther,  the  doctrine  of  Ficino,  148 

Aetios,  114 

Affections,  their  physiological  centre,  264 

Agamede,  a  Grecian  woman  proficient  in  medical  lore,  88 

Agassiz,  Louis,  his  tribute  to  Rafinesque,  423 

Agathiuos,  91 

Agrippa,  Cornelius,  scholar  and  alchemist,  178 

Akasha,  or  aether,  392 

Akron,  an  itinerant  physician,  56 

Al  Hakham,  Khalif  in  Spain,  117 

Al  Magest,  113 

Al  Mamun,  Khalif  at  Baghdad,  113;  denounced  as  a  religious 
apostate,  112,  123,  190 


055  INDEX. 

Alabama,  its  former  legislation  in  favor  of  the  Botanic  practice, 
473  ;  the  Medical  Institute,  530  ;  watchword  in  1835.  476  ; 
the  Eclectic  movement,  751  ;  the  present  medical  statute,  530 

Albigeois  exterminated  by  a  crusade,  124 

Alchemists,  the  original  investigators,  354  ;  described  by  Para- 
celsus, 174  ;  reasons  for  their  obscure  terminology,  354 

Alcohol,  a  discriminator  between  medicinal  and  poisonous  bodies, 
661  ;  early  known  in  China,  35 

Alexander  of  Macedon,  a  pupil  of  Aristotle,  68;  "  of  Tralles, 
105  ;  "    VI.  (Borgia)  pope,  149 

Alexandrian  school  and  medical  caste,  45.71;  "  Library  de- 
stroyed, 111 

Ali  the  "Magus,"  115 

Alkalometry,  American,  878 

Allen,  Nathan,  of  Lowell,  the  phrenologist,  289  ;  "  Paul  W.  presi- 
dent of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
691;  "   "  professor  in  the  Medical  Institute  at  Petersburg,  551 

Alumni  Association  at  Philadelphia,  647 

Alpino,  165 

American  Association  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  883  ;  "  College 
of  Medicine,  593,  644;  "  College  of  Medicine  and  Surgery, 
527;  "  Practice  of  Medicine,  its  evolution,  402;  "  Reform 
Medical  Institute  incorporated,  601  ;  "  University  of  Medicine 
and  Surgery,  740 

"American  Medical  Association  "  in  New  York  City,  585 

American  Medical  Associatiun  formed,  551  ;  its  principal  objects, 
551  ;  assumes  to  be  "  the  only  governing  body  in  Medicine," 
682  ;  demands  that  Legislatures  grant  no  more  charters  to 
medical  colleges  without  its  sanction,  6t?9  ;  seeks  to  remove 
the  former  partisan  medical  legislation,  774 

"  American  Medical  College  "  of  Ohio,  584,  605,  739  ;  "  "  "  of 
Indianapolis,  732,  883;  "    "    "    of  St.  Louis,  incorporated,  737 

American  Medical  Institute  of  Cincinnati,  524 

American  Medicine  and  Surgery,  College,  527  ;  "  Practice  of 
Medicine,  praised,  405  ;  "  Reform  Medical  Institute,  incor- 
porated, 601  ;  University  of  Philadelphia,  incorporated,  647; 
'■     "     of  Medicine  and  Surgery  at  Philadelphia,  741 

Anaesthesia,  artificial,  296 

Anatomy,  little  known  in  China,  36  ;  studied  in  Ancient  Egypt,  12. 
first  taught  at  Bologna  by  dissection,  142;  taught  at  Padua  by 
Montagnono,  150 


INDEX.  889 

Anaxagoras,  the  philosopher,  57 

Andral,  288 

Animal  magnetism  in  ancient  Egypt,  11  ;  explained  by  Paracelsus, 
177,  see  Mesmerism 

Animistic  theory,  2.8 

Animosity  between  early  medical  reformers,  435 

Ann  Arbor,  conflict  in  the  medical  department,  689 

Anntial  meetings  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
after  its  original  organization  in  1848-49;  first,  at  Cincinnati  in 
1850,  577;  second  at  Pittsburg,  606;  third  at  Rochester,  New 
York,  608;  fourth  at  Philadelphia,  610;  fifth  at  Worcester, 
Mass.,  613;  sixth  at  New  York,  614;  seventh  at  New  York,  616; 
eighth  at  Cincinnati,  618 

Annual  meetings  after  the  revived  organization  at  Chicago,  in 
1870,  694;  first  at  New  York,  697;  second  at  Indianapolis,  097; 
third  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  698;  fourth  at  Boston,  699;  fifth  at 
Springfield,  111.,  699;  sixth  at  Washington,  D.  C,  700;  seventh 
at  Pittsburg,  7i'l;  eighth  at  Detroit,  702;  ninth  at  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  703;  tenth  at  Chicago,  704;  eleventh  at  St.  Louis,  705; 
twelfth  at  New  Haven,  706;  thirteenth  at  Topeka,  Kansas, 
7ti6;  fourteenth  at  Cincinnati,  707;  fifteenth  at  Altoona,  708; 
sixteenth  at  Atlanta,  Georgia,  7U8;  seventeenth  at  Waukesha, 
Wisconsin,  709;  eighteenth  ac  Detroit,  709;  nineteenth  at 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  710;  twentieth  at  Niagara  Falls,  713; 
twenty-first  at  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas,  712;  twenty-second  at 
St.  Louis,  714;  twenty- third  at  Chicago,  71 6;  twenty-fourth  at 
Niagara  Falls,  718;  twenty-fifth  at  Waukesha,  719;  twenty- 
sixth  at  Portland,  Oregon,  720;  twenty-seventh  at  Lake 
Minnetonka,  720;  twenty-eighth  at  Omaha,  730;  twenty-ninth 
at  Detroit,  723;  thirtieth  at  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  723;  thirty- 
first  at  Chattahooga,  724 

Anti-Masonic  party,  470,  507 

Anti-Monopoly  party  proposed  in  order  to  procure  repeal  of 
oppressive  medical  statutes,  507 

Antimony  discovered,  153;  its  use  as  medicine  opposed,  189,  614 

Antiokhos  Soter  and  Stratonike,  71 

Anton,  James,  of  Lebanon,  Ohio,  elected  Treasurer  of  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  699,  etc. 

Antonines,  the  Roman  Emperors,  medical  customs  at  their  period, 
94 

Apion,  his  malady,  185 


890  INDEX. 

Apollo,  God  of  healing,  39 

Appletons,  requested  to  correct  statement  in  their  Cyclopedia,  706 

Applicants  for  medical  appointments,  four-fifths  rejected,  670 

Aquinas,  Thomas,  and  the  New  Gospel,  149 

Aquitaine,  the  terrible  pestilence  there,  131 

Arabian  scientific  writings  denounced  as  profane,  163 

Aranzi,  his  discourses,  183 

Aratseos,  the  Eclectic,  91 

Archseus,  the  theory  explained,  176 

Archagathos,  at  Rome,  84,  86 

Archebiosis,  the  views  of  John  Hunter,  261 

"  Arena  of  Debate  "  in  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 
709 

Argentinos,  a  reformer  and  empiricist,  165 

Aristotle,  the  philosopher,  an  Asklepiad  physician,  68 

Arizona,  its  medical  statute,  776 

Arkansas,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  753;  medical  legis- 
lation and  Governor  Fishback,  754;  the  medical  statute,  777 

Arkhigenes,  the  founder  of  the  ancient  Eclectic  School  of 
medicine,  91 

Army  Surgeons,  their  unfitness,  064 

Arnold  of  Villenova,  189 

Arsenicals  disapproved  by  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tion, 614 

Artseos,  87 

Artificial  disease  not  induced  by  Homeopathic  treatment,  339;  " 
teeth  in  Egyptian  mummies,  875;  "  also  possessed  by  Julius 
Caesar  and  Mark  Antony,  875 

Aryans,  20 

Asa,  king  of  Judah  rejects  the  priests  as  physicians,  18 

Asiatic  Cholera  described  as  a  bleeding  to  death,  360  ;  attributed 
to  animalcules,  381  ;  its  first  appearance  in  America  in  1832, 
436  ;  its  types  different  at  each  recurring,  331  ;  treated  suc- 
cessfully by  Dr.  Beach,  436  ;  also  by  Thomsonians,  488  ;  its 
treatment  by  Benjamin  Thompson,  411 

Asklepia,  or  medical  schools,  48 

Asklepiades,  founder  of  the  sect  of  Methodists,  86 

Asklepiads,  a  clan  or  caste  of  priest-physicians,  44,  46,  50  ;  said  to 
cure  the  body  by  the  soul,  60  ;  their  final  subversion,  51,  102 

Asklepidotos,  102 

Asklepios  or  .^sculapiup,  41 


INDEX.  891 

Asoka,  the  Buddhist  king  of  India,  73;  fills  India  with  hospitals,  81 

Assyria,  its  bird-god  Nis-Rokh.  81  ;  medical  formulas,  21  ;  dis- 
eases treated  mesmerically,  lU  ;  the  pharmacy,  16 

Astral  influence  in  disease,  174 

Astrology  denounced  by  Chancellor  Gerson,  149  ;  condemned  by 
the  University  of  Paris,    150  ;   declared   heretical,    150  ;    its 
supposed  relation   to   medicinal   plants,     702  ;  the   views  of . 
Ficino,  147 

Astronomy  in  human  science  explained  by  Paracelsus,  174 

Athenaeos,  the  founder  of  the  Pneumaticists,  or  school  of  spirit- 
ualist physicians,  90 

Athens,  its  medical  customs,  57 

Athoth,  an  archaic  Egyptian  king  also  a  physician,  6 

Attalos,  king  of  Pergamos,  his  learning,  78 

Attenuation  of  medicines,  271  ;  excepted  to  by  Dr,  Rau,  333 

Aurelius,  Marcus  the  Antonine  Emperor,  makes  Galen  his  court- 
physician,  98 

Australia,  the  Reform  practice  of  Medicine  introduced,  769 

Austrian  physicians  interfere  with  Priessnitz,  368 

Auxiliary  Eclectic  Medical  Societies  in  Pennsylvania,  748 

Avenbrugger,  285 

Avenzoar,  118 

Averroes,  121 

Avicenna  or  Ibn  Sina,  115 

Babbitt,  E.  D.  and  Chromopathy,  374 

Babylonia,  ancient,  its  university-towns,  20  ;  said  also  to  have 
no  physicians,  16 

Bacilli,  the  theory,  382 

Bacon,   Francis,  disbelieves  the  utility  of  optical  instruments,  196 

Baghdad  becomes  the  metropolis  of  Islam,  112 

Baker,  Vincent  A.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  719 

Bakhtan,  its  king  sends  to  Egypt  for  medical  aid,  14 

Balfour,  Doctor,  his  testimony  of  Homeopathic  treatment,  3136 

Baltimore,  the  Physio-Medical  or  Physopathic  convention  adopts 
there  a  new  declaration  of  principles,  5G7  ;  the  "Reform" 
Medical  Convention  makes  it  broader,  589  ;  the  latter  is 
adopted  by  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  in 
New  York,  615 

Bankston,    Lanier,    the    Southern   pioneer    adopts  the    Botanic 


692  INDEX. 

practice,  525  ;  becomes  dean  of  the  College  at  Forsyth,  526  ; 
opposes  Dr.  Morrow's  proposition  for  united  action,  541  ;  is 
president  of  the  Southern  Reform  Medical  Association,  590, 
591  ;  his  services  and  history,  501,  525  ;  speaks  at  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Georgia,  528 

Barbarism  universal  in  the  sixth  century,  104 

Barbers  and  Surgeons,  their  association  dissolved,  making  the 
callings  distinct,  251 

Barnes,  Doctor,  surgeon-general,  excludes  Eclectic  and  Homoe- 
opathic physicians  from  appointments  as  surgeons  in  the 
army,  700,  note 

Barthez,  229 

Barton,  William,  420,  461 

Bastian,  his  explanation  of  micro-organisms,  384 

Bay  State  Medical  Reform  As30ciation,  563 

Bayle,  Gaspard  Laurent.  284 

Beach  Medical  College,  731  ;  its  name  changed  to  Beach  Medical 
University,  731 

Beach,  Wooster,  founder  of  the  American  School  of  Reformed 
Medicine,  433  ;  student  and  practitioner,  434  ;  has  charge  of 
a  Cholera  hospital  in  lS!ew  York,  in  1832,  436;  establishes 
the  Reformed  Medical  Academy,  468,  513 ;  his  Infirmary, 
490  ;  organizes  the  Reformed  Medical  Society  of  the  United 
States,  468  ;  introduces  the  Reformed  Practice  into  England, 
762  ;  proposes  a  medical  department  in  Worthington  College, 
484 ;  Emeritus  professor  in  the  Central  Medical  College  at 
Syracuse,  580 ;  also  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  549  ; 
displaced,  6o2  ;  when  first  called  "an  Eclectic,"  433,  536; 
presides  at  a  meeting  to  celebrate  the  medical  triumph  of 
1835,  480  ;  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  and  introduced  as  the  "Father  of  Eclectic 
Medicine,"  615  ;  approves  of  the  Baltimore  "  Reform"  plat- 
form, 568  ;  his  works,  859 

Bell,  Sir  Charles,  his  discoveries  in  Physiology,  291 

Bellini,  212 

Benedictine  monks,  the  original  ecclesiastic  physicians,  129,  152 

Bennett  College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  and  Surgery,  incorporated, 
678 

Bennett,  Gen.  John  C,  486 

Bennett,  John  Hughes,  founder  of  the  Medical  Society  of  Paris, 
285  ;  denies  Virchow's  hypothesis  that  the  cell  is  the  ultimate 


INDEX.  893 

element,  293;  is  described  as  a  "leader  of  the  Eclectic 
"  School  of  Medicine,"  678  ;  disapproves  of  mercury,  arsenic 
and  antimony  as  medicines,  286 ;  his  treatise  on  Human 
Physiology,  285  ;  also  on  female  complaints,  381 

Berenger  de  Carpi  introduces  mercury  as  a  remedy,  156 ;  his 
works,  168 

Berlin,  the  first  surgical  school  founded  there,  250 

Bernard  de  Gordon,  126 

Bertipagli,  Surgical  writer  at  Padua,  150 

Betrucci,  144 

Bibliography  of  the  Lloyd  collection  and  other  works  by  Eclectic 
Botanic  and  Physio-Medical  Authors,  847,  etc. 

Bichat,  262  ;  his  theory  of  physiologic  duality,  263 ;  his  two 
classes  of  vital  phenomena,  287 

Bigelow,  Jacob,  420 ;  he  opposes  the  incorporating  of  the 
Worcester  Medical   Institution,  564 

Biochemic  theory  and  "  tissue-remedies,"  367 

Bishops  in  England  formerly  empowered  to  license  physicians, 
167 

"  Black  Death,"  De  Chauliac's  astral  theory,  128 

"  Black  Laws  "  for  physicians,  464 

Black,  Sir  Joseph,  his  chemical  theories,  273 

Blackwell,  Elizabeth  of  London,  her  Botanic  garden,  763  ;  "  "  of 
America  the  first  woman  received  here  as  a  medical  student, 
accepted  first  by  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  580 

Blaine,  James  G  ,  favors  the  Reform  and  Eclectic  practice,  737 

Blood,  the  discoveries  cf  its  circulation,  184 

Bloodletting,  profuse,  recommended  by  Botal,  164  ;  also  by 
Broussais,  247  ;  assiduously  practiced  in  America,  409  ; 
opposed  by  Chrysippos,  70;  discarded  by  Hahnemann,  271  ; 
also  by  Dickson,  359;  denounced  by  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  014  ;  a  desire  to  return  to  it,  410 

Bloyer,  William  E.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  720 

Boerhaave,  287  ;  the  "modern  Galen,"  224 

Bologna,  the  University  renowned  for  its  superior  medical  learn- 
ing, 141 

Bonet,  Theophile,  233 

Books  of  Hermes  on  medicine,  7  ;  "  of  Science  compiled  by 
Aristotle,  08;  "   zV/.,  imported  into  Baghdad  by  Al  Mamun,  113 

Boorish  manners  of  ancient  Roman  physicians,  91 


894  INDEX 

Borelli,  211 

Boskowitz,  George  W.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 

Medical  Association,  723 
Boston  Eclectic   Medical   Society  organized,   672  ;  "  meeting  of 

the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  699 
Botal  advocated  profuse  bloodletting,  164 
Botanic  physicians  become  a  distinct  school,  416  ;  not  illiterate, 

417;    desirous   of    better   educational    facilities,    517;    their 

practice  of  medicine  upheld  by  the  legislature  of  Alabama, 

472  ;  Societies,  462. 
Botanic  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  Society  formed,  445  ;  "    reme- 
dies "  introduced"  to  the  medical  profession,  419 
Botanico-Medical   Colleges — at    Columbus,    Ohio,    incorporated, 

501  ;  at  Forsyth,  Georgia,  525  ;  at  Memphis,  528  ;  at  Worces- 
ter, 561  ;  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  563 
Botanico-Medical    Society    of    Connecticut,    incorporated    with 

power  to  establish  a  medical  college,  562  ;   "     Southern,  526 
Botany,  Medical,  proficiency  required  as  in  ^Materia  Medica,  699  ; 

Beck,  Bigelow,   Barton,  Lewis,  TuUy  and  other  writers,  420 
Bouillard,  283 

Boycott,  medical,  enforced,  Pol 
Boyle,  Robert,  218,'273 
Bradley,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  his 

definition  of  "liberty,"  798,  note 
Brahmans,  Hindu  physicians  of  that  caste,  25  ;  are  said  to  have 

anaesthetised  the  women  at  the  suttees,  296 
Brain  subject  to  surgical  inierference,  872 
Breathing  gives  blood  its  life,  211 
Brewster,  Hon.  F.  Carroll,  declares  officially  a  medical  college 

to  be  a  "literary  institution,"  742 
British  Eclectic  Medical  Reform  Association,  676,  767 
British  and  Foreign  Medical  Review  advocates  a  radical  change 

in  the  practice  of  medicine,  337 
Broadbent,  John,  a  Botanic  physician  in  Australia,  769 
Brooklyn  Eclectic  Medical  Society  or  "  Academy  of  Medicine," 

585 
Broussais  lays  the  foundation  of  '•  Positive  Medicine"  in  France, 

283  ;  his  notions  of  bloodletting,  243  ;  follows  in  the  lines  of 

John  Brown,  243 
Brown,  John,  the  last  systemiser  in  orthodox  medicine,  241  ;  his 

quarrel  with  Cullen,  241  ;  his  theory  of  disease,  242 


INDEX.  895 

Brown,  Gov.  Joseph,  a  friend  of  "  Reform  Medicine,"  501 

Bruno,  Giordano,  191  ;  his  praise  of  Paracelsus,  178 

Brunonian  system  of  medical  practice,  241 

Buckraan,  E.  D.  professor  and  dean  in  Penn  Medical  University, 
652 

Buchanan,  John,  the  first  Eclectic  to  advocate  the  enacting  of 
statutes  to  regulate  the  practice  of  medicine,  685  ;  received 
as  member  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  691  ;  procures  an  act  to  incorporate  "  the 
American  University,"  740 

Buchanan,  Joseph  Rodes,  accepts  a  chair  in  the  "American 
Medical  Institute,"  386  ;  becomes  a  professor  in  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Institute,  386,  549  ;  his  conditions  of  acceptance, 
549 ;  his  dislike  of  Thomsonians,  556 ;  elected  president  of 
the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  577  ;  suggests 
the  abandoning  of  any  national  organization,  6n8  ;  hostility 
to  Lorenzo  E.  Jones,  603  ;  declares  his  opposition  to  the 
National  Association,  625  ;  styles  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute  the  "parent  school  of  Eclectic  Medicine,"  635; 
withdraws  from  the  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine,  635  ;  his 
philosophy,  600  ;  theory  of  Sarcognomy,  385 

Buddhistic  India,  its  hospitals,  80 

Bundy,  Joseph  H.,  his  discoveries  in  indigenous  medicinal  plants, 
719  ;  introduces  new  remedies,  745 

Bureau  of  Correspondence  created,  its  functions,  700 

Burggrave  teaches  dosimetric  medication,  363 

Burnham,  Walter,  first  president  of  the  Bay  State  Medical 
Reform  Association,  563  ;  his  career  as  an  operative  surgeon 
in  ovarian  disease,  305  ;  is  first  to  remove  the  womb,  308  ; 
elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tion, 309,  313  ;  defines  the  platform  of  the  Allopathic  or 
orthodox  school,  615  ;  his  resolution  in  regard  to  medical 
colleges,  616;  also  in  favor  of  the  medical  instruction  of 
women,  616  ;  he  withdraws  from  all  Eclectic  Medical 
Societies,  309 

Burton,  Amos  N.,  opposes  the  proposition  to  support  only  men 
for  the  legislature  of  New  York,  pledged  to  vote  for  repeal  of 
the  medical  statutes,  508 

Burton  Medical  College  incorporated,  743 

Buzzell,  James  M.,  professor  in  the  Worcester  Medical  Institu- 
tion, 563  ;  also  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Pennsyl- 


S96  INDEX. 

vania,  594  ;  procures  the  act  of  incorporation  for  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Maine,  735 
By-Laws  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  radically 
changed,  701  ;  important  amendments,  704 

Caesar,  Julius,  grants  citizenship  to  foreign  physicians,  88 
Caldwell,  Professor,  accepts  phrenology  as  scientific,  289 
California,  Eclectic  Medicine  introduced  and  Society  formed,  745; 
Medical  College  organized  and  formally  recognized,  705,  729; 
medical  statute,  777 
Calkins,  Marshall,  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of 
Pennsylvania,    594,    643 ;    professor    in  the    Penn   Medical 
College,  643  ;  professor  in  the  University  of  Vermont,  643 
Call  for  a  Convention  of  Reformed  Physicians  at  Cincinnati,  574 
Cambridge,  the  Harvard  Medical  School,  167 
Canada,  its  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  676,  687;  a  Medical  Examin- 
ing Board  created  to  examine  Eclectic  physicians,  687 
Cancer  cured  by  Deraokedes,  54 
Capistran,  159 

Carlisle,  Sir  Antony,  on  human  birth,  360 
Caste  of  physicians  hard  to  maintain,  45 
Cathartic  medicines  disapproved  by  Hippokratea,  65 
Gate  the    Censor,    scorns    the   medical   calling,    84  ;    writes   on 

medicine,  85 
Cause  of  disease,  Dickson's  theory,  359 

Cavendish,  Henry,  the  Father  of  Pneumatic  Chemistry,  275 
Cell-development  taught  by  Virchow   293 
Celsus,  his  talent,  89 
Censors,  Board  announced  in  1870  as  from  the  National  Eclectic 

Medical  Association  at  Philadelphia,  note,  693 
Censorship  over  medical  practitioners  proposed  in  Ohio,  686 
Central  Indiana  Eclectic  Medical  Society  formed,  673 
Central  Medical  College  of  the  State  of  New  York,  579 
Cerebellum,  the  organ  of  "unconscious  cerebration,"  290 
Cesalpino,  Andrea,  claimed  to  have  anticipated  Harvey  in  his 

discovery,  184,  205 
Chaldsean  astronomers,  196  ;  "    priests  emigrate  to  Pergamos,  17 
Chancellors  of   the  Massachusetts  Medical   Society  oppose  the 

incorporation  of  the  medical  college  at  Worcester,  564 
Changes  of   sentiment    and  procedures    among   Homoeopathic 
physicians,  335,  337 


INDKX.  897 

Changes  in  the  Renascence,  192 

Chaos,  Doctor,  the  physician  at  Vienn.i,  203 

Charaka  the  Indian  physician  and  his  works,  28 

Charlemagne,    the    Roman    and    Prankish    Emperor,   requires 

medicine  to  be  made  a  branch  of  study  in  schools,  108 
Charms  for  diseases,  399 
Chase,   Rev.  Philander,   procures  a  charter  for  the  college  at 

Worthington,  Ohio,  514 
Chauliac,  the  surgeon,  127 
Chaumette  Antoine,  the  Surgeon,  188 
Chemiatric  or  Chemical  School  of  Medicine,  189,  213 
Chemical  facts  discovered  by  Basil  Valentin,  153 
Chemistry  developed  at  Baghdad,  112,  273 
Chicago,  Eclectic  Convention  and  reorganization  of  the  National 

Association,    694,    695  ;    tenth     anniversary    in    1880,    704  ;' 

Columbian  Exposition  and   World's  Congress  Auxiliary  of 

Eclectic  Physicians,  716 
Chiefs  at  the  siege  of  ancient  Troy  expert  as  surgeons,  48 
Childs,  Gov.  H.  H.,  of  Berkshire  Medical  College,  declares  that 

the  physician  should  be   essentially  eclectic,   558  ;    opposes 

proscriptive  medical  legislation,  558 
Chin-nun,  the  learned  Emperor  of  China,  33 
China  or  Kathay,  29  ;  the  learned  emperor,  33  ;  the  healing  art, 

394  ;  medical  books,   84  ;  little  knowledge   of  anatomy,  35  ; 

the  Tail  sect,  84 
Chinese  engineers  and  physicians,  86 
Chiropractic,  882 

Chiruri^ic,  Academy,  250  ;  P  Ecole,  250 
Chittenden,  Governor,  helps  Thomson  prepare  specifications  for 

patent,  4*J0 
Chondesabar  or  Gandisapur,  its  school  of  medicine,  104,  110 
Christendom,  earlier,  its  healing  art,  128 
Christian  Rosenkreutz,  200 
"Christian  Science,"  375 
Chromopathy  or  the  Light-Cure.  371,  374 
Chrono-Thermal  system,  357 
Chrysalore,  145 

Chrysippos,  an  innovator  and  reformer,  70 

Chun-Sin,  an  ancient  Chinese  physician  prescribes  calomel,  156 
Church,  Sanford  E.,  his  views  of  medical  questions,  506 
Cicero,  his  praise  of  the  medical  art,  87 


890  INDEX. 

Cincinnati,  the  Academy  of  Medicine,  671;  Medical  colleges  of  the 
Physio-Medical  or  Thomsonian  School,  524,  525;  Reformed 
Medical  School,  afterward  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  543 
et  passim;  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  first  orga- 
nized, 576;  its  Eighth  Annual  Meeting,  618;  Eclectic  Medical 
Society,  671;  disputes  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  600, 
623,  etc. 

Circular  Address  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute, 
550 

Civil  war  causes  desertion  of  medical  classes,  650 

Clairvoyance  recognized  by  Hippokrates,  67 

Clairvoyant  physicians  in  Egypt,  11 

Clark,  Anson  L.,  first  president  of  the  Illinois  Eclectic  Medical 
Society,  675 ;  elected  president  of  the  National  Association,  705 

Clark,  Sir  James,  a  medical  recusant,  physician  to  Queen  Victoria, 
335,  764 

Class-legislation  upon  medical  matters  opposed,  707 

Clement,  Julien,  his  innovation  in  obstetrics,  207 

Clergy  in  the  American  colonies  practicing  medicine,  408;  "  of 
England  forbidden  to  practice  medicine,  773 

Cleveland,  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 
703;  its  Botanico-Medical  College,  563 

Cleveland,  C.  H.,  made  a  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute, 623;  his  views  of  calomel,  632;  denounces  the  transfer  of 
the  Eclectic  College  to  the  E  M.  Institute,  687;  becomes  a 
professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  650 

Cleveland,  Chauncey  F.,  supported  by  Botanic  physicians,  502 

Clinic  Surgery  and  Medicine,  250 

Clinical  instruction  introduced,  190 

Clowes,  William,  his  works  on  army  surgery,  French  disease 
and  scrofula,  188 

Coal-tar  medicaments,  419 

Cobb,  Daniel  J.,  edits  the  Botanic  Seniinei  inV^estQvn  New  York, 
483 

Cobbett,  William  ("Peter  Porcupine"),  his  utterance  against  Dr. 
Rush's  procedures,  765 

Cochrane,  Jerome,  attacks  the  platform  of  the  "  Reform"  Medical 
Convention  at  Baltimore,  590;  becomes  a  member  of  the 
Southern  Reform  Medical  Association,  592;  abandons  the 
cause  and  becomes  Health  Officer  of  Alabama,  592;  his  rigor- 
ous enforcement  of  the  medical  statute,  711,  751 


INDEX.  899 

Code  of  Ethics  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  551;  "  " 
view  of  Dr.  J.  Marion  Sims,  "  "  adopted  by  the  National 
Convention  at  Chicago  in  1870,  695 

Coe,  Grover,  elected  Secretary  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  617,  618;  criticised  in  regard  to  "  Concentrated 
remedies,"  656 

Coffin,  A.  J.,  introduces  the  American  Botanic  ( Thomsonian ) 
Practice  into  England  by  his  own  name,  764 

Colby,  Benjamin,  publishes  the  Thomsonimi  Recorder,  518;  his 
efforts  to  establish  a  medical  college  in  Maine,  518;  delivers  a 
course  of  medical  lectures  at  Nashua,  521 

Collections  in  Natural  History  made  by  Alexander  for  Aristotle, 
68 

College  of  Medicine,  American,  at  Philadelphia,  594;  "  American 
MedicalatCincinnati,605;  "  "  "  at  St.  Louis,  727;  "  Eclectic 
Medical  at  Cincinnati,  634;  '•  of  American  Medicine  and 
Surgery,  527;  "  Beach  Medical,  736;  "  Bennett,  of  Eclectic 
Medicine  and  Surgery,  678;  "  Botanic  in  New  York,  446;  " 
Botanico-Medical  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  623;  "  at  Columbus, 
501;  "  id.  at  Forsyth,  Georgia  (afterward  Macon),  501,  525. 
etc  ;  "  at  Memphis.  Tennessee,  528;  "  zi/.  at  Worcester, 
Massachusetts,  561,  etc  ,  called  also  New  England,  563;  •' 
California  Medical,  7(i5,  729;  "  Central  Medical  of  New  York, 
580,  581;  "  "Christian"  of  New  Albany,  Indiana,  486;  " 
Eclectic  in  Cincinnati,  684;  "  Eclectic  Medical,  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  677;  id.  of  Maine,  735,  etc.,  "  of  New  Jersey,  738;  " 
id.  of  Pennsylvania,  593,  etc.;  "  id.  of  Philadelphia, 644,  etc.;" 
Franklin  Medical,  640;  "  Georgia  Eclectic  Medical 628,  etc.;  " 
Indiana,  Eclectic  Medical,  730;  "  Indiana,  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons,  732;  "  Iowa  Eclectic  Medical,  73  J;  "  Jeffer.son 
Medical,  638;  "  King  Medical,  733;  "  Lincoln  Medical,  719, 
734;  "  Metropolitan,  567, etc.;  "  New  England  Female  Medical, 
570,  etc  ;  "  Penn  Medical,  596;  "  Pennsylvania  Medical,  639; 
"  Philadelphia,  641;  "  Physicians  in  London,  773;  "  Surgeons 
in  Paris,  141;  "  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  523;  "  Syracuse 
Medical,  582;  "  United  States  Medical,  727;  "  Woman's 
Medical,  484,  513 

■Colleges  established  in  the  Moslem  world,  116;  "  Medical,  in  Iowa, 
708;  "  Indiana  and  Georgia,  705;  certain  methods  denounced 
by  John  Thomas,  555;  "  of  dentistry,  878;  "  of  Hygiene,  879; 
"  of  Osteopathy,  881 


l^GO  INDEX. 

Colonial  legislation  in  New  York,  Mr.  Haskell's  charge,  479;  " 
practice  of  medicine,  406 

Colorado,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  formed,  758;  the 
medical  statute,  778 

Colot,  Germain,  performs  lithotomy,  151 

Columbia   District,  its  medical  statute,  780 

Columbian  Exposition,  Committee  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
commission  to  obtain  an  Eclectic  Department,  714;  "  Journal, 
710 

Columbo,  183 

Cc.lumbus,  Christopher,  153 

Combe,  George,  the  phrenologist,  288 

Combination  of  Medicines,  Rafinesque's  explanation,  431 

Comings,  Isaac  M.,  professor  in  the  Botanico-Medical  College  at 
Macon,  Georgia,  and  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  554;  appointed 
to  a  chair  in  the  college  at  Worcester,  561;  has  a  controversy 
with  Dr.  Calvin  Newton,  605;  joins  the  college  movement  in 
New  York,  566;  acts  with  the  National  Eclectic  Association 
with  the  "Reform"  platform,  615 

Commissioner  of  Education,  his  criticism  of  the  conducting  of 
medical  colleges,  513 

"Complea:  Method  of  Physick,"  407 

Concentrated  remedies,  633,  057 

Confederate  Authorities  employed  Botanic  and  Eclectic  Surgeons, 
527 

Conflict  at  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  627,  etc. 

Congress  of  German  physicians  at  Magdeburg  dissenting  from 
Hahnemann,  324, 

Connecticut,  the  Botanico-Medical  Society  incorporated  with 
power  to  establish  a  school,  562;  '■  id.  plans  a  course  of 
lectures,  563;  "  id.  is  hostile  to  the  Worcester  Medical 
Institution,  566;  "  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  incorpo- 
rated with  similar  powers,  672;  "  id.  changes  its  name,  589;  " 
id.  proposes  to  establish  a  medical  college,  743;  exempted 
specifically  from  provisions  of  the  medical  statute,  778; 
synopsis  of  the  medical  statute,  778;  "  Constitution  inhibits 
exclusive  privileges,  501 

Conscientious  praciitioneis  refuse  to  be  bound  by  the  code,  551 

Constantinople,  its  fall  and  the  result  to  learning,  157 

Contemplated  excluding  of  certain  physicians  from  practice,  685 

Controversy  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Colleges  at  Cincinnati,  598- 


INDEX.  901 

et  passim;  "  at  Philadelphia,  645;  "  of  Dr.  R.  S.  Newton  and 
Jos.  R.  Buchanan,  628 

Controversies  of  the  Medical  Colleges  at  the  meeting  of  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  at  Pittsburg,  607;  "  " 
at  Rochester,  608 

Convention  of  Botanic  (Thomsonian)  physicians  of  New  York  to 
protest  against  medical  enactments,  476;  "  first  at  Columbus, 
488;  "  second  at  Pittsburg,  490;  third  at  Baltimore,  491 ;  "  id. 
in  New  England  to  provide  for  a  medical  college,  519,  520;  " 
of  Reformed  physicians  at  Cincinnati,  574;  "  of  physicians  of 
different  Reform  Schools,  in  New  York,  588;  "  "  at  Philadel- 
phia, 589;  "     Eclectic  physicians  at  Chicago,  694 

Cook,  William  H.,  professor  in  Syracuse,  and  Metropolitan 
Medical  Colleges,  524,  567;  conducts  Journal  of  Medical 
Refor7n,  567;  Dean  and  professor  of  the  Physio- Medical 
Institute  at  Cincinnati,  524;  Editor  of  the  Physio-Medical 
Recorder,  524,  590;  his  criticism  of  Dr.  Jerome  Cochrane,  590, 
note;  declares  Specific  Medication  "an  old  Physio-Medical 
doctrine,"  681,  note 

Cooke,  Thomas,  a  student  of  Dr.  Howell,  533;  declares  himself 
an  Eclectic,  535,  536,  537;  procures  charter  for  the  Eclectic 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  593;  "  founder  of  the 
college  and  Eclectic  Botanic  Medical  Society  of  Pennsylvania, 
754;  death.  594 

Copernicus,  his  theories  denounced,  190,  191,  196 

Corbeil,  Giles  de,  136 

Cordova,  its  Moslem  university,  117 

Correspondence,  theory  advocated  by  Hempel  as  more  correct 
than  Hahnemann's  of  similars,  338;  "  Bureau  in  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  7(.i0 

Corvinus,  Matthseus,  king  of  Hungary,  159;  advertises  for  a 
surgeon,  144;  proposes  to  Ficino  to  establish  a  philosophers" 
Academy.  149;  founds  the  university  of  Buda,  159 

Corvisart,  introduced  percussion,  284 

Cotner  university  in  Nebraska,  its  Department  of  Eclectic 
Medicine,  734 

Couvade.  a  custom  at  birth  of  children,  399 

Covert,  George,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  712 

Covey,  C.  E.,  president  of  the  American  Association  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons,  883 


902  INDEX. 

Creighton,  Charles,  of  London,  his  tribute  to  De  Chauliac,  127; 
his  description  of  Paracelsus,  170;  his  sketch  of  surgery  in  the 
sixteenth  century, 189 

Crusade  against  the  Turks,  159 

Cruvilhier,  284 

CuUen,  William,  237;  his  theory  and  classification,  238 

Culpepper,  Nicholas,  eulogy  by  Dr.  Howell,  533;  the  pioneer  of 
Herbal  medication  in  England,  7G2;  his  treatise  on  Herbal 
medicine,  407;  his  works,  762 

Culver,  Erastus  D.,  his  report  in  the  Assembly  of  New  York 
recommending  the  enfranchisement  of  Botanic  physicians, 
504 

Cures,  Swedenborg's  hypothesis,  348;  "  effected  by  invoking  of 
saints,  108 

Curryer,  William  P.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  714 

Curtis.  Alva,  his  report  to  the  first  Thomsonian  Convention  in 
1832  on  treating  of  Asiatic  Cholera,  4b9;  forms  the  '"Indepen- 
dent Thomsonian  Botanic  Society,"  493;  begins  medical 
instruction  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  procures  a  charter  for  the 
"Literary  and  Botanical  Medical  Institute,"  523;  opposes  the 
establishing  of  more  Botanic  medical  colleges,  524;  proposes 
to  open  a  medical  college  at  Boston,  5G1;  is  appointed  pro- 
fessor in  the  Worcester  Botanico-Medical  College,  563; 
disclaims  the  designation  of  '■Th(.msonian"  564;  takes  part 
in  college  enterprises  hostile  to  the  college  of  Worcester,  564 

Cycloganglionic  nervous  system,  2>8 

Dalton,  E.  G  ,  a  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of 
Philadelphia,  6.j0 

Danger  of  attenuation,  Dr.  Rau's  judgment,  333 

Dante,  140 

Dareios  Hystaspis,  king  of  Persia,  tieated  surgically  by  Demo- 
kedes,  53 

Dark  Ages,  124;  begin  with  the  fall  of  Constantinople,  157 

Darwin,  Erasmus,  244,  284 

Davis,  Nathan  S.,  suppresses  all  reports  of  Eclectic  and  Homoe- 
opathic physicians  made  at  the  Centennial  exposition  in  1876, 
702,  703 

Davis,  Orin,  a  professor  in  the  Central  Medical  College  of  New 
York,  529,  580;  elected  president  of  the  rival  National  organi- 
zation, 725 


INDEX.  903 

Davy,  Sir  Humphrey,  discovers  nitrogen  protoxide,  297;  his 
remark  on  obstacles  to  overcome  old  errors,  336 

De  Graaf,  208 

De  la  Boe,  213;  his  theory  of  fermentation,  273 

De  Monte,  Giovanni,  190 

De  Zerbi,  the  "Medical  Seer,"  152 

Death  of  Dr.  Thomas  V.  Morrow,  578;  "  of  Thomas  Cooke,  594: 
"    of  Calvin  Newton,  620 

Death-penalty  inflicted  on  students,  163;  imposed  on  colored 
persons  in  Virginia  for  administering  medicine,  163 

Decline  of  ancient  medical  learning,  101 

Degrees  in  medicine  when  first  conferred  on  students,  138 

Delaware,  its  medical  statutes,  779 

Demand  of  American  Medical  Association  in  respect  to  incorpora- 
ting of  medical  colleges,  689 

Demokedes,  in  Persia,  15;  his  story,  53;  treats  king  Dareios, 
cures  Queen  Atossa  of  cancer,  54 

Demokritos  of  Abdera,  57 

Dentistry,  its  province,  875;  in  Egypt,  11,  12;  "  the  Examining 
Boards,  876 

Depletion,  opposed  by  Chrysippos,  71 

"Desensitising,"  880 

Detwiller,  Dr.,  opens  the  North  American  Homoeopathic  Acade- 
my, 317 

Dickinson,  Andrew  Bray,  reports  in  favor  of  free  medical 
practice,  470 

Dickson,  Samuel,  propounder  of  the  Chrono-Thermal  System, 
358;  his  theory  of  life,  3G0;  denounces  blood-letting,  359; 
deprecates  mutilation  by  surgery,  361;  disapproves  of  the 
Homoeopathic  dogma,  360;  repudiates  the  theory  of  specific 
remedies,  362 

Difference  between  original  Homoeopathists  and  the  new  German 
school  of  Specific  Medication,  335 

Different  specialties  of  medical  practice  in  ancient  Rome,  94 

Digby,  Kenelm,  and  the  "Sympathetic  Powder,"  203 

Dioskorides,  his  learning,  91 

Diploma-traffic,  the  complaint  of  Hon.  Andrew  D.  White,  741; 
"  "  an  old  practice  of  medical  colleges,  741;  "  "  denounced 
by  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  697 

Diplomas  of  medical  colleges  declared  of  no  value  by  the 
Surgeon-General,  686;  "  "  must  be  surrendered  whenever 
the  holder  abandons  the  orthodox  practice,  573 


904 


INDEX. 


Disco-Series  following  the  invention  of  the  microscope,  217 

Disease  a  degeneration,  384;  "  Burmese  theory,  392;  "  Burg- 
grave's  theory  of  dynamic  and  organic,  SQi  ;  "  an  exaggera- 
tion or  diminution  of  vital  motions,  358;  "  may  be  caused 
by  mental  emotion  or  shock  to  the  nerves,  384;  "  engendered 
by  Aramanya  the  evil  energy,  23;  "  an  "  erroneous  belief," 
378;  Hahnemann's  theory,  271  ;  "  Rau's  explanation,  331; 
"theory  of  parasitic  origin,  381;  "said  to  be  caused  by 
spiritual  beings,  398 

Diseases,  their  five  causes,  and  five  methods  of  treatment,  177; 
said  to  be  changed  in  type,  86;  those  of  women,  300;  "  in 
China,  395 

Dislocations,  prescription  of  Cato,  85 

Dispensaries  in  the  Roman  Empire,  93 

Dispensatory,  American,  compiled,  626;  accepted  by  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association  as  its  standard,  703 

Disreputable  proceedings  alleged  against  the  Eclectic  Medical 
College  of  Pennsylvania,  047 

Dissension  in  the  Faculty  of  the  Southern  Botanico-Medical 
College,  526 

District  of  Columbia,  its  medical  statute,  780 

Districts,  composed  of  several  states,  project  of  societies  so 
arranged,  759 

Division  of  Thomsonian  physicians,  492 

"  Doctor  Caius  "  (Keyes),  167 

Doctrines,  medical,  221;  "     of  Galen,  99;  of  Hippokrates,  65 

Dodds,  Susanna  W.,  and  the  School  of  Hygiene,  879 

Dogma  of  Symptoms,  271 

Dogmatic  or  Philosophic  School  of  Medicine.  63 

DoUey,  L.  C,  reports  the  platform  of  Eclectic  principles  in 
1852,  609 

Dosimetric  Medication,  363,  878 

Dosimetry  hardly  a  distinct  school.  367,  878;  not  a  system  but  a 
method,  363.     See  Alkalometry,  732 

Drake  University  and  Iowa  Eclectic  Medical  College 

Drelincourt,  208 

Druggists  practicing  medicine  in  ancient  Rome,  93 

"  Drugless  Science,"  881 

Drugs,  Rau's  theory  of  their  action,  330 

Druidic  Society  at  Lewiston,  Maine,  737 

Druses  not  vaccinated  and  escaping  small-pox,  344 


INDEX.  goS 

DuBois,  Jacques  (Sylvius),  179 

Duel  between  Man  and  the  Age  in  which  he  lives,  362 

Duncan,  Joseph  R.,  elected  president  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  697 

Dunglison,  Doctor,  his  criticism  of  the  Arabian  medical  learn- 
ing, 125 

Durham,  William  M.,  of  Georgia,  becomes  president  of  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  709 

Duvernay,  208 

Dynamic  force  separable  from  the  material  substance,  333 


Eaton,  Gen,  John,  Commissioner  of  Education,  criticises  the 
medical  curriculum,  512;  his  report  of  the  Centennial 
exhibition  omits  the  accounts  furnished  him  of  the  Eclectic 
and  Homoeopathic  Schools  of  Medicine,  702.  See  Davis,  N.  S. 

Ebers'  manuscript,  14 

Ecclesiastical  power  supreme  over  imperial,  133 

Ecclesiastics  the  former  practitioners  of  medicine,  133 

Echo  for  freedom  of  medical  practice,  476 

Eckley,  Hon.  E.  E  ,  makes  a  report  to  the  legislature  of  Ohio, 
affirming  the  right  to  incorporation,  545 

Eclectic— the  name  applied  to  Doctor  Beach,  433,  536;  adopted 
by  Thomas  Cooke,  SBj,  573;  used  at  first  by  Calvin  Newton, 
559;  given  also  to  Samuel  Thomson,  536;  assigned  to  an 
ancient  school  of  medicine,  91;  designation  of  a  little  school 
in  Germany,  212;  now  shunned  by  many  practitioners,  053; 
defi  ed  by  the  National  Association  at  Rochester,  609,  610; 
the  term  explained  by  Dr.  Morrow,  546 

Eclectic  Botanic  Medical  Association  of  Pennsylvania,  537 

Eclectic  College  of  Medicine  at  Cincinnati,  634   6:!6 

"  Eclectic  Conciliators,''  212 

Eclectic  Medical  Associations,  "  American,"  organized,  576;  "  " 
British,  676;  "  Alabama,  752;  "  Arkansas,  753;  "  Canada 
671;  "  Central  Indiana,  673;  "  Colorado,  758;  "  Connecticut, 
672,  753;  "  Georgia,  750;  "  Indiana,  673,  692;  "  Iowa,  694; 
■'  Kansas,  675,  744;  "  Kentucky,  757;  "  Missouri,  747; 
"  National,  organized,  576,  695;  et  passim,  "  Nebraska, 
675;  "  New  England,  760;  "  Ohio,  673,  691;  "  Pennsylvania, 
645.  743,  749;  "  Texas,  755;  "  "Union,"  673;  "  Utah,  758; 
"     Washington,  758;  "     West  Virginia,  757 


go6  INDEX. 

Eclectic  Medical  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  677;  "  of 
Georgia,  678;  "  of  London,  projected;  "  of  Maine,  735,  etc.; 
"  of  Michigan,  735;  "  of  New  Jersey,  738;  "  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, 583,  683,  739;  "  of  Philadelphia,  644,  6J2;  "  of  St 
Louis,  725,  727 

Eclectic  Medical  Colleges,  726;  "    in  New  York,  578 

Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  incorporated,  544;  dissensions,  600;  the 
Faculty  repudiate  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 
624;  two  parties  and  two  elections  of  trustees,  627;  conflict 
for  possession,  630;  Faculty  divided  and  two  classes  gradu- 
ated, 633;  Union  with  the  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine,  636; 
trials  in  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  1861,  663;  radical  change 
in  the  corporation,  664 

Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  Brooklyn;  "  of  California,  745;  "  of 
Illinois,  675;  "  of  Maine,  674;  "  Massachusetts,  "  of  Min- 
nesota, 675;  "  of  Missouri,  676;  "  of  New  Jersey,  "  of  New 
York,  582,  649,  677,  691;  "  of  Ohio,  "  of  Oregon,  757;  "  of 
Pennsylvania,  694;  "  of  South  Dakota,  758;  '  of  Tennessee, 
757;  "  of  Vermont,  674;  "  of  Washington,  D.  C,  759;  "  of 
West  Kentucky,  757 

Eclectic  Medical  Societies  of  the  Southern  States,  592 

Eclectic  medicines  "  introduced  "  into  other  Schools  as  their 
original  discoveries,  616 

Eclectic  Practice  in  Canada,  G87,  768;     "     in  England,  766 

Eclectics  of  ancient  times,  91;  "  in  the  Roman  Empire,  536; 
"     as  described  by  Rafinesque,  427 

Eclecticism  (Medical)  defined  by  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  610;  "  purpose  to  kill  it  off  during  the  civil 
war,  666 

Ecole  Pratique  de  Chirurgie  founded,  251 

Eddy,  Mrs.  Mary  J,,  teacher  of  "  Christian  Science,"   379 

Edessa,  the  seat  of  a  University,  110 

Edinburgh,  the  school  founded,  236 

Edmcnds,  John  W.,  advocates  restrictive  medical  legislation,  473 

Educational  requirements  advance  after  the  medical  statutes 
were  repealed,  511 

Efforts  for  restrictive  statutes  renewed,  689 

Egypt,  anatomy  studied,  12;  dentistry  practiced,  11;  its  schools 
and  men  of  learning,  73;  occult  rites,  11;  its  medical  art,  5; 
royal  scribe  sent  to  Bakhtan,  14 

Electric  light  a  healing  agent,  374 


INDEX.  907 

Elliott,  Stephen,  420 

Ely,  Sumner,  defeats  repeal  bill  in  New  York,  507 

Embryology,  writers  upon  the  subject,  293 

Empedokles,  philosopher  and  physician,  56 

Emperor  of  Germany  assumes  power  to  elect  Popes,  133 

Empiric  School,  76;  the  doctrine  advocated  by  Argentino,  165 

Empirics  and  pretenders  common  in  ancient  Egypt,  11;  defined 
by  Rafinesque,  427 

Enactments  to  regulate  medical  practice  said  to  be  unconsti- 
tutional, 775 

Encroachments  by  legislation  on  the  rights  of  persons,  774 

End  of  the  world  expected,  189 

Endotherapy,  or  "  Drugless  Science,"  881 

England;  Botanic  and  Eclectic  Medicine,  762;  British  Medical 
Reform  Association;  707;  National  Association  of  Medical 
Herbalists,  708;  severe  medical  statutes,  676,  770 

English  kings  partial  to  Mohamedans,  122 

Epidavros,  its  temple  and  sacred  serpents,  42 

Epidemic  constitution,  Sydenham's  explanation,  217 

Epigenesis,  the  theory,  220 

Equal  opportunity  the  ideal,  34?;  "  rights,  efforts  in  different 
States  to  secure  them,  471;  "  "  Dr.  J.  V.  C.  Smith  opposes 
giving  such  to  Botanic  practitioners,  520 

Eranian  physicians  directed  how  to  begin  practice.  23 

Erasmus  consults  Paracelsus  professionally,  169 

Eristratos,  a  pupil  of  Chrysippos,  70 

Esdaile,  Doctor,  employs  mesmerism,  346 

Essenes,  a  Jewish  School  of  phy.sicians,  79 

Esprit  de  corps  of  Homoeopathists,  318;  "  desirable  elsewhere,  761 

Ether  the  primal  principle  of  Nature,  372;  "  theory  of  Hahne- 
mann, 230 

Ethics,  the  code,  551;  amended,  697 

Etienue,  Charles,  his  discovery  of  the  ganglionic  system,  180 

Euphorbius,  88 

Europe  in  the  wake  of  Asia,  403;     ''     scourged  by  syphilis,  156 

European  physicians  in  Japan,  398 

Eustachi,  182 

Evans,  W.  P.,  teacher  of  mental  healing,  378 

"  Everlasting  Gospel,"  the  Iniroducii07i,  139 

Evil  uses  "  absorb  malignities,"  338 

Examining  boards,  military,  refuse  Eclectic  physicians  for  army 
surgeons  in  the  civil  war,  G65 


9o8  INDEX. 

Exclusive  privileges  to  physicians  denounced  by  Dr.  Rush,  404 

Exorcisms,  400 

Ezekiel  the  prophet  describes  surgical  treatment,  79 

Fabiola,  a  lady  of  rank,  founds  a  hospital  at  Rome,  103 
Fabricio,  Hieronymo,  his  works  on  anatomy  and  surgery,  185 
Faculte  de  Medecin  opposes   the   introducing   of  mercury   and 

antimony  as  remedies,  189 
Faculty   of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,   its   circular   of   1849 

defining  Eclectic  medicine,  •''50 
Faith-cure  in  the  early  Christian  centuries,  139 
Faith-Homes,  380 
Fallopi,  183 

Faraday,  Michael,  discovers  the  soporific  property  of  ether,  298 
Farnum,    E.     J.,    elected    president    of    the   National    Eclectic 

Medical  Association,  721 
Fathers  coddled  instead  of  mothers  at  childbirth,  399 
Fatimites  in  Egypt,  116 

Faust,  Johann,  scholar,  soldier  and  physician,  179 
Favorable   sentiment    of    eminent    physicians    toward    Botanic 

practitioners,  498 
Female  Medical  Education  Society,  570 
Fernel  oppose  the  humoral  pathology,  164,  287 
Fever  the  result  of  disease,  858;     "     traumatic,  due  to  stoppage 

of  blood,  364 
Ficino,   Massilio,   physician,   146;  his  philosophic   opinions,   147; 

declines    proposition    to    establish  a   Platonic   Akademy   in 

Hungary,  149 
Fiffy  thousand  dollar  law  framed  to  prevent  the  incorporating  of 

medical  colleges   in    New  York,    587;     "     "    petitioners  in 

1831  for  repeal  of  medical  statute,  471 
Filkins,  Morgan  L.,  elected  president  of  the  provisional  Eclectic 

national  organization,  725.     See  Davis,  Orm 
Filthy  medicines  imported  into  America,  396 
"  Finer  Forces"  applied  remedially,  374 
First  Eclectic  medical  society  of  New  York,  579 
First  employers  of  anaesthesia  in  America,  298 
First  medical  college  for  women,  570 
First  medical  enactments  relatively  mild,  687 
First  and  only  medical   statute  ever  enacted  in   New  York  in 

obedience  to  the  will  of  the  people,  509 


INDEX.  909 

First  session  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  545 

Five  methods  enumerated  of  treating  disease,  177 

Flap-operation  introduced  311 

Fleishman's  Homeopathic  Hospital  at  Vienna,  336 

Florida,    medical  department    of  the   university   with   Doctors 

Kost  and  Baker,  738;  "     the  medical  statute,  781 
Fludd,  Robert,  physician  and  alchemist,  201 
Fonerden,  William  H.,  edits  the  Southern  Medical  Recorder,  526; 

is  removed  from  the  faculty  of  the  Southern  Botanico-Medical 

College,  526 
Foote,  Edward  B.,  his  paper  on  medical  examining  boards,  720 
Forbes,   Sir  John,   physician  to  the  Royal  household,    830,  764; 

declares  in  favor  of  a  new  practice  of  medicine,  "  Hygienic, 

Eclectic,  Hippocratic,"  336;  encounters  professional  hostility, 

336 
Forceps  invented,  208 

Form  and  growth  explained  as  due  to  magnetism,  372 
Former  experience  repeated,  316 
Forty  thousand  petitioners  in  1835   to  the   Legislature   of   New 

York  for  freedom  of  medical  practice,  477 
Four  primal  elements,  273 
Four  thousand  petition  in  Elaine  for  freed(;m  of  medical  practice, 

500 
Fowler,  Lydia  F.,  a  student  of  the  Central  Medical  College,  581 
Franklin  Medical  College,  640 
Free-masonry,  140 
Freeman,  Zoheth,  professor  in  the   "  Eclectic  Medical  Institute," 

at  Fredonia,  579 
French,  Doctor,    procures    the  indictment  of  Samuel  Thomson 

for  wilful  murder,  457 
Friend,   Joseph    D.,    advocates    the    compiling   of   a   history   of 

Reform  Medicine,  617;   obtains   an    act   to   incorporate   the 

Metropolitan  Medical  College,  507 
"  Friendly  Botanic  Societies"  established  by  Samuel  Thomson, 

462 
Fulkerson,  W.  H.,  founder  of  Endotherajiv,  881 

Gabbert,  Michael,   founder   of  the    Botanico-Medical  College  at 

Memphis,  528,  529,  etc. 
Galen,  his  personal  history,  97;  an  Asklepiad,  98;  castigates  the 

ignorance  of  the  regular  physicians,  90;  denounces  the  diverse 


9IO  INDEX. 

sects  in  medicine,  97;  teaches  at  Rome  and  is  driven  away 
by  the  physicians,  98;  becomes  archiatros,  99;  keeps  a  drug- 
store, 100;  taught  the  humoral  pathology,  287;  his  teachings 
discarded  by  Paracelsus,  171 
Galenic  remedies,  their  failure  in  the  Sixteenth  century,  189 

Galileo,  196 

Gall,  the  founder  of  Phrenology.  288;  his  teaching  on  the  spinal 
cord,  290 

Galloupe,  J.  B.,  explains  how  medical  students  often  graduated, 
555,  note 

Gandesapur,  the  seat  of  a  Moslem  medical  school,  104,  110 

Ganglionic  nervous  system,  180;  further  explained,  264,  288 

Garfield,  president  James  A.,  295 

Garrison,  Herod  D.,  a  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute, 636;  a  founder  of  Bennett  College,  678;  his  resolution 
in  favor  of  stringent  medical  legislation,  698 

Gas,  the  name  invented,  199 

Gassner,  Joseph,  his  mesmeric  cures,  268 

Gaza,  Theodoros,  145 

Geber,  the  alchemist,  114 

Geddes,  New  York,  holding  of  the  Thomsonian  convention  to 
oppose  medical  legislation,  476 

Gemmill,  William  T.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  712;  now  treasurer,  etc 

General  hospitals,  a  third  of  the  patients  die,  683 

Genesee  Union  Botanic  Medical  Society  organized,  482 

Georgia  College  of  Eclectic  Medicine  and  Surgery,  528,  730; 
"  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  750;  "  Eclectic  Medical 
College,  528,  678,  706,  729;  "  medical  statute  repealed  in 
1S40,  501;  present  medical  statute,  781 

Gerbert,  Pope  Sylvester  II,  a  student  at  Cordova,  117 

Germ-theory,  381 

German  Eclectics,  212 

Germany,  complete  change  among  Homoeopathists,  334;  " 
"  Positive  Medicine,"  286 

Gerson,  Chancellor  writes  against  medical  astrologists,  149 

Gladstone,  William  E.,  in  favor  of  freedom  of  medical  practice, 
770 

Good,  J.,  Mason,  281 

Gothia,  the  new  European  Empire,  107 

Gottingen,  the  university  founded,  220 


INDEX.  911 

Gould,  Pearce  on  surgery  of  the  thorax,  873 

Governors  of  New  York  unfriendly  to  medical  freedom,  504 

Graduating    of   Students,    forbidden    except  they  subscribe   to 

orthodox  medical  dogmas,  576,  note;     "     "     denounced  also 

by  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  where  attend- 
ance at  college  is  nominal,  613 
Gram,  Doctor,  pioneer  of  Homoeopathists  in  America,  317 
Granger,  Hon.   Francis,  presents  petitions  from  forty  thousand 

signers  for  amendment  of  iht  medical  statutes,  471 
Granier,  his  theory  of  the  fiuidic  powers  of  medicines,  321 
Grant,  Doctor,  on  the  nervous  systems,  288 
Gray,    Asa,    adopts    the    classitication    of   Rafinesque,    424;     " 

Richards  explains  dosimetric  medicine,  363 
"Great  Secret,"  198 
Greece,  prehistoric,  38 
Greek  Empire,  its  extinction  preceded  the  Renaissance,  145;     " 

language  learned  in  Europe,  146;     "     "     why  prescriptions 

were    written   in    it,    89;     "     medicine    taught    in  Oxford 

University,  167;     "     lexicon  tortured  for  new  names,  282 
Greeley  Horace  advocates  and  exults  over  the  medical  law  of 

1844,  508 
Green,    Milbrey,    elected  president    of    the    National    Eclectic 

Medical  Association,  704;  his  resolution  for  the  holding  of 

Sections,  705 
Greenwood,  Isaac,  876 
Gregory,  the  family  of  physicians  in  Edinburgh  University,  239; 

'•     Samuel,  his  endeavors  to  establish  a  medical  school  for 

women  in  Boston,  570 
Griffith,  Moses,  his  contest  for  the  repeal  of  the  medical   statute 

of  Georgia,  500 
Griswold,  R.  W.,  on  the  remedies  formerly  used  in  New  England, 

406 
Gross,  S.  D.,  386 
Gunn,  Robert  A.,  elected  the  first  secretary  of  the   reorganized 

National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  696 
Giinther,  Johannis,  161 
Gynaecology,  299;     "     as  it  is  taught  in  Burma,  398 


Hadley,  William  W.,  professor  of  the  Central  Medical  College  of 
New  York.  580 


912  INDEX. 

Hahnemann,  Samuel,  270;  his  three  methods  of  cure,  319;  oppose 
bloodletting,  332;  his  mode  of  treatment  criticised  by  Dr. 
Rau,  329;  his  doctrines  controverted  and  declared  visionary 
by  Homoeopathists,  337,  840;  his  expectation  that  HomceoDa. 
thy  would  be  a  family  practice,  343;     "     medical  college,  317 

Hakhams  or  Moslem  physicians,  389 

Hale,  E.  M.,  praises  Samuel  Thomson,  455 

Hall,  Marshall,  his  discoveries  in  physiology,  291 

Halle,  the  university  founded,  227 

Haller,  226 

Hamilton,  Robert,  his  resolution  of  protest,  649 

Hammond,  William  A.,  appointed  surgeon-general,  667;  issues 
an  order  excluding  mercury  and  antimony  from  the  supply 
table,  668;  is  denounced,  and  his  removal  surreptitiously 
effected,  669 

Hari  Dhas,  the  fakir,  buried  alive  for  six  weeks  and  resuscitated, 
345 

Harun  al  Rashid,  the  great  khalif,  112 

Harvard  Medical  School  opposes  the  incorporation  of  the  College 
at  Worcester,  564 

Harvey,  William,  discovers  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  185, 
203,  287;  describes  medical  proscription  by  medical  men,  443 

Haskell,  Judge,  denounces  proscriptive  medical  legislation,  474; 
"  Job,  declares  a  law  restricting  medical  practice  unconsti- 
tutional, 473;  "  "  successfully  advocates  a  bill  to  remove 
medical  disabilities,  477 

Hazard,  Joseph  P.,  undergoes  remarkable  surgical  operation,  312 

"  Healers,"  proposed  legislation  to  restrict  them,  835 

Healing,  the  art  of  ancient  Thfessaly,  39;  "  described  in  the 
New  Testament,  380;     "     liberalized  in  ancient  Greece,  52 

Hebrew  Medical  Science,  78 

Helmboltz  and  his  theory  of  vibriones,  383 

Hempel,  Charles,  an  opponent  of  Hahnemann,  334;  publishes 
the  "  Organon  of  Specific  Homoeopathy,"  his  theory  of  Cor- 
respondences, 338 

Henry,  Samuel,  author  of  a  treatise  on  Herbal  Medicine,  420 

Henry  H  of  England,  contemplates  the  introduction  of  the 
Mohamedan  religion,  122;  "  V,  introduces  the  practice  of 
burning  heretics,  722;  "  VH  brings  the  "  sweating  sick- 
ness" with  his  soldiers,  154;  "  VHI  a  physician  and 
patron  of  the  "  new  learning,"  165 


INDEX.  913 

Herbal  medicine  in  England,  407,  762 

Herbert  Spencer,  on  the  Americans,  774 

Hermg,  Constantine,  procures  an  act  of  incorporation  for  the 
Homoeopathic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  317 

Herod  the  great,  his  malady.  155 

Herodikos,  his  remedial  procedures  criticised  by  Plato,  59 

Herophilos  the  first  teacher  of  medicine  at  Alexandrina,  74 

Hersey,  Thomas,  editor  of  the  T/iomsonian  Recorder,  486,  488; 
his  tribute  to  Samuel  Thomson,  585;  becomes  an  advocate 
for  union  of  the  several  schools  of  medical  reformers,  535 

Heterodox  practitioners  numerous  and  popular  in  America.  773; 
"     "    in  Ancient  India,  29 

Hierarchy  professional,  of  physicians  like  a  national  church,  403 

Hilarios,  Saint,  overcomes  the  serpent  of  Epidavros,  102 

Hildebrand,  Pope  Gregory  VII,  132 

Hildegard  canonized  for  her  medical  skill,  133 

Hill,  Isaac,  governor  and  senator,  a  friend  of  Doctor  Benjamin 
Thompson,  491 

Hippocratic  oath,  a  spurious  production,  63 

Hippokrates  61;  arrests  the  plague,  61 ;  creates  medical  literature, 
61,  64;  his  surgical  skill,  06;  treats  of  curing  by  similars,  270 

Hippokratic  Medicine  in  Italy  and  France,  163,  164 

Hippokratian  or  Dogmatic  School,  63 

Hitchman,  William,  of  Liverpool,  an  English  Eclectic,  767 

Hoffmann,  Friedrich,  229;  his  theory,  230;  advocates  humoral 
pathology,  287;  "  Michael,  a  bitter  foe  of  Reform  Practice, 
505 

Holland,  Sir  H.,  283 

HoUembaek,  Henry,  professor,  his  enlogy  of  Samuel  Thomson, 
455;  approves  of  the  union  of  Reform  physicians,  56S;  also 
favors  later  the  reviving  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  691 

Holtzendorff  founds  a  medico-chirurgic  college  in  1714,  250 

Homer,  on  medical  knowledge,  8 

Homoeopathic  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania,  317;  "  dogma, 
denied  by  the  new  leaders,  334;  "  physicians,  their  utter- 
ances on  medical  legislation,  775;  "  practice  radically 
changed,  337 

Homoeopathists,  two  parties  in  America,  340 

Homoeopathy,  its  progress,  315;  said  to  have  been  all  but  aban- 
doned in  England,  341 


914  INDEX. 

Honain,  Arabian  physician,  translates   medical  works  from  the 

Greek,  113 
Honigberger,  Johann  Martin,  founder  of  the  "Medium  System," 
343;  introduces  vaccination  into  Syria,  343;  enters  the  service 
of  the  Maharaja  Runjeet  Singh,  344;  visits  Hahnemann  and 
adopts  Homoeopathy,  344;  success  in  Turkey,  345;  finds  it 
not  efficacious  in  India,  347;  his  theory  of  the  two  systems  of 
practice  and  new  doctrme  of  specifics,  347;  his  Medium 
Svstem  with  minute  dosage  and  procuring  medicine  from 
indigenous  plants,  34S 
Hospitals  in  Ancient  Greece,   52:     "     established  by  Asoka  in 

India,  81;     "     founded  at  Rome,  103 
Hot  Springs,  Arkansas,  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  National 
Association,  712 

"  House  of  Seti  "  in  Ancient  Egypt,  a  university,  9 
Howe,  Andrew  J.,  in  the  Medical  College  at  Worcester  and  an 
editor  of  the  Journal  of  Medicine,  621;  a  "corporator"  in 
the  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine,  634;  professor  in  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Institute.  637;  elected  president  of  the 
National  Eclectic  ivledical  Association,  706 

Howell.  John  B.,  a  Botanic  physician  m  London,  573;  introduces 
the  Botanic  practice  in  Philadelphia,  763 

Hughes,  Joseph  R.,  represents  the  Eclectic  physicians  of  England 
at  the  World's  Eclectic  Medical  Cungrehs  Auxiliary  at 
Chicago,  768 

Human  temperaments.  Dr.  W.  B.  Powell's  theory   599  note 

Humboldt,  Alexander,  quoted,  297 

Humoral  pathology,  the  orthodox  theory,  213;  "    "    opposed,  164 

Hunt,  Harriott  K.,  refused  admission  in  the  Harvard  Medical 
School,  571 

Hunter,  John,  255;  refuses  a  university  education,  256;  regarded 
surgical  operations  as  proof  of  imperfect  knowledge,  258;  his 
philosophic  opinions,  261;  his  services  to  surgery  and  com- 
parative anatomy,  260 

Hunter,  William,  252;  lectures  in  America,  252,  2 "4;  made 
physician  to  Queen  Caroline,  252;  his  great  work  and  museum, 
253 

Huxley,  Thomas  H,,  advocates  freedom  in  medical  practice,  770 

Hydrophobia  in  Rome,  87;     "     treated  by  inoculation,  382 

Hydro-therapeutics.  368 

Hygiene,  colleges,  879 


INDEX.  915 

Hypnotism,  267 

Hysterectomy,  first  operation  performed  by  Dr.  Walter  Burnham, 
308 

Jatreia  or  hospitals  in  Greece,  52 

Ibn  Badja  of  Zaragosa,  120 

Idaho,  its  medical  statute,  782 

Ignatia,  an  Armenian  remedy  for  plague,  345 

Illinois  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society  formed,  675;  "  the 
medical  statute,  782 

Illiteracy  in  Europe,  107;  "  of  those  denominated  "  scientific," 
686 

Impulse  to  learning  in  Europe,  158;  "  in  the  Eclectic  ranks  for 
organization  and  schools,  578,  676 

Incompetency  among  army  surgeons,  666 

Incus  and  malleus  discovered,  151 

"  Independent  Thomsonian  Botanic  Medical  Society  "  formed  by 
Dr.  Curtis,  493 

India,  ancient  law  in  regard  to  medical  attainments  and  exami- 
nations, 25,  26;  "  medical  practice,  389;  "  medical  class 
at  Nynce  Tal,  769 

Indian  territory,  the  medical  statutes,  785 

Indiana,  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  713,  732;  "  "  of 
Medicine  and  Midwifery,  731;  "  Eclectic  Medical  College, 
706,  731;  "  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  delegates 
appointed,  692;     "     Medical  Statute,  784 

Indigenous  plants,  their  use  as  remedies  generally  permitted  in 
medical  statutes,  provided  no  pay  is  taken,  442  etc. 

Infective  diseases  said  to  be  on  the  decline,  157 

Infirmaries,  490 

Ingalls,  William  M.,  electedpresidentof  the  National  Association, 
699 

Innovators  in  medicine  or  religion  opposed  by  the  civil  power,  885 

Inoculation  for  hydrophobia  by  Pasteur,  382;  "  for  small-pox, 
265 

Insane,  their  treatment,  312 

Institute,  American  Reform  Medical,  601;  "  Eclectic  Medical, 
545  etc. ;  "  "  of  New  York,  579;  "  National  of  Homoeo- 
pathy, 723;  "  Memphis,  599;  "  Physio-Medical.  525;  " 
Scientific  and  Eclectic,  of  Virgina,  J52 

Instruction  in  medical  knowledged  classified,  141 


9l6  INDEX. 

International  Medical  Congress,  delegates  elected,  709 

Intuition,  explanation  by  Paracelsus,  174 

Iowa,  Eclectic  jNIedical  Association,  074;  appoints  a  committee  of 
Correspondence,  694;  "  Medical  College,  733;  "  Eclectic 
Medical  College,  709,  732;     '      medical  statute,  786 

'•  Irregular  Sects,"  it  is  insisted  that  they  should  not  be  repre- 
sented in  the  service  of  the  Government,  682 

Irritability,  227 

Islam,  its  rise,  109 

Issue  between  the  Old  and  New  Schools,  576 

Izdubar  healed,  17 

Jacobi,  Abraham,  his  directions  how  to  become  a  professor  in  a 

medical  college,  308 
Jacobs,  Isaac,  first  prepares  medicines  by  condensing  the  juices 

of  plants,  623,  656 
Japan,  its  medical  art,  397 
Jay,  Milton,  elected  president  of   the    Central   Indiana  Eclectic 

Medical  Society,  673;  also  of  the  National  Association,  710 
Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Cannonsburg  establishes  a  branch 

at  Philadelphia,  638 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  notes  "ephemeral   medical   novelties,"   403; 

foreshadows     the    development    of   an     American    Practice 

of  Medicine,  837 
Jenner,  Edward,  204;  his  hypothesis  of  vaccine  disease,  266 
Jesty  inoculates  his  children  from  milch  cows,  266 
Jews   the   principal   physicians   in    Moslem   countries.    111;      " 

teachers  at  the  university  of  Salerno,  135 
John  of  Arden,  144 
John,  King  of  England  offers  to  make  Islam  the  national  religion, 

122 
Johnson,  John    W.,   Secretary  of  the  Independent   Thomsonian 

Botanic   Society,    494;   trustee,   professor   and   dean   of    the 

medical  college  at  Worcester,  563  etc. ;  first  president  of  the 

new  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  696 
Johnstown,  the  flood  and  resolutions  of  sympathy,  711 
Jordan,  Johnson  H.,  has  charge  of  c  cholera  hospital  at  Cincin- 
nati, 602;  professor  in  the  American  Reform  Medical  Institute, 

602 
Jones,  Ichabod  G.,  an  associate  of  Dr.  Beach  in  New  York,  483; 

a  colleague  of  Doctor  Morrow  in  Worthington  College;  515; 

becomes  a  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  600 


INDEX.  917 

Jones,  Lorenzo  E.,  professor  at  Worthington,  543;  Secretary  of 
the  National  Convention  at  Cincinnati,  576;  professor  in 
the  Medical  Institute,  601;  a  founder  of  the  American  Medical 
College,  605;  elected  trustee  again  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute,  629;  not  retained  after  the  union  in  1860,  664 
Jones,  Margaret,  herb  doctor,  the  first  woman  executed   in  New 

England  as  a  witch,  267 
Journal  of  the  World's  Eclectic  Medical  Congress  Auxiliary,  716 
Judd,    Samuel  S.,  elected    president    of   tte    National     Eclectic 

Medical  Association,  709 
Julian,  the  Roman  Emperor,  his  effort  to  revive  learning,  101 
Justinian  the  Emperor,  closes  the  schools  of  philosophy,  104 

Kansas,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  formed,  744;  its  powers 
to  license  physicians,  744;  its  medical  statute,  787 

Kaye,  John,  the  "  Doctor  Caius  "  of  Shakespeare,  167 

Keith,  B.,  manufactures  "  concentrated  remedies,"  657 

Kelsey,  R.  G.,  Secretary  of  the  American  Association  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  883 

Kendrick,  W.  H.,  president  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of 
Indiana,  672 

Kentucky,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  formed,  757;  medical 
statute,  787 

Keppler,  Johann,  his  great  genius,  194;  his  works  proscribed,  195 

"  Key  of  the  Universe."  371 

Khalifat  in  Egypt,  117 

Khalifs  encouraged  learning.  111 

Kheiron,  a  physician,  40 

Kheirourgike,  or  manipulation,  12 

Kheops  or  Sufi,  king  of  Egypt,  the  medical  papyrus  of  his  reign,  81 

Kidd,  Doctor,  his  view  of  Galen's  law  and  Hahnemann's,  389 

Kilbourne,  Col.  James,  founder  of  Worthington,  Ohio,  488;  his 
services  to  Dr.  Morrow  and  colleagues,  544;  the  testimonia 
and  presentation,  511,  546;  his  reply  to  Dr.  Morrow,  548 

Kinesipathy  or  "  Swedish  Movement  Cure,"  370 

King,  John,  address  on  medical  legislation,  707;  denounces  the 
medical  statutes,  703;  controversy  with  Dr.  R.  S.  Newton, 
620;  Secretary  of  the  National  Convention  at  Cincinnati,  576; 
president  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Ohio,  673; 
professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  001 ;  dean  of  the 
Eclectic  College  of  Medicine,  635;  president  of  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  703 


9l8  INDEX. 

King  Medical  College,  783 

Kittredge,  Doctor,  famed  for  surgical  skill,  311 

Knidos,  its  Asklepiad  School,  70 

Koch,  Robert,  383 

Kohlrausch,  historian,  158 

Korea,  its  medical  examiners,  398 

Kost,  John,  founder  of  the  Botanico-Medical  College  at  Cleveland, 

rjQS;  elected  professor  in  medical  college  at  Worcester,  563; 

also  in  the  American    Medical  College,    at  Cincinnati,    606; 

engages  in  medical  department  in  the  University  of  Florida, 

73S 
Ktesias,  historian,  an  Ionian  physician,  carried  to  Persia,  67 

Laennec,  284 

Lapham,  Thomas,  on  the  medical  statute  of  1834,  he  declares  that 

no  such  measure  originated  with  the  people,  475 
Latta,   William  S.,  elected   president   of  the   National    Eclectic 

Medical  Association,  706 
Lavoisier,  276;  classifies  chemical  bodies  anew,  277 
Lawyers,  why  they  advocate  medical  statutes,  690 
Lay  persons  in  England  prescribing  remedies,  773 
Learning  called  magic,  1C3;  when  revived,  158;  little  esteemed  in 
the  sixth  century,  107;  introduced  anew  from  Constantinople 
into  Europe,  145;  received   a   new   impulse   in  the  Fifteenth 
Century,  161 
Lecture  terms  of  twelve  weeks  formerly  the  rule,  417 
Lecturing  in  the  vernacular  introduced  in  medical  colleges,  172 
Lee  (ne  Plummer),  Henry,  a  professor  in  the  Southern  Botanico- 
Medical  College,  526;  also  editor  of  the  Southern  Botanico- 
Medical  Journal,  526 
Leeuwenhoek,  invents  the  microscope,  381 

Legal  enactments  to  regulate  medical  practice  declared  vain,  558 
Legislation  that  follows  a  war,  440;  "  sought  by  the  American 
Medical  Association  to  regulate  medical  practice,  775;  "  a 
protection  for  the  dominant  school  only,  464;  "  invoked 
against  Samuel  Thomson  and  his  disciples,  464;  "  American 
copied  after  the  English,  442;  "  how  affected  in  Ohio  by 
the  first  Thomsonian  Convention,  489 
Legislature,  its  duty  affirmed  to  grant  charters,  545,  note;  "  of 
New  York,  induced  in  1844  to  abolish  restrictions  of  medical 
practice,  508 


INDEX.  919 

Lenses  employed  in  ancient  Assyria,  196 

Leoniceno,  Nicolo,  163 

Lettres  de  cachet  for  persons  accused  of  being  insane,  313 

Liberal  medical  laws  annulled  in  Canada,  687 

Liberty   often    curiously  interpreted,    448;    "   defined  by  Justice 

Bradley,  798,  note 
Library  of  Alexandria,  74;    "    of  Cordova,  117;     "     of  Pergamos, 

77;     •'    of  Thebes  in  Egypt,  9;     "     of  the  Vatican,  146 
Licensing  physicians  in  Mediaeval  England,  167 
Life  and   its  manifestations,  Doctor  Rau's  theory,  330;   Doctor 

Dickson's  theory,  360 
Life  Insurance  Companies,    their    attitude    toward  physicians, 

715,  721 
Light  an  affinity  of  the  ether,  378;  "  nature's  specific,"  371,  373 
Lincoln  Medical  College  of  Cotner  University,  734 
Ling,  the  inventor  of  the  Movement  Cure,  371 
Lister,  Robert,  employs  ether  in  operations,  288;     "     his  use  of 

antiseptics,  383 
Literary  and  Botanic  Medical  Institute  incorporated,  523 
Literature,  efforts  in  its  behalf,  518;  its  importance  to  a  cause,  836 
"  Lloyd  Library,"  list  of  its  publications,  838 
Lobbying  after  the  war  for  medical  legislation,  673 
Lobelia,  453;  described  as  a  deadly  poison,  458 
Locke,  John,  218 
Loiijmius,  164 
Longshore,  Joseph,  a  founder  of  the  Penn  Medical  College,  596; 

becomes  a    professor  in   the   Eclectic   Medical   College     of 

Philadelphia,  652 
Louis,  M.,  284 

Louisiana,  its  medical  statute,  788 
LuUi,  Raymond,  leader  of  the  chemical  school,  189 
Luiher,  Martin,  denounces  the  theory  of  Copernicus,  191 
Lyceum,  opened  in  Athens  by  Aristotle,  69 
Lynaker,  Thomas,  166;  physician  to  Henry  VIII,  166;  becomes  a 

priest,  773 

Maclean,    Daniel,  elected    president  of  the   National     Eclectic 

Medical  Association,  720 
McClellan,  George,  his    efforts   to  establish   the  Jefferson   and 

Pennsylvania  Medical   Colleges    in   Philadelphia,    638,    639; 

proposes  to  adopt  the  Thomsonian  practice,  498 


920  INDEX 

McClellan,  General  George  B.,  procures  the  appointment  of 
Doctor  Hammond  as  Surgeon-General,  667 

McClintock,  James,  professor  in  the  medical  colleges  at  Castleton 
and  Pittsfield,  640;  procures  an  act  of  incorporation  for  the 
Philadelphia  College  of  Medicine,  641;  becomes  professor 
in  the  Eclectic  College  of  Pennsylvania,  642;  cooperates  in 
forming  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  643 

McDowell,  Ephraim,  begins  the  practice  of  ovariotomy,  304 

Macon,  Georgia,  the  Botanico-Medical  College  removed,  537 

Magdeburg,  Germany,  the  Congress  of  Homoeopathists  declare 
in  favor  of  Specific  Medication 

Magic  explained,  36;  "  the  name  given  to  profound  learning, 
163,  267 

Magnetism  explained  by  Paracelsus,  176;  "  a  property  of 
the  Ether  and  Light,  372;     ''     human,  177 

Maimonides  the  great  sage,  121 

Maine,  medical  statute  repealed,  499;  Eclectic  Medical  Society 
formed,  674;  Eclectic  Medical  College,  735;  new  medical 
statute,  790 

Maladies  classified  by  Themison,  88 

Malpighi,  206 

Man-Midwifery  deprecated,  360 

Marriage  of  the  clergy  prohibited  by  Pope  Gregory  VII,  133 

Maryland,  the  medical  statute,  791 

Massachusetts,  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  in  favor  of  the 
Reform  practice,  564;  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  incorpo- 
rated, 672;  it  recommends  a  National  organization,  690;  the 
medical  statute,  792 

Materia  Medica  of  the  native  Indians,  a  catalogue,  415;  " 
Merrell's  Digest,  859 

Mathematics,  occult  learning  so  called,  162 

Matteo  of  Gradi,  153 

Mattocks,  E.  J.,  describes  the  medical  persecutions  in  New  York, 
4<55;  he  unrolls  the  great  petition,  509 

Mattson,  Morris,  495;  his  conflict  with  Dr.  Samuel  Thomson,  496; 
proposes  to  open  a  medical  school,  520;  advises  young  men  to 
enter  "  regular  "  instead  of  Thomsonian  Colleges,  521 

Maudesley,  Henry,  his  definition  of  disease,  384 

Maximilian  I,  German  Emperor,  his  character,  159;  contemplates 
becoming  Pope,  160 

Mayerne  of  Venice,  his  invention,  186 


INDEX.  921 

Mead,  Richard,  22-2 

Mechanical  theories  of  medicine  taught  in  Italy,  212 

Medal  to  John  Thomson,  TilO 

Meddlesome  interference  in  midwifery  deprecated,  360 

Medeia  and  her  arts.  88 

Medical  Academy  founded  by  Dr.  Beach,  491;  "  act  of  1844  in 
New  York  enfranchising  medical  men,  509;  "  in  Mains  in 
1839.  oOc;  "  art  in  archaic  Egypt,  5;  "  art  in  India,  26; 
"  bill  in  Arkansas  vetoed,  777;  "  bill  in  Colorado  vetoed, 
778;  "  bill  ill  Washington  vetoed,  881);  bills  from  a  common 
source  offered  in  Legislatures,  775;  "  Boards  and  religious 
Boards,  68^;  "  books  in  China,  34;  "  books  in.  verse  at 
Salerno,  136;  "  Botany,  early  writers  in  America,  420;  " 
Rafine>que's  works,  422;  ''  Cabinet  Officer  opposed  by  the 
National  Association  713;  "  class  of  women  in  India,  769; 
code  in  archaic  Egypt,  14,  "  College  founded  by  "Dr. 
Caius "  at  Cambridge,  167;  "  College  see  College;  " 
Colleges,  demand  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  775; 
"  "  general  practice  criticised,  555;  "  "  a  proscriptive 
regulation  !7i]  note;  "  "  Colleges,  their  undue  number 
deprecated,  614;  "  degrees,  classical  education  required 
in  Europe,  282;  "  degrees,  protest  against  bartering,  649; 
"  diplomas  of  no  value  as  evidence  of  capacity,  606;  " 
enactments  regarded  by  eminent  jurists  as  unconstitutional, 
775;  ethics  in  examinations  in  Ancient  India,  247;  "  Exami- 
ners first  proposed  after  the  civil  war,  686;  examining  b  ards 
conditionally  approved  720;  "  fashions  change  regularly, 
403;  •'  Flora  of  America,  422;  "  Flora  of  India,  391;  " 
gibberish,  170;  "  Inquisition,  465;  "  instruction  promoted 
in  Italy,  141;  "  intolerance  in  Philadelphia  63'';  "  law 
of  Alabama,  592;  "  laws  declared  disgraceful  to  the  Legis 
latures  enacting  them,  488;  "  learning  not  scientific 
knowledge,  418;  "  literature  scouted  as  barbarous,  163; 
meeting  houses  for  instruction,  93;  "  orthodoxy  as 
intolerant  as  religious,  456;  "  petition  of  1814,  508;  " 
practice  declared  a  failure,  404;  "  defects  admitted,  433- 
"  proscription  in  England,  769,  "  prohibition  in  London, 
442;  '■  protestants  in  convention  in  1834.  476;  "  societies 
procured  the  cashiering  of  Surgeon-General  Hammond,  669; 
"  societies,  virtually  police  stations,  467;  "  societies 
Botanic,  formation  urged  by  Doctor  Smith,  445;     "     staff  in 


922  INDEX. 

ancient  temples,  10;  "  statutes  in  Kansas  declared  uncon- 
stitutional, 704;  "  statutes  why  in  the  several  states,  776- 
"  students  excluded  from  college,  576;  "  study  promoted 
in  England,  167;  "  Symposiac,  710;  "  tyros,  Jefferson's 
denunciation,  413 

Medici  Cosimo  de,  founds  a  Platonic  Academy,  147;  "  Lorenzo, 
aids  fugitives  from  Greece,  145,  146 

Medicinal  plants  employed  by  Thomsonians,  453;  '  " 
enumerated  by  Ratinesque,  415;  "  "  named  as  used 
during  the  colonial  period,  406 

Medicine,  an  art,  174;  "  in  Egypt,  14;  "  in  India  25,  389;  " 
in  the  Roman  Empire,  32;  '■  a  distinct  vocation,  133;  " 
in  the  Middle  Ages,  107;  "  in  the  Renascence,  162;  " 
theory  by  De  la  Boe,  213;  "  first  regulated  by  the  Imperial 
code,  137;  "  as  practiced  in  New  England  in  the  colonial 
period,  406;  "  attractive  to  one  and  repulsive  to  another, 
361;  ■'  how  to  be  administered,  359;  "  affected  by  the 
stars,  712 

Medicines,  employed  in  China,  395;  "  should  leave  no  disease 
behind  them,  420;  "  their  virtues  derived  from  light,  373; 
"     patent  or  proprietary,  their  vending  disapproved,  697 

Medico-Botanical  Society  in  London,  335,  764 

"Medium  System,"  see  Hoiiigberger 

Medulla  oblongata  beyond  the  limit  of  surgical  invasion,  874 

Meeting  of  Thomsonian  Reformers  at  Geddes,  New  York,  476; 
'•  first  of  United  States  Thomsonian  convention  at  CoIum,bus 
111  1832,  489;  "  second  id.  at  Pittsburg,  490;  "  third  id. 
at  Baltimore,  491;  fourth /^.  at  Philadelphia,  493;  "  fifth /i/. 
at  New  York,  494;  "  of  Independent  Thomsonian  Society 
at  New  York,  494;  "  of  the  United  States  Thomsonian 
Society,  497;  "  of  the  Thomsonian  Society  of  New  York, 
516 

Megasthenes  describes  the  healing  art  in  India,  80 

Meibonius,  207 

Memphis  Botanico-Medical  College,  528;     "     Institute,  599 

Men  introduced  into  the  obstetric  practice,  207 

Mental  exaltation  suppressing  pain,  297;  "  emotion  causing 
disease,  384 

Mercurialis,  165 

Mercury,  its  figurative  meaning  with  the  alchemists,  157;  an  old 
remedy  in  India  and  China,  156,  391;  first  knowledge  brought 


INDEX.  923 

to   Europe,    156;    first   employed   by   De   Carpi,  156;  its  use 

denounced  by  Paracelsus,  169;  also  by  the  Facultede  Medecin 

at  Paris,  189;  excluded  by  Surgeon-General  Hammond,  66S; 

discarded  by  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  610, 

614 
Merodakh,  the  Babylonian  divinity,  invoked  as  a  healer,  18 
Merrell,  Albert,  his   plan   of  a   pharmacopoeia   submitted  to  the 

National  Association,  704;  authorized  to  publish  it,  G63,  705, 

859 
Merrell,  William  S. ,  Father  of  American  Pharmacy,  658;  extract 

from  his  address  to  students,  660  note;  death,  663 
Mesmer,  Anton,  267,  268 
Mesmerism,  377;  produces  anaesthesia,  346;  employed  in  ancient 

temples,  48,  267;  a  medical  treatment  in  Egypt,  11;  also  in 

Assyria,  18;  described  by  Paracelsus,  177;  investigated  by  a 

Royal     commission    at    Paris;    condemned    and    afterward 

recognized,  269;  employed  in  surgical  operations,  346 
Metallic  medicines  introduced,  15'3 
Metamorphosis,  the  theory,  226 
Metaphysical  Medicine  or  Mind-Cure,  875 
Methodists,  86 
Methods  and  procedures  destructive  to  life  and  health  disapproved, 

614;  discarded  by  Thomson,  452 
Metropolitan  Medical  College  incorporated,  567;  the  act  repealed, 

569 
Michigan,    the    Eclectic   Medical   Association    replaced    by    the 

]\Iedical   and   Surgical   Society,    746;      "      Eclectic    Medical 

College,  735;     "     University,  the  Homoeopathic  department, 

318,  689;  the  medical  statute,  793 
Microbiogencsis,  381 
Microscopic  Anatomy,  2i'^6 
Middle  Ages  closed,  1")7 

Middle  States  Reformed  Medical  Society,  591,  593 
Midwife  held  in  honor,  300 
Midwifery,  anaesthesia  employed,  298 
Miles,  C.   Edwin,  elected    president    of    the    National    Eclectic 

Medical  Association,  G98 
Military  hospitals,  93;     "     Surgery,  professorships  established  in 

medical  colleges,  6G9 
Mind  the  only  active  principle,  379 
Minnesota,     the     Eclectic    Medical     Society,     675;   the    medical 

statute,   795 


924  INDEX. 

Miracles,  the  modern  belief,  377 

Misdemeanor,  to  sign  a  spurious  diploma,  649;  See  Synopsis  of 
Statutes 

Mississippi,  the  medical  statute,  796;  "  Valley  Medical  Associa- 
tion, 760 

Missouri,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association  and  Eclectic  Medical 
Society,  747;  the  medical  statute  (since  made  more  stringent), 
797 

Missouri  Valley  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  671 

Mitchill,  Dr.  S. ,  helps  Thomson  procure  his  second  patent,  460 

Morrow,  Thomas  Vaughn,  483;  appointed  to  organize  the  Medi- 
cal department  at  Worthington  College,  484;  his  platform, 
487;  establishes  the  Reformed  Medical  School  at  Cincinnati, 
510,  543;  exults  at  the  repeal  of  medical  statutes,  511;  his 
overture  for  union  of  the  several  parties  of  Medical  Reform  • 
ers,  537;  project  of  the  National  Medical  University,  539, 
572;  procures  the  mcorporation  of  the  Eclectic  Medical 
Institute,  543,  o44;  his  address  to  Col.  James  Kilbourne,  547; 
elected  first  president  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
.'\ssociation,  576;  his  resolution  protesting  against  oppressive 
medical  legislation,  577;  death,  578 

Mortality  extraordinary  in  soldiers'  hospitals,  683  note;  "  of 
syphilis  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  156 

Morton,  Oliver  P.,  Governor,  appoints  regimental  surgeons  in 
disregard  of  medical  partisanship,  667;  "  Samuel  G.,  639; 
"     W.  T.  G.,  his  conflicts  in  introducing  anaesthesia,  298 

Moslem  imans  denounce  the  Copernican  System,  191;  " 
Madonna,  116 

Mourners,  a  profession  in  ancient  Egypt,  13 

Movement-Cure,  370 

Mullen,  William  J.,  his  efforts  to  establish  a  Medical  College  for 
Women,  571 

Multiplying  of  offices,  689 

Mumia,  the  vehicle  of  life,  176,  268 

Mummification  in  Egypt,  12 

Munn,  S.  B.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  702;  offers  a  resolution  to  take  part  in  the 
World's  Medical  Congress  in  Chicago,  715;  offers  amend- 
ment increasing  annual  dues  of  members,  723 

Musa,  Antonius,  cures  Octavianus  Caesar,  88 

Mutilation,  an  opprobrium  in  medicine,  861 


INDEX.  925 

Myers,  Hon.   Mordecai,  declares  that  qualified  physicians  never 
need  legislative  aid,  473 

National  Association  of  Medical  Herbalists  in  England,  768 
"National  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  "  586 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association.     See  Annual  Meeting 
National  Eclectic    Medical    Association    reported   by   Dr.    John 

Buchanan  to  have  been  formed  in  Philadelphia  in  1869-70, 

693,  724 
National  Institute  of  Homoeopath}-,  318 
National   Physio-Medical    or   Physopathic   convention    adopts   a 

broader  platform,  567 
"  National  "  Reform  Medical  Association  declared  impracticable 

in  1857  at  the  Reform  Medical  Association  at  Memphis,  591 
National  Thomsonian  Infirmary  proposed,  490 
Native  tribes  in  America,  their  modes  of  treating  the  sick,  414 
"  Natural  bone-setters,"  310 

"  Nature  "  the  first  of  physicians,  65;  what  she  teaches,  334 
Nebraska,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  675,  747;    "    Eclectic 

professorships    in    the   State   University,    734;    the    inedical 

statute,  800 
Neophytes  denouncing  learning,  162 
Nervous  diseases,  theory  of  De  la  Boe,  214 
Nestorians,    their    zeal,    110;  "    establish  universities  at  Edessa, 

Nisibis,  etc.,  103,  etc. 
Neuropathy,  208 

Nevada,  its  medical  act,  802;  action  of  Supreme  Court,  802 
New  devices  in  Surgery   294;     "     diseases  with  discoveries,  158; 

"     departure    in    pharmacy,    655;     "     era    introduced,    73; 

"     Gospel  and   its  suppression,  140;     "     learning  at  Italian 

universities,  and  in  England,  161,  165;    "    maladies  aflSrmed, 

86;     "     medicines,  659;     "     methods  taught  by  Erasistratos, 

71;     "     platform  of  medical  principles  adopted  at  Baltimore, 

589;     "     practice  <*f  medicine  anticipated  by  Jefferson,  413; 

"     remedies  of  the  Botanic  and  Reform  Schools,  so  termed, 

419 
New   England    Eclectic    Medical   Association,    760;     "     Female 

Medical  College,  570;     "     Medical  Eclectic,  559 
New  Hampshire,  its  medical  statute,  803 
New   Jersey,    aboriginal    remedies,    414;    the    Eclectic    Medical 

College,   738;    Eclectic   Medical    Society,    748;    the    medical 

statute,    803 


926  INDEX 

New  York,  annual  meetings  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Association,  611,  616,  696;  "  Association  of  Botanic  Phy- 
sicians, 44);  "  Association  of  Reform  Physicians,  567; 
"  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  584;  "  society  declares  against 
the  sale  of  medical  degrees,  648;  "  also  takes  steps  for  a 
national  organization,  694;  "  Medical  and  Pathological 
Society,  585;  "  State  Eclectic  Medical  Society  formed, 
TS49,  580;  "  ceases  to  exist.  584;  "  statute  of  18 18,  342; 
"  id  of  1821,442;  "  zV/.  of  1827,  466;  "  /i/.  penalties  repealed, 
471;  "  id.  penalties  again  imposed,  474;  "  id.  declared 
*'  infamous"  in  Alabama,  475;  "'  id.  repealed  in  1835,  480; 
"     statute  of  1S44,  509;     "     the  present  medical  statute,  805 

Newman,  Prof.  Francis  W.,  of  England,  denounces  the  enacting 
of  a  medical  creed,  770 

Newman,  Dr.  John  B.,  declares  Homoeopathy  a  form  of  fascina 
tion,  2:2 

Newton,  Calvin,  557;  explains  his  position,  559;  why  he  adopted 
the  name  "Eclectic"  in  1S45,  562;  calls  neither  Beach  nor 
Curtis  master,  562;  crit  cises  Samuel  Thomson,  566;  contro- 
versy with  Dr.  I.  M.  Comings,  565;  elected  president  of  the 
National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  582,  608;  proposes 
the  union  of  three  medical  colleges,  582;  leaves  the  Syracuse 
Medical  College,  583,  620;  his  address  to  the  National 
Association,  611;  suggests  to  make  it  a  representative  body, 
611;  death,  618 

Newton,  Horatio  G. ,  674 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  his  discoveries,  273 

Newton,  Robert  S.,  575;  professor  in  the  Memphis  Institute,  599; 
becomes  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  601; 
elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tion, 607,  618;  his  contest  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute, 
628,  etc. ;  renews  fealty  of  the  Institute  to  the  National 
Eclectic  Medical  Association,  632;  denies  that  the  Faculty  of 
the  Institute  set  up  for  leaders,  663,  664;  removes  to  New 
York,  664;  active  in  organizing  societies.  673;  stipulation  not 
to  establish  a  medical  college,  677  note;  becomes  professor 
of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  New  York,  678;  endeavors 
to  revive  the  national  organization,  690,  691;  presides  over 
the  convention  in  Chicago  in  1870,  695;  died  in  1S81 

Nicolas  V,  pope,  founds  the  library  of  the  Vatican,  146;  estab- 
lishes a  despotic  rule,  148 


INDEX.  927 

Nikandros  of  Kolophon,  physician  and  high  priest,  77 

Nisibis,  seat  of  a  Nestorian  and  Jewish  University,  104,  110 

Nis-Rokh,  the  bird-god,  18 

Non-conformist  physicians    opposed  by    the  dominant   medical 

authorities  in  the  civil  war,  683 
"  Normal  Tinctures."  662 
North  Carolina,  its  medical  statute,  808 
Nostrums  of  India,  391 
Nur  ed  Din  and  Sa]adin,  their  general  attempt  to  exterminate 

philosophers  and  heretics  in  Asia,  123 

Obsession,  400 

CEkolampadius  the  Reformer,  recommends  Paracelsus  for  pro- 
fessor in  Basel  University,  161 

O'Ferrall,  Doctor,  declares  medical  science  incapable  of  reform, 
and  opposes  the  incorporation  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute, 545 

Official  physicians  in  the  Roman  Empire,  93 

Ohio,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  formed  671;  the  State  Eclectic 
Medical  Association  takes  its  place,  69;  resolves  in  favor  of  a 
National  organization,  691;  medical  statute  repealed  in  1833, 
472;  another  enacted  in  1868,  685;  the  General  Assembly  in 
1861  forbids  discrimination  between  schools  of  medicine,  but 
the  governor  evades  obeying,  668;  the  present  medical 
statute,   810 

Oklahoma,  its  medical  statute,  802 

Oldshue,  Lincoln,  a  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of 
Philadelphia,  651 

Ommiad  dynasty  established  in  Spain,  117 

Ontario,  an  Eclectic  Medical  Society  formed,  676 

Order  No.  VI,  forbidding  calomel  and  antimony  in  military 
supplies  revoked,  670 

Oregon,  an  Eclectic  Medical  Society  formed,  757;  medical  statute, 
813 

Organic  Chemistry,  a  law  explained,  660;  "  nervous  system, 
264 

Organizations  of  Reformed  Physicians  in  Western  New  York,  481 

Organon,  Hahnemann's  great  work,  319;  "  of  Specific  Homceo- 
pathy  by  Hempel,  337;  "  of  Specific  Medication  by  G. 
Ludwig  Rau,  324 

Organopathy,  339 


928  INDEX. 

Oribasius,  101 
Osteopathy,  879 

Ovaries,  their  extirpation  a  prominent  feature  of   modern  sur- 
gery, 303 
Ovariotomy  in  England,  307;  Walter  Burnham's  superior  skill,  305 

Padua,  anatomy  taught  at  the  university  by  dissection,  150 

Paine,  William,  professor  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 595:  declares  approval  of  the  movement  to  unite  all 
parties,  568;  separates  from  the  College  and  establishes  the 
Eclectic  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  643,  644;  disap- 
proved by  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  New  York,  646; 
procures  consolidation  with  other  medical  colleges,  650;  lays 
aside  the  name  of  "  Eclectic  "  for  '"  New  School  of  Medicine," 
652;  his  conflicts  and  triumph,  740 

Palmer,  Alderman  of  New  York  City,  appoints  Dr.  Beach  to  the 
charge  of  a  Cholera  hospital  in  1832,  436;  "  Doctor,  teaches 
"Chiropractic,"  882 

Pancoast,  Seth,  his  work,  373 

Papyrus,  Prisse,  0;  "  medical,  found  in  the  reign  of  Kheops,  8; 
"     at  Letopolis,  8 

Parasitic  origin  of  disease,  the  theory,  381 

Paracelsus  von  Hohenheim,  168;  consulted  professionally  by 
Erasmus,  109;  professor  in  the  University  of  Basil,  169;  a 
reformer  of  surgery,  170;  denimnces  mercury,  bloodletting, 
etc.,  171,  3j3;  pioneer  of  direct  or  specific  medication,  172; 
his  theosophic  belief,  173;  definition  of  magnetism  and  the 
"  Mumia,"  176,  208;  theory  of  "elemental  spirits,  382;  "sig- 
natures," 177;  his  disciples,  178;  murdered  at  Salzburg,  173 

Pare,  Ambroise,  186;  introduces  the  suture,  the  ligature  and  other 
innovations,  187;  denounced  like  Paracelsus  for  teaching  in 
the  language  of  the  people,  188 

Paris,  the  university  established,  139;  it  condemns  astrology,  150 

Parkins,  author  of  "  The  Holy  Teinp/e  of  Wisdom"  533 

Parliamentary  Commission  in  England,  recommends  removal  of 
compulsary  requirement  of  vaccination,  267;  "  legislation, 
770 

Parritt,  E.  M.,  professor  in  the  college  at  Worcester,  563 

Parsons,  Theophilus,  Justice — his  action  in  the  case  of  Samuel 
Thomson,  458,  459 

Parties  in  medicine  in  the  eighteenth  century,  236 


INDEX. 


929 


Partisan  medical  statute  enacted  first  in  North  Carolina,  682 

Partisanship  of  Medical  Examining  Boards,  666 

Pasteur,  381 

Pastiphori  or  ark-bearers,  the  priest-physicians  of  ancient  Egypt, 
10 

Pathologic  Anatomy  becomes  a  department,  271 

Patients  often  crippled  by  medical  treatment,  412;  "  in  ovario- 
tomy in  hecatombs,  307 

Patricians  at  Rome  refused  to  educate  their  children  to  a  profes- 
sion, 96 

Paul  of  ^gina,  106;    "    II.,  pope,  persecutes  men  of  learning,  148 

Peckham,  Justice  Rufus  W.,  his  explanation  of  "liberty"  as 
signified  in  Amendment  XIV.  of  the  Federal  Constitution 
798,  note. 

Pedro  Juliani,  medical  writer,  afterward  pope,  126 

Penal  medical  legislation,  316 

Pennsylvania,  Associate  Society  of  Botanic  Physicians,  533,  764; 
"  Eclectic  Botanic  Medical  Association,  537;  "  Eclectic 
Medical  College — see  College;  "  Eclectic  Medical  Society, 
645,  671,  692,  etc. ;  "  history  of  Eclectic  Medicine  in  the 
State,  748;  "  Eclectic  Medical  Association  formed  having 
auxiliary  societies,  749;  "  id.  resolutions  adopted,  711;  " 
no  medical  order  protected  by  special  enactments,  479;  " 
a  special  statute,  750;  present  statute,  815 

People  of  Alabama  in  1835  freemen  in  medical  matters,  476 

"People's  Western  Reserve  Reform  Medical  Society,"  674 

Pergamos  receives  Chaldean  priests  as  colonists,  17;  its  school 
and  library  rivals  to  Alexandria,  77 

Period,  historic,  46 

Persecution  not  formerly  practiced  in  England,  773 

Persia  becomes  the  refuge  of  scholars  outlawed  in  the  Roman 
Empire,  103 

Persian  "Great  Kings"  employed  Egyptian  physicians,  16;     " 
schools,  109 

Peruvian  bark,  its  use  advocated  by  Sydenham.  218 

Petit,  father  of  osteology,  250 

Petition  of  physicians  to  Henry  V.  of  England,  771;  "  to  the 
legislature  of  New  York  to  repeal  medical  restrictions,  469, 
471,477,508 

Petty  and  unchartered  schools  denounced  by  Calvin  Newton,  612 

Peyer,  207 


93°  INDEX. 

Pharmaco-dynamics,  our  knowledge  fragmentary,  333 

Pharmacopoeia,  National  Eclectic  projected,  696;  "  Committee 
appointed,  698,  703;  "  work  reported  by  Albert  Merrell  and 
authorized,  704,  707;  "  adopted  as  a  manual  and  text  book, 
708— see  Merrell,  Albert 

Pharmacy,  the  new  departure,  655;     "     Rafinesque's  theory,  430 

Philadelphia,  American  University  incorporated,  648;  "  College 
of  Medicine  established,  641;  "  University  of  Medicine  and 
Surgery,  652;  "  id.  surrenders  its  charter  as  a  "literary- 
institution,"  742;  "  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  610 

Philalethes,  or  lovers  of  truth,  76 

Philinos,  founder  of  the  Empiric  School,  76 

Philosophic  dogmas  of  Hippokrates,  63;  "  physicians  in  Mos- 
lem countries,  169 

Philosophy,  schools  in  Grecian  colonies,  52;  "  anciently  included 
medical  skill,  1 

Phoenicians  in  the  East,  45 

Phrenology,  first  taught,  288 

Phrenopathy,  379 

"  Physic  and  physicians,"  the  terms  first  employed,  108 

Physical  wrecks  made  by  medical  treatment,  442 

Physician,  "  he  who  can  cure,"  175;  what  constitutes  one,  665 

Physicians  not  "  created,"  175;  "  anciently  priests,  1;  "  formerly 
self-taught  men,  411;  "  generally  empirics,  76;  "  treat 
empirically,  60;  "  two  classes,  59;  "  in  Buddhistic  India, 
80;  "  in  China,  395;  "  in  ancient  Egypt  not  arbitrarily 
restricted,  10;  "  in  republican  Rome  held  in  contempt,  83; 
classified  in  Rome  under  the  Empire,  92;  "  hard  to 
retain  them  as  an  exclusive  caste,  45;  "  heterodox  in  India, 
29;  "  those  really  great  condemn  the  fashionable  practice, 
46;  "  declared  by  Rush  to  be  ignorant  of  disease  and 
remedies,  404;  "  those  of  London  licensed  by  the  bishops, 
167;  "  they  petition  Henry  v.,  771;  '  those  of  America, 
howthey  began  formerly  their  procedures,  416;  their  number, 
771;  approving  Thomsonian  proceedures,  462 

Physio-Medical  College  at  Cincinnati,  739;  "  Institute  of  Cin- 
cinnati, 525;  "  society  of  New  York  incorporated,  564;  " 
/^.  proposes  to  establish  a  College,  566,588;  "  /it/,  changes 
its  name  to  "  Reform,"  589;  "  the  name  retained  in  the 
Northwest,  589 


INDEX. 


931 


Physiology,  scientific  researches,  etc.,  287 

Physiopathic  College  of  Ohio,  524 

Physopathic  National  Convention,  567 

Pico  della  Mirandola,  the  philosopher,  149 

Piffard,  H.  G.,  urges  a  combination  to  crush  the  "  new  heresy," 
551 

Pinel,  Philipp,  introduces  more  humane  treatment  of  the  insane, 
314 

Piper,  Henry  B.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  708 

Pitard,  Jean,  founds  the  College  of  Surgeons  at  Paris,  141 

Pitcairn,  Doctor,  235 

Pittsburg,  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Association,  606,  701 

Plague,  arrested  at  Athens,  61;  "  devastates  the  Roman  world, 
104 

Planetary  influence  assigned  in  the  "Black  Death,"  128 

Platform  of  the  Alopathic  School,  615;  "  of  Dr.  Morrow,  487; 
"  adopted  by  the  National  Association,  609,  615;  "  of  the 
Physopathic  and  "Reform"  conventions  at  Baltimore,  567, 
568 

Plato  denounces  the  necessity  for  hospitals  or  dispensaries,  58 

Pleasant  medicines  prescribed  by  Asklepiades,  86 

Pleasantness  an  important  condition  in  administering  medicines, 
351 

Pleasanton,  Gen.  A.  J.,  and  light-cure,  372 

Pliny  criticises  practitioners  of  medicine,  95;  his  explanation  why 
prescriptions  were  written  in  another  language,  89 

Pneumaticists,  90 

Podophyllin  discovered,  659 

Polarity  and  impulse  to  differentiation,  884 

Pontifical  chair  at  Rome,  its  inscriptions,  122,  123. 

Poor  in  England,  voluntary  medical  service  rendered  them,  773 

Portland,  Oregon,  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, 720 

Positive  or  Empiric  medicine,  283 

Potter,  Stephen  H.,  teaches  at  Randolph,  New  York,  579;  pro- 
fessor in  the  Central  Medical  College,  580;  establishes  the 
Syracuse  Medical  College,  582;  becomes  professor  in  the 
American  Medical  College  at  Cincinnati,  584 

Powell,  William  Byrd,  Editor  of  the  Southwesierii  Medical 
Reformer,  organ  of  the  Memphis  Botanico-Medical  College, 


932  INDEX. 

529;  active  in  behalf  of  the  Memphis  Institute,  599;  his  theory 
of  human  temperaments,  599;  note,  p. 

Powers  conferred  on  the  Eclectic  Medical  College  Association 
and  Committee  on  Affairs  of  Colleges,  719 

Practice,  Homoeopathic,  its  changes,  337 

Practitioners  of  medicine  classified  by  Rafinesque,  427;  nine- 
tenths  in  1864  not  graduates  of  Medical  Colleges,  670 

Praxagoras,  his  discourses,  69 

Prayer  employed  as  means  to  cure  the  sick,  129,  134 

Prelatic  authority  claimed  for  the  American  medical  association, 
606 

Price,  Henry  M.,  his  effort  in  the  legislature  at  Richmond  to  pro- 
cure a  charter  for  a  medical  college,  how  defeated,  553,  554 

Priestley,  Joseph,  274;  his  discovery  of  oxygen,  275;  is  excluded 
from  the  expedition  of  Capt.  Cook  for  religious  reasons,  275 

Priessnitz,  Vincent,  and  water-cure,  368;  prosecuted  on  a  charge 
of  practicing  medicine,  369 

Private  charters  in  Connecticut  not  affected  by  medical  statute. 
778 

Procedures,  simple  ones  not  pathogenic,  874 

Professional  men  need  not  and  do  not  ask  for  severe  laws,  471 

Prophets  of  Sidon,  38;     "     of  the  temples  of  Egypt,  11 

Proscription  of  Eclectic  physicians  in  England,  769 

Proscriptive  legislation  as  demanded  by  a  few  described,  474 

Prosecution  of  Eclectic  physicians  in  Utah,  758 

Protection  of  the  people  from  quackery  tte  pretext  for  stringent 
medical  legislation  in  1831,  471;  "  id.  the  same  now  as 
then,  684 

Protest  of  Dr.  Morrow  against  unequal  and  oppressive  laws  in 
relation  to  medicine  and  surgery,  577 

Pruitt,  John  W  ,  an  Eclectic  physician,  appointed  a  surgeon  in 
the  Confederate  army,  663 

"  Psychrolousia,"  369 

Ptolemy  I,  73;  founds  the  Museum  and  School  at  Alexandria,  74 

Public  dispensaries  in  the  Roman  Empire,  93;  "  physicians  at 
Athens,  58;  "  id.  regulated  by  Roman  law,  94;  "  policy 
requiring  repeal  of  restrictions  on  the  practice  of  medicine, 504 

Publications,  Eclectic  and  Botanic,  see  Lloyd  Library,  etc. 

Purdy,  Doctor,  states  the  objects  of  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, 573,  note 

Pythagoras  skilled  in  medical  knowledge,  55 


INDEX. 


933 


Quacking,  not  to  be  complained  of  when  no  harm  is  done,  686 
Qualifications  for  a  medical  degree,  701 

Quimby,  Phineas  P.,  the  introducer  of  Metaphysical  Medicine,  377 
Quin,   Hugh,  dean    of  the   Faculty  in  the  Southern   Botanico- 

Medical  College,  526;  a  professor  in   the  Alabama  Iftedical 

Institute,  530 

Rabbis,  Jewish,  established  schools  in  France,  138 

Radcliffe,  John,  221;  his  diagnosis  of  Queen  Mary,  222  note 

Rademacher,  Johann  Gottfried,  353;  he  begins  a  Reform  Practice 
of  Medicine  employing  vegetable  remedies,  355;  his  views,  35-4 

Rafinesque,  Constantin,  421;  his  genius  acknowledged  by  Asa 
Gray  and  Louis  Agassiz,  423;  he  foreshadows  and  opens  the 
way  for  the  new  Reformed  School,  424;  he  regards  the 
knowledge  of  medicine  as  not  to  be  limited  to  a  profession, 
426;  he  classifies  practitioners,  427;  his  notions  of  pharmacy, 
430;  he  welcomes  Beach  and  the  Reformed  Practice,  438; 
death,  439 

"  Rational  Physicians,"  427 

Rau  of  Leiden,  210 

Rau,  Gottlieb  Ludwig,  323;  his  Orgation  of  Specific  Medication^ 
324;  criticises  half-instructed  disciples  of  Hahnemann,  328; 
praises  eclectics,  329;  his  theories,  330;  advocates  compounded 
prescriptions,  332;  forms  an  opposing  school  of  Specific 
Medicine,  334 

Rayer,  a  physician  of  the  new  Positive  School,  284 

Raymond,  Henry  J.,  as  speaker  of  the  Assembly  of  New  York 
appoints  an  impartial  medical  committee,  470 

Razes,  114 

Recamier,  founder  of  the  school  of  Gynaecology,  301 

Red  Cross,  a  badge  of  Rosicrucians  and  Knights  of  the  Temple, 
200 

Reform  comes  from  outside  the  ranks  in  medical  practice,  249; 
"  Practice  of  Medicine  favored  in  Massachusetts,  504;  " 
physicians  appointed  to  official  positions.  472;  "  physicians 
in  the  Confederate  army,  527;  "  movement  of  1851  to 
unite  the  several  parties,  587;  "  Convention  adopts  the 
name  of  "  Reform  Medical  Physicians,"  583;  "  physicians 
unite  with  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association,  614; 
"  Association  of  New  York  State,  507;  "  id.  merges  into 
the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  673 


934  INDEX. 

Reformed  Medical  Society  of  the  United  States,  468,  483,  487, 
572;  "  id.  of  the  State  of  New  York,  482;  "  Medical 
Association  of  Western  New  York,  579;  "  school  opened 
by  Dr.  Morrow  at  Cincinnati,  543;  "  Practice  of  Medicine 
not  originating  with  Samuel  Thomson,  487;  "  physicians 
in  England  under  legal  and  professional  disabilities,  576 

Reformers  stigmatized  as  sorcerers,  163 

Regulation  of  medicine  by  legal  enactment  begun  in  England,  773 

"  Regular  physician"  in  Arizona,  any  legal  practitioner,  777 

Reid,  Doctor,  learns  the  "  Sweet  procedures,"  312 

Relics,  amulets,  incantations,  prayer,  etc.,  anciently  believed  to 
possess  healing  virtue,  129 

Remedial  agents  accredited  to  Hippokrates,  66;  "  plants, 
every  region  said  to  have  its  own,  414;  "  procedures,  theory 
of  Joseph  R.  Buchanan,  387 

Remedies  act  differently  with  individuals,  361;  those  learned 
from  the  Indians,  415;  those  derived  from  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  406;  those  known  in  India,  391;  those  used  in 
dosimetry  and  alkalometry,  366,  878;  "  Eclectic,  and 
adopted  as  official  by  the  dominant  school,  700 

Renaissance,  145;  in  Italy,  158;  closes  the  Middle  Ages,  158 

Resins  and  resinoids,  659 

Reuben,  Levi,  a  professor  in  the  Central  Medical  College,  582; 
his  eulogy  upon  Dr.  Calvin  Newton,  613;  resigns  his  chair  in 
the  Syracuse  Medical  College  and  becomes  professor  in  the 
college  at  Worcester,  620 

Revival  of  learning,  158 

Revulsion  of  religious  sentiment  in  Spain,  123 

Rhinoplastic  operation  first  performed,  150 

Rhode  Island,  the  medical  statute,  818 

Richard  III.  of  England,  encourages  the  liberal  arts,  161 

Right  to  pursue  any  calling  affirmed  by  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  798  note 

Riley,  Capt.  James,  declares  his  tortures  from  physicians  worse 
than  those  of  his  African  enslavement,  412,  note 

Riolan,  Jean,  of  Paris,  adopts  Harvey's  theory  of  circulation  of 
the  blood,  205 

Rival  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association  exploited  at  Phila- 
delphia, 724 

Rochester,  meeting  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 


INDEX.  935 

Rock-inscriptions  of  King  Asoka  in  India,  81 

Rogers.  Governor  of  Washington,  his  veto  message,  881;  note 

Rokitansky,  Karl,  the  chief  luminary  in  the  "New  Vienna 
School,"  286 

Rolando,  of  Parma,  142 

Rome,  the  Senate  sends  an  embassy  to  Epidavros  for  its  serpent- 
god,  51 

Roman  Empire,  its  medical  art,  92 

Romulus  Augustus,  the  last  Roman  Emperor  at  Rome,  107 

Root,  Gen.  Erastus,  advocates  freedom  of  medical  practice,  470 

Rosicrucians,  200 

Royal  College  of  Physicians  of  London,  founded,  107;  "  id.  of 
Surgeons  of  Paris  opposed  mercury  and  antimony  as  reme- 
dies, 189;  "  id.  of  Surgeons  of  Scotland  founded,  251;  " 
Family  of  England  ."preferring  independent  physicians,  335; 
"     touch  for  scrofula,  129 

Runjeet  Singh  takes  Honigberger  into  his  service,  344;  his 
death,  345 

Rush,  Dr.  Benjamin,  criticises  the  current  medical  practice,  280, 
404;  he  receives  Samuel  Thomson  courteously,  418 

Russell,  Lorenzo  E.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association.  709 


Sabbath  in  ancient  Assyria,  17 

Sacrilege,  so  accounted  anciently  to  engage  in  a  priestly  calling 

without  authority,  63 
St.  Hilaire,  288 
St.    Lawrence  University,    its   experience   with   mixed   classes, 

597,  note 
St.  Louis,  meetings  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 

705,  714;     "     meeting  of  the  rival  seceding  organization,  725 
Saladin  of  Naples,  a  writer  on  Materia  Medica,  150 
Salerno,  its  medical  school — the  oldest  in  Europe,  134;     "     the 

medical  practice  and  theories  current,  136 
Saliceto,  142 
Sanders,  J.  Milton,  declares  European  Allopathy  to  be  American 

Eclecticism,  632;  note 
Savonarala,  150 
Sayce,   the   Orientalist,    his    opinion   of    mental    proficiency  in 

ancient  Egypt,  14 


936  INDEX. 

Scholars,  rather  than  practicing  physicians,  beg^n  reforms,  162 

Schonlein,  Johann  Lukas,  286 

Schools  and  sects  in  England,  108;  "  of  medicine  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  211;  "  /V/,  in  the  United  States,  878;  "  of 
philosophy,  52,  104 

Schuessler,  his  biochemic  theory  and  tissue-remedies,  368 

Schwann,  his  discovery,  381 

Science,  in  four  departments,  174 

Scientific  learning  of  Hippokrates,  65;  "  medical  reform 
defined, 487 

Scientific  and  Eclectic  Medical  Institute  of  Virginia,  553,  etc. 

Scott,  Judge  George  G.,  hurls  back  charges  of  ignorance  and 
quackery  in  the  Assembly  of  New  York,  509 

Scribes  of  the  Temple,  9 

Scudder,  John  M.,  professor  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  632; 
elected  secretary  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tion, 685;  becomes  sole  owner  of  the  Eclectic  Medical  Insti- 
tute, 664;  criticises  the  position  of  the  Bennett  College,  679; 
affirms  his  own  departure  from  the  earlier  teachers  of  Eclec- 
tic medicine,  679;  adopts  the  doctrine  of  Specific  Medication, 
680,  681;  remarks  only  one  school  of  physicians  active  in  pro- 
curing medical  legislation,  686;  affirms  the  object  to  convict 
all  "irregulars,"  686;  his  own  views,  687;  resolution  in  favor 
of  a  national  organization,  691;  his  (resolution  to  recognize 
five  Eclectic  Medical  Colleges  and  approve  their  courses  of 
instruction,  704;  his  observations  on  Asiatic  Cholera,  331 

Scurvy,  first  noticed,  153;  its  remedy,  how  found,  154 

Second  Thomsonian  Convention,  490 

Sections  ordered  by  the  National  Eclectic  Medical  Association, 
705 

Serapion  criticises  Hippokrates,  76 

Serpent,  the  symbol  of  the  healing  art,  4;  "  the  ^sculapian 
carried  to  Rome,  51 

Servetus  or  Miguel  Serveto,  describes  the  circulation  of  the  blood, 
184;  burned  for  heresy,  184 

Seti,  king  of  Egypt,  establishes  a  seminary  at  Thebes,  8 

Seven  spirits  or  demons  said  to  disorder  human  beings,  78 

Seventh  day  sacred  with  the  Akkadians,  17 

Seward,  William  H.,  advocates  a  stringent  medical  statute,  473 

Seymour,  Horatio,  his  service  to  the  friends  of  medical  freedom, 
505 


INDEX.  937 

Shamanism,  37 

Sharp,  Dr.,  his  theory  of  Organopathy,  339 

Shepherd-rulers  in  ancient  Egypt  abolish  medical  restrictions,  14 

Shoemaker,  O.  H,  P.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  701 

Sick,  treated  in  the  temples  of  ^sculapius,  48;  "  placed  in 
the  public  squares,  16 

Signatu7n,  a  doctrine  of  signatures  or  specific  medication,  177 

Simmons,  John,  his  labors  in  England,  768;  "  Thomas,  pub- 
lishes Beach's  work  in  England,  760 

Simms,  John,  'of  Delaware,  elected  president  of  the  National 
Ec'ectic  Medical  Association,  610 

Simpson,  Sir  James  Y.,  introduces  anaesthesia  in  midwifery,  298; 
discovers  chloroform,  299;  studies  in  uterine  pathology,  301; 
his  prediction  of  the  future  of  surgery,  872 

Sims.  James  Marion,  302;  his  discoveries  in  surgery  for  lacera- 
tions unnoticed  in  New  York,  802;  helped  by  Dr.  Elijah 
Whitney  and  others,  he  opens  the  Woman's  Hospital,  303; 
his  remarks  on  the  Medical  Code  when  president,  551 

Sixteen  states  repealing  their  medical  statutes,  501 

Skelton,  Dr.  John,  promulgates  American  Botanic  Medicine  in 
England,  765 

Skyths  or  Scythians,  36;  their  drugs,  37;  use  hemp]  as  an  anaes- 
thetic, 290 

Slave-doctors  in  ancient  Athens,  59, [60 

Slaves  forbidden  in  Virginia  to  administer  medicine,  460 

Sleigt,  Dr.,  declares  the  blood  superfluous,  410 

Small-pox  first  mentioned.  111;  when  first  severe  in  London,  205; 
seven  types  enumerated  in  Burma,  392 

Smart,  Senator,  pleads  for  the  repeal  of  the  medical  act  of  Maine 
as  unconstitutional  and  evil  in  policy,  392 

Smedley,  John,  370 

Smith,  Elisha,  439;  repeatedly  prosecuted,  444;  organizes  the 
"  New  York  Association  of  Botanic  Physicians,"  445 

Smith,  Isaac  S.,  organizes  the  "Society  of  Botanic  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  "  and  establishes  a  medical  college  in  New  York, 
445 

Smith,  Dr.  J.  V.  C,  proposes  methods  by  which  to  prevent  Thom- 
sonians  from  obtaining  equal  professional  rights,  520 

Smith,  Rev.  Matthew  Hale,  elected  president  of  the  rival  Na- 
tional Eclectic  Medical  Association  of  Philadelphia,  693,  724 


938  INDEX. 

Smith,  Dr.  Nathan,  performs  ovariotomy  after  Dr.  McDowell, 
304 

Smith,  Samuel,  historian  of  New  Jersey  describes  medical  skill  of 
the  natives,  414 

Society,  Independent  Thomsonian,  organized,  493;  "  of  Re- 
formed Physicians,  at  Rochester  in  1828,  482 

Societies,  medical,  denounce  Surgeon-General  Hammond,  669 

Solar  rays  a  curative  agent,  374;     "    ganglion,  264 

Solidism,  164 

Solly,  288 

Soul,  the  actual  vis  medic atrix  naturcE,  228;  "  Asklepiad  phy- 
sicians by  it  cured  the  body,  60 

South  Carolina  following  New  York,  repeals  its  medical  act,  510; 
its  medical  statute,  819 

South  Dakota,  its  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  758;  its  medical 
statute,  819 

Southern  Botanico-Medical  College,  501,  525,  etc.;  "  Botanico- 
Medical  Society,  526;  "  Reform  Medical  Association,  589, 
etc. 

Souvenir  de  Naples,  155 

Specialties  in  medical  practice,  697;     "     in  ancient  Egypt,  14 

Specific  Hojna:opat/iy,  Hempel's  Organon,  337 

Specific  indication  explained  by  Paracelsus,  177;  "  mode  of 
administering  medicine,  321 

Specific  Medication,  propounded  by  Rau,  324,  etc.;  also  recom- 
mended by  Dr.  Honigberger,  349,  350;  "  organized  in 
Southern  Germany  as  a  distinct  school,  234;  "  new  form 
propounded  by  Dr.  Scudder,  679,  681;  "  doctrine  claimed 
by  W.  H.  Cook  as  originally  Physio-Medical,  681 

Specifics  commended  by  Dr.  Honigberger,  350;  "  a  doctrine 
repudiated  by  Dr.  Dickson,  361,  362 

Spencer,  Herbert,  remarks  the  failure  of  arbitrary  measures  to 
produce  their  intended  effect,  316;  observes  a  losing  of  the 
instinct  of  liberty  in  America,  774 

Sperry,  B.  W.,  leader  of  Thomsonians  in  Connecticut,  502;  " 
Isaac  J.,  reports  fifteen  thousand  petitioners  for  repeal  of 
medical  restrictions,  502 

Spinal  nerves  described  by  Marshall  Hall,  291,  292 

Spiritual  beings  supposed  to  cause  disease,  398;  "  power  said 
to  exist  in  medicines,  320 

Spiritualists  or  Pneumaticists,  an  ancient  school  of  physicians,  90 


INDEX.  939 

Spurious  diplomas  issued  in  Philadelphia,  741 ;  "  action  of  the 
Eclectic  Medical  Society  of  New  York  in  reprobation,  648; 
their  issue  made  a  misdemeanor,  649 

Spurzheim,  Kaspar,  the  phrenologist,  288 

Staats,  B.  P.,  his  efforts  to  reinstate  the  restrictive  act^  473 

Stahl,  George  Ernst.  227;  his  theory  of  medicine,  228;  teaches 
animism  or  psychic  influence,  228,  229;  is  a  humoralist,  228, 
287 

Standlee,  E.  Lee,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  723 

State  Eclectic  Medical  Society  formed  in  Missouri,  676;  "  Eclectic 
Medical  Societies  represented  at  the  forming  of  the  National 
Association,  694;  "  id.  two  in  New  York  unite,  582;  " 
Reform  Medical  Associations  organized  in  18(35; — id.  recom- 
mended in  lieu  of  a  national  body,  591 

States  without  an  Eclectic  medical  organization,  759 

Stephanus,  180 

Stephen  of  Edessa,  103 

Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  patron  of  Reform  Medicine,  501 

Still,  A.  v.,  founder  of  the  school  of  Osteopathy,  879 

Stokes,  William,  on  the  use  of  the  stethoscope,  285 

Stomach  invaded  by  surgeons,  873 

Stow,  Benjamin  J.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  699;  elected  treasurer  in  1870,  etc.,  696 

Stratford,  Henry  K.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  708 

Successful  treatment  defined  by  Dr.  Morrow,  544 

Sun-tissue,  599 

"  Superstition,"  former  meaning  of  the  term,  375 

Surgeons  formerly  barbers,  250;  "  College  at  Paris,  141;  " 
Royal  College  at  Edinburgh,  251 

Surgery  in  ancient  Egypt,  12:  "  taught  by  Sushrata  in  India, 
26,  27;  "  its  low  condition  in  the  Middle  Ages,  144;  " 
part  of  the  barber's  craft,  144,  273;  "  modern,  its  rise, 
250;  "  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII,  773;  "  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  189;  "  advances  in  the  seventeenth  century,  209; 
"  in  the  American  colonial  period,  408;  "  military, 
professorships,  669;     "     predictions  of  Simpson,  872 

Surgical  skill  of  Hippokrates,  66;  "  apparatus  improved  in 
ancient  periods,  75;  "  practitioners  in  former  centuries, 
186;     "     influence  deprecated  by  Dickson,  360;    "    instruction 


940 


INDEX. 


more    desired,    294;     "     operations    evidence    of   imperfect 

skill,  258;     "     school  founded,  250 
Sushrata  and  hisjlearning,  27 

"  Sweating  sickness"  in  England,  154;    "    Dr.  Keyes'  treatise,  167 
Swedenborg,    Emanuel,    245;    his  genius,    246;    his  theories  of 

pathology,  247;  his  views  of  medicine,  338 
Swedish  Movement-Cure,  370 
Sweet  family  of  "  natural  bone  setters,"  310;     "     Job,  employed 

by  Count  de  Rochambeau  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  310;     "     perse- 

cuted  under  medical  statutes,  467 
Sweet,  Hermes  M.,  a  Botanic  physician  in  New  York,  medical 

society  formed  at  his  house,  585 
Swine,  formerly  made  subjects  for  dissection  in  medical  colleges, 

136 
Switzerland   by  referendum  defeats  the  statute  for  compulsory 

vaccination,  267 
Sydenham,    Thomas,    the    "English    Hippokrates,"    215;     pro- 
nounced ''not  a  profound  man  of  science,"  215;   a    sectary, 

215,  216;   his    new    doctrines,    216,    etc.;  his  contempt  for 

medical  book-learning,  219 
Sylvius   179 

Sympathetic  nervous  system,  180,  288;     "     powder,  202,  203 
Symptoms,  their  gouping  less  regarded,  234 
Synopsis  of  medical  statutes  in  the  United  States,  776,  etc. 
Syphilis  described  in  the  Bible,  155;     "     rages  over  Europe  with 

great  fatality,  155,  156 
Syracuse  medical  college,  582,  585,  etc. 

Tagliacozzi,  his  notion  of  the  artificial  nose,  151 

Tait,  Lawson,  declares  micro-organisms  harmless,  383;  his  con- 
viction of  duty  toward  young  practitioners  regardless  of 
their  beliefs  on  medicine,  551 

Taranta  applies  arsenic  for  cancer,  127 

Tali  sect  in  China,  34 

Taylor,  Dr.  William,  his  efforts  to  prevent  repeal  of  medical 
restrictions,  506 

Teeth,  their  replacing  an  ancient  art,  875.     See  Dentistry. 

Telescope  mightier  than  rack  or  faggot,  197 

Tennessee,  the  new  school  and  its  aspects,  756;  Eclectic  Medical 
Society  formed,  757;  the  medical  statute,  821 

Terms  of  study  at  medical  colleges  increased,  714 


INDEX.  941 

Test  resolution  at  Thomsonian  Conventions,  492 

Testimonial  to  Col.  James  Kilbourne,  547 

Texas,  history  of  Eclectic  movements,  754;  partisan  legislation 
inhibited  by  its  constitution   823;  the  medical  statute,  823 

Theatre,  its  evolution  from  religious  rites,  140 

Themison  employs  blood-letting  and  the  trephine,  88 

Theophrastos,  his  history,  69 

Theoretic  physicians  as  described  by  Rafinesque,  437 

Theory  of  disease,  Samuel  Thomson's,  453;  "  of  indigenous 
remedial  plants  recogaized  by  Culpepper,  414 

Theosophy  in  schools  where  medicine  was  taught,  102 

Therapeutic  Sarcognoiny,  385 

Therapy,  other  forms,  872 

Thessalia,  its  healing  or  magic  art,  394 

Thomas,  A.  R.,  professor  in  Syracuse  Medical  College,  582;  also 
in  the  Penn  Medical  University  and  Hahnemann  Medical 
College,  651 

Thomas,  John,  president  and  professor  in  the  Franklin  Medical 
College,  555;  denounces  graduating  of  men  upon  nominal 
attendance  at  college,  555,  556;  becomes  professor  of 
chemistry  in  the  Institute  at  Petersburg,  Virginia,  55 1 

Thomas,  Joseph,  considers  the  bacterial  hypothesis  not  fully 
proved,  383 

Thompson,  Dr.  Benjamin,  a  disciple  of  Samuel  Thomson,  491, 
note;  establishes  an  infirmary  at  Boston,  491;  removes  to 
Concord,  New  Hampshire,  491;  misrepresented  in  two 
Cyclopedias  as  founder  of  the  Thomsonian  practice,  and 
member  of  the  Eclectic  School,  449,  491 

Thomson,  Dr.  John,  first  in  New  York  to  oppose  perniciou 
medical  legislation,  468;  heads  the  first  medical  petition, 
469;  fined  for  visiting  a  patient,  473;  he  wheels  the  great 
medical  petition  in  1844  up  State  street  in  Albany  to  the 
capitol,  509;  publishes  the  Thomso7iian  Materia  Mcdica, 
519;  death,  532 
Thomson,  Samuel,  449;  the  first  to  attack  Allopathy  in  America 
455;  resembles  John  Hunter,  453,  455;  his  theory  of  disease, 
453;  his  methods  differ  from  other  Botanic  physicians,  452: 
practice  said  to  be  like  that  of  the  Marshpee  Indians,  496;  also 
to  resemble  that  of  Dr.  Woodward,  of  England,  452;  defamed 
and  virtually  outlawed,  456;  indicted  for  wilful  murder,  457, 
etc.;   medical   statutes   enacted   against    him,   464;   procures 


942  INDEX 

patents  on  his  discoveries,  459;  etc.,  visits  Doctors  Rush  and 
Barton,  461;  receives  favorable  testimonies  from  physicians, 
463;  organizes  "  Friendly  Botanic  Societies,"  462;  convokes 
the  first  United  States  Thomsonian  Convention,  488;  opens 
an  Infirmary  in  Boston,  491;  contention  with  Dr.  Mattson, 
495;  his  name  dropped  as  a  designation,  497;  death,  532 

Thomsonian  and  Botanic  Publications,  866.  See  Lloyd  Library, 
etc.,  "  Materia  Medica,  519;  "  conventions,  488,  490, 
492;  "  Medical  Society  of  New  York  honors  its  agents  in 
1844  "  for  their  active  exertions  in  procuring  the  repeal  of  an 
unjust  law,"  516;  etc. 

Thorax  opened  to  surgical  invasion,  873 

Thornton,  Doctor,  of  London,  a  Botanic  physician,  763;  "  Doctor, 
a  clerk  in  the  Bureau  of  Patents,  his  trick  on  Doctor 
Thomson,  460 

Thoth  or  Hermes,  his  books  on  medicine,  7 

Thrita,  the  Eranian  hero,  his  skill  in  healing,  22 

Thurlow,  Lord,  and  the  Non-Conformists,  315 

Tinctures,  Essential.     See  Merrell,    \V.  S. 

Tissue-Remedies,  368 

Tod,  David,  Governor  of  Ohio,  evades  an  order  of  legislature,  667 

Torrey,  John.  420 

Transatlantic  influence  causes  discredit  of  vegetable  remedies,  416 

Transfusion  of  blood,  210 

Traumatic  fever,  explanation  of  its  cause,  364 

Treatment  of  the  sick  at  Babylon  and  Assyria,  16;  at  Pergamos, 
78;  made  a  penal  offense  in  American  States  after  the  war  of 
1812,  441 ;  Homoeopathic,  rejected  by  the  native  physicians  of 
Runjeet  Singh,  345.  See  also  Synopsis  of  Medical  Statutes, 
Chapter  XVII 

Trend  of  American  legislation  toward  creating  monopolies,  689; 
"     zV/.  toward  making  professional  education  costly,  835 

Trephining,  211 

Trotula,  135 

Troubles  at  Cincinnati,  600 

Trousseau,  Doctor  A.,  284 

Tuke,  William,  introduces  a  more  humane  treatment  of  the 
insane,  314 

TuUy,  William,  his  researches  in  Botany,  420 

Tuthill,  Samuel,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  617 


INDEX.  943 

University  at  Baghdad,  112;  "  at  Edessa,  110;  "  at  Gandis- 
pura,  110;  "  of  Florida,  medical  department,  738;  "  of 
Indiana,  480;  "  of  Paris,  150;  "  at  Thebes  in  Egypt,  9; 
"     towns  in  Babylonia,  20 

Universities  in  Italy,  138 

Unzer,  289 

Utah,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  formed,  758;  the  medical 
statute,  824 

Vaccinated  persons  contracting  small-pox,  843 

Vaccination  made  compulsory,  266;  introduced  into  Syria,  343; 
rejected  in  Switzerland  by  an  overwhelming  vote  of  the 
people,  265 

Valentin,  Basil,  introduces  antimony  and  other  metallic  sub- 
stances as  medicines,  152 

Van  Aernam,  Dr.  Henry  refuses  Eclectic  and  Homceopathic 
physicians  as  pension  examiners,  and  is  removed,  700,  note 

Van  Helmont,  197 

Van  Swieten,  225 

Varoli,  183 

Vasco  de  Gama,  153;  scurvy  first  observed  with  his  crew,  1^3 

Vatican  library,  founded,  146 

Vaughan,  Thomas,  reputed  Master  of  the  Rosicrucian  Brother- 
hood, 201 

Vegetable  substances  all  compounds — Rafinesque's  inference,  431 

Velpeau,  302 

Vend/dad,  its  art  of  healing,  etc.,  22 

Veratrum  alba  in  the  ancient  Eclectic  practice,  92;  again  intro- 
duced, 102 

Vermont,  the  Eclectic  Medical  Society  organized,  674;  law  of 
1876.  825 

Vernacular  of  the  people  employed  in  teaching  by  Paracelsus, 
Pare  and  Rademacher,  172,  188,  354 

Vesalius,  Andreas,  180;  sets  aside  Galen  and  the  ancients,  181; 
is  professor  at  three  universities,  181;  is  denoimced  to  the 
Inquisition,  181;  died  at  Zante,  181;  taught  anatomy  by 
dissection  of  human  bodies,  182 

Vieussens  on  neuropathy,  208 

Vigilance  Committees,  medical,  recommended,  710 

«'  Vitidication  of  the  Art  of  Healing  "  Rademacher's  great  work, 
356 


944  INDEX. 

Virchow,  Rudolf,  on  cell-development,  293 

Virginia,  old  laws  in  relation  to  colored  persons  administering 

medicine,  466;  medical  statute,  826 
Votive  offerings  received  by  priests,  50 
Voudu,  400 

War,  Civil,  extinguishing  professional  animosities  in  the  South, 
592 

Washington,  General,  plans  the  American  Union,  531;  his  medi- 
cal treatment,  416 

Washington  (State)  Eclectic  Medical  Association  formed,  758; 
"  the  Governor  vetoes  the  bill  in  regard  to  Osteopathy, 
881  note;     "     the  medical  statute,  827 

Wasson,  David  A.,  his  generous  sentiment,  356 

Water  Cure,  368;  etc. 

Waterhouse,  Prof.  Benjamin,  protests  against  arbitrary  uncon- 
stitutional legislation  of  New  York,  442;  praises  Samuel 
Thomson,  457;  compares  Thomson  to  John  Hunter,  455 

Wesley,  John,  his  comment  on  the  branding  of  certain  physicians 
as  empirics,  463;  criticism  of  the  current  practice  of  medicine, 
411 

West  Kentucky  Eclectic  Medical  Society,  757 

West  Virginia,  a  medical  organization  effected  with  counties  in 
northern  Ohio,  673;  a  State  Eclectic  Medical  Association 
formed,  757;  the  medical  statute,  829 

Western  New  York,  the  Reformed  Medical  Association,  579;  " 
the  Reformed  Medical  Society,  482 

Western  States  of  sixty  years  ago  unanimous  for  equal  rights  for 
all  schools  of  medical  practice,  472 

Wharton,  Thomas,  the  first  to  describe  the  glands,  207 

White,  Hon.  Andrew  D.,  Ambassador  to  Germany,  calls  attention 
to  the  sale  of  American  medical  degrees,  341 

Whitney,  Dr.  Elijah,  helps  and  encourages  Dr.  J.  Marion  Sims,  302 

Who  make  colleges,  but  whom  colleges  did  not  make,  532 

Wilder,  Alexander,  elected  secretary  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  701,  etc.;  requested  to  prepare  a  history 
of  Eclectic  Medicine  during  the  earlier  periods,  712;  delivers 
an  address  at  the  World's  Medical  Congress  Auxiliary,  717 

Wilkinson,  J.  J.  Garth,  his  estimation  of  Swedenborg  as  a  scien- 
tist, 247;  his  explanation  of  the  Homoeopathic  theory  of  the 
Science  of  Correspondences,  322 


INDEX.  945 

Will  the  bias  humamun,  199 

Williams,  David,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Association,  723;  "  J.  W.  R.  explains  the  opera- 
tion of  the  medical  statute  of  Alabama,  711 

Willis,  Thomas,  his  arrangement  of  cranial  nerves,  etc.,  209; 
"Circle  of  Willis,"  209;  accepts  the  chemiatric  doctrines  and 
the  views  of  Paracelsus,  214 

Winslow,  Forbes,  his  explanation  of  disease,  384;  his  theory  of 
mental  causes,  376 

Wisconsin,  the  "Eclectic  Medical  College,"  743;  the  Eclectic 
Medical  Society  formed,  676;  the  medical  statute,  831 

"Wise  women"  supplanted  by  men-midwives,  207,  300 

Wiseman,  the  Father  of  English  Surgery,  210 

Witchcraft,  accusations  become  numerous,  194 

Witch-herbs,  78,  267 

Wolff,  Kaspar  Friedrich,  founder  of  the  science  of  Embryology, 
293 

Woman's  Hospital  founded  by  Dr.  J.  Marion  Sims,  303 

Woman's  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  incorporated,  571 

Women  accepted  as  members  of  the  National  Eclectic  Medical 
Assocition  in  1870,  695;  "  admitted  as  students  of  the  Cen- 
tral Medical  College  of  New  York,  580;  "  in  the  Medical 
College  at  Worcester,  621 ;  "  Cincinnati,  571;  their  medical 
instruction  approved  by  resolution  in  1855,  616;  forbidden  to 
practice  obstetrics,  75;  "  lecturers,  professors  and  students 
in  the  ninth  century  in  the  college  at  Salerno,  135;  "  prac- 
ticing medicme  at  Rome  during  the  Empire,  93,  300;  their 
graduation  not  recognized  by  medical  societies  of  the  domin- 
ant school,  571,  note. 

Wood,  Dr.,  James  R.,  praises  Dr.  Wooster  Beach,  438 

Woodward,  Dr.,  of  London,  his  treatise  on  the  "  ,  State  of  PJiysic 
and  Diseases"  said  to  be  like  the  doctrines  of  Samuel  Thom- 
son, 452— note,  763 

Woofendale,  John,  the  first  dentist  in  America,  876 

Worcester  Medical  School,  opened  in  1846,  560;  becomes  a  branch 
of  the  Southern  Botanico-Medical  College,  561;  organized 
anew  as  the  "  New  England  Botanico-Medical  College,"  563; 
incorporated  as  the  "Worcester  Medical  Institution,"  564; 
its  proposed  union  with  the  Metropolitan  Medical  College, 
568,  622;  removal  to  Boston,  622;  suspended.  622 

World's  Fair  at  Chicago,  Committee  on  Eclectic  Medical  Depart- 


946  INDEX. 

ment  appointed,  714;    "    Eclectic  Medical  Congress  Auxiliary,, 

715  etc. 
Worthington,  Ohio,  founded,   514;  the  college  incorporated,  484, 

514;  medical  department  opened  by  Dr.  Morrow,  484;  the 

building  pillaged  by  a  mob,  517;  school  suspended,  543 
Wyld,   Dr.   George,   of   London,  disapproves    of    Hahnemann's. 

views,  340 
Wyoming,  medical  statute,  834 

Yahia  ben  Masaiah,  (Maswa,)  at  Baghdad,  118 

Yeagley,  Benjamin  L.,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic- 
Medical  Association,  715 

Yin  and  Yajt/i,  or  energy  and  potency,  395 

Young,  James,  and  the  flap-operation,  211 

Younkin,  Edwin,  elected  president  of  the  National  Eclectic- 
Medical  Association,  707;  his  suggestion  about  medical 
charters,  798  note 

Zerbi  of  Verona,  the  "medical  seer,"  152 

Zeuxis,  (Philalethes)  establishes  a  medical  school  in  Phrygia,  75 

Z winger  of  Basel,  165 

Zymotic  diseases  probably  varieties  of  one  thing,  265  note 


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